Another source of UFO-shape terms is found in Jacques VallÈeís book, Passport to Magonia (1969), from which a total of 891 cases was reviewed (cases 32 through 923) for the period October 28, 1902, to November 22, 1968. Four hundred and forty-five cases (49.9 percent) were found to possess a total of 79 single words of phrases representing perceived shape.
Still other shapes have been reported by eyewitnesses. Some of them are listed here to further illustrate the extremely wide range of object-shape terms people-feel they must refer to in order to describe what they perceived: ìarrowhead,î ìball,î ìballoon,î ìbird-like,î ìcushion,î ìdart,î ìdiscus,î ìdots,î ìdumbbell,î ìglobular,î ìhamburger sandwich,î ìjumbo jet (without wings),î ìoyster shell with ribbed structure,î ìpea,î ìpinpoint,î ìrhomboid,î ìSaturn disk,î ìsmudge,î ìtadpole,î ìteardrop,î ìtriangle,î ìwater tank,î ìwedge.î
Since it is a truism that a picture is worth a thousand ìshapeî words, what is known about drawings of UFOs by eyewitnesses?
It should be noted that photographs of alleged UFOs tend to correspond to the drawings made by eyewitnesses. The reader may confirm this observation for himself or herself.
Visual perception of an unexpected anomalous phenomenon is subject to numerous kinds of transformations (e.g., deletions, distortions, additions) which can, later, appear in a UFO drawing (see Haines, R. F., Observing UFOs, 1979; Wertheimer, M., in Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objects, 1968). Also, there may well be cultural or symbolic correlations between reported or drawn UFO shapes and the psychological state of the witness (see Grinspoon and Persky, in UFOíSóA Scientific Debate, 1972; Jung, Flying Saucers. A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies, 1959). The apparent symmetry of many UFO-shape drawings could have significance for those interested in attempting to identify the true nature of the ìcoreî of the UFO phenomenon, and for those interested in perceptual and psychological factors of eyewitnesses. Indeed, Carl Jung suggested (in Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies, 1959), regarding the round object, that ìÖwhether it be a disk or a sphereówe at once get an analogy with the symbol of totality well known to all students of depth psychology, namely the ëmandalaí (Sanskrit for ëcircleí). This is not by any means a new invention, for it can be found in all epochs and in all places, always with the same meaning, and reappears time and again, independently of tradition.î
In UFO sightings in which the phenomenon was larger than a point of light (i.e., possessed apparent area), a perceived two- and three-dimensional shape becomes one of the most prominent physical characteristics available for study. Literally thousands of UFO eyewitness drawings, verbal descriptions, and photographs of this nature are available. In order to properly evaluate the UFO-shape data that is available, several useful operating principles must be adhered to:
Several useful references are available to the interested reader on the subject of UFO shapes (Haines, ìUFO Drawings by Witnesses and Non-witnesses: Is There Something in Common?î in UFO Phenomena, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1977; Hall, The UFO Evidence, 1964; Shepard, ìSome psychologically oriented techniques for the scientific investigation of unidentified aerial phenomena,î in Symposium on Unidentified Flying Objects, U. S. House of Representa- tives, July 29, 1968; and ìPhotographs of alleged UFOS,î Takanashi, Worldwide UFO Photos, 1977). There are also thousands of drawings of UFOs in the files of the U. S. Air Force; which are now publicly available, and private UFO study groups in many nations collect eyewitness drawings and photographs. This storehouse of data provides the basis for the above summary of UFO shapes and for further research which investigators may pursue.