102: The Michelin Men with Steve Berg
05/23/22 • 85 min
When Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released to wide audiences, it was believed by some in the UFO community that it would have an impact on UFO reports. And yet it didn’t. CEIII reports continued to vary during a time when UFO contact wasn’t homogenous with reports of the grays, tall nordics and reptilian shape changers that has dominated much of UFO literature since the late 80s.
That’s not to say that culture has never influenced sighting reports. In 1947, with Kenneth Arnold’s encounter with 9 objects that flew “like saucers skipping across water,” the reports that followed were often similarly described objects. And as 1950s science-fiction drew its inspiration from the cold war, the contactees reported encounters with beings not dissimilar to Klaatu Barada Nikto.
Despite the influences of the period, pop culture archetypes didn’t show up in sighting reports with the exception of one. From the mid 1950s onward, witnesses from across the globe have reported encounters with beings that resemble The Michelin Man, that enigmatic mascot for the Michelin tire company.
Actor, writer, producer, and UFO investigator Steve Berg, known for his roles on The Good Place, Adventure Time, Drunk History, Tag, and the wonderful podcast, Voyage to the Stars, joins me to discuss these terrifying figures, their weird singular black boots, and why they suck so bad at walking on earth.
Sources:
The Secret History of the Michelin Man, Fast Company, 2014
Case 55-05 of the HUMCAT (Humanoid Catalog)
Flying Saucer Review Case Histories #1
“Contact Casualty on Réunion” translated by Gordon Creighton, FSR 1969 V 15 N 1
“Rejuvenation Follows Close Encounter with UFO” by Pedro Romaniuk, FSR 1973 V 19 N 4
Phantoms and Monsters entry for Michelin Men
Theme song: "Ufo" by Floats, available on Soundcloud, iTunes and Spotify Logo designed by Megan Lagerberg T-Shirt Designs by The Great Desdymona Check out my links here
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released to wide audiences, it was believed by some in the UFO community that it would have an impact on UFO reports. And yet it didn’t. CEIII reports continued to vary during a time when UFO contact wasn’t homogenous with reports of the grays, tall nordics and reptilian shape changers that has dominated much of UFO literature since the late 80s.
That’s not to say that culture has never influenced sighting reports. In 1947, with Kenneth Arnold’s encounter with 9 objects that flew “like saucers skipping across water,” the reports that followed were often similarly described objects. And as 1950s science-fiction drew its inspiration from the cold war, the contactees reported encounters with beings not dissimilar to Klaatu Barada Nikto.
Despite the influences of the period, pop culture archetypes didn’t show up in sighting reports with the exception of one. From the mid 1950s onward, witnesses from across the globe have reported encounters with beings that resemble The Michelin Man, that enigmatic mascot for the Michelin tire company.
Actor, writer, producer, and UFO investigator Steve Berg, known for his roles on The Good Place, Adventure Time, Drunk History, Tag, and the wonderful podcast, Voyage to the Stars, joins me to discuss these terrifying figures, their weird singular black boots, and why they suck so bad at walking on earth.
Sources:
The Secret History of the Michelin Man, Fast Company, 2014
Case 55-05 of the HUMCAT (Humanoid Catalog)
Flying Saucer Review Case Histories #1
“Contact Casualty on Réunion” translated by Gordon Creighton, FSR 1969 V 15 N 1
“Rejuvenation Follows Close Encounter with UFO” by Pedro Romaniuk, FSR 1973 V 19 N 4
Phantoms and Monsters entry for Michelin Men
Theme song: "Ufo" by Floats, available on Soundcloud, iTunes and Spotify Logo designed by Megan Lagerberg T-Shirt Designs by The Great Desdymona Check out my links here
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
101: Unusual Animal Kidnappings and Mutilations with Shane McClelland
CW: ANIMAL DEATH, ANIMAL KIDNAPPING
On September 21, 1967 Harry King went to the fence to give Nelly Lewis' prized Appaloosa Horse, Lady, her usual treat for the day. He grew concerned when she failed to show up. A short time later, her body was found, mutilated. Lady's death was quick to make newspaper headlines because of the unusual condition her remains were in, and investigators were quick to link the case to UFO activity in the area.
From there, cases of animal mutilation were reported en masse, leading to public enquires from state governors and other officials. Throughout the 70s and 80s, Mutilation cases were documented in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Montana and Texas, along with Puerto Rico.
While these mutilation cases fit a certain pattern, on this episode, paranormal investigator and co-host of The Q Files, Shane McClelland, joins me to discuss the most unusual cases, including the "rapture" of a calf in Brazil, a poaching on the Cheshire River in England and an unusual sheep slayer in Bolivia.
Sources:The Snippy Case, The A.P.R.O. Bulletin, September-October, 1967Snippy Still Not Dead Issue, The A.P.R.O. Bulletin, November-December 1967UFOs and a Horse Called Snippy, Denver LibraryAfter Snippy - what Next? By Janet Bord, Flying Saucer Review 1972 V 18 N 6More Skippy and Pedro Trajano Machado Incident“After 50 years, Snippy still a mystery” by Sylvia Lobato - Alamosa NewsAlta Loma 1973 - Texas UFO Museum & Research LibraryFlying Saucer Review: Case Histories 1971 N 61968 HUMCAT #68-02“Violent Humanoid Encountered in Bolivia” by Oscar A. Galíndez, Flying Saucer Review 1970 V 16 N 4Interesting “connected” case: “A ‘Flying’ Humanoid in Puerto Rico” by Sebastian Robiou Lamarche, Flying Saucer Review 1978 V 23 N 6“UFOs and Mysterious Deaths of Animals, Part I: The Animal Deaths in Puerto Rico” by Sebastion Robiou Lamarche, Flying Saucer Review 1976 V 22 N 5“UFOs and Mysterious Deaths of Animals, Part II: UFO Sightings in Puerto Rico” by Sebastion Robiou Lamarche, Flying Saucer Review 1976 V 22 N 6“More Mysterious Deaths of Animals” by Sebastion Robiou Lamarche, Flying Saucer Review 1979 V 25 N 3“Four Young Men and a UFO” by Jenny Randles & Paul Whetnall, Flying Saucer Review 1980 V 26 N 3Stendek Vol 3 N.o 9“Who’s for Venison, Who’s for Pork?” by Gordon Creighton, Flying Saucer Review 2000 V 45 N 1
Theme song: "Ufo" by Floats, available on Soundcloud, iTunes and Spotify Logo designed by Megan Lagerberg T-Shirt Designs by The Great Desdymona Check out my links here
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Next Episode
103: Raechel's Eyes: The Story of an Alien-Human Hybrid with Sam Fredrickson
CW: Domestic Violence, Childhood Sexual Assault
In 1994 Jean Bilodeaux, a field investigator for MUFON in California, received a phone call form a woman. The voice on the other end of the phone said, “May I talk to you? I saw a UFO.” The woman, given the pseudonym Callie initially called to talk about her own UFO sighting, but soon she began to discuss a young woman named Raechel, her daughter's roommate in college. What ensued was a decade long investigation to learn the truth about an alien-human hybrid who tried to blend in and become human.
The account was later published in a book entitled Raechel's Eyes: The Strange but True Case of a Human-Alien Hybrid under Callie's real name, Helen Littrell, and along with Jean Bilodeaux, the two presented an exhaustive investigation into Helen's memories, and evidence that Helen's daughter, Marisa, may have had a roommate that was an alien-human hybrid.
On this episode I'm joined by Sam Fredrickson of the Not Alone Podcast to discuss this fascinating and emotional story.
Theme song:
"Ufo" by Floats, available on Soundcloud, iTunes and Spotify
Logo designed by Megan Lagerberg
T-Shirt Designs by The Great Desdymona
Check out my links here
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Featured in these lists
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/our-strange-skies-ufos-throughout-history-211362/102-the-michelin-men-with-steve-berg-23143764"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to 102: the michelin men with steve berg on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy