Revisiting the Council Bluffs, Iowa incident from 1977

On the evening of December 17, 1977 something spectacular happened in Council Bluffs. Over forty years later no one still is sure what it was.


This case was discussed here quite some time ago. Over ten years ago. While looking at random UFOlogy articles, this case story has popped up twice recently. I think it's worth revisiting. There may be some UFO sleuths here that haven't as yet heard of this case.
It's compelling because the craft left behind some physical evidence, and there is provenance. At the very least, it's more than just some guy claiming he found some weird piece of metal that appears 'extraterrestrial'. In UFOlogy circles, the 'alien materials' stories run the gamut. Some claim that there's only a handful of confirmed "UFO materials" in existence. Others claim the DOD has a building near Las Vegas full of alien materials.


This case is compelling enough to attract some top men. Yes, we have three top men working on it. "Who?", you ask.

Top Men


The first is esteemed investigatorJacques Vallee. (no bio needed) Next, we have aerospace engineer Max Platzer. Then there's Stanford scientist Garry Nolan.

The story made international news. An article "on the wire" (that probably went out to hundreds of newspapers) contained a major error. It said that Council Bluffs, Iowa was a " sleepy little railroad town". Not true. Council Bluffs is part of the Omaha Metro region, with a population of around 800,000.

Here is a good article, with police photos of the site, and a pic of the actual material.

Close Encounter at Big Lake Park, written by Council Bluffs historian Dr. Richard Warner.

Here is the Vallee, Platzer and Nolan story that has been popping up recently.

a reply to: ColeYounger

Whatever is behind the UFO phenomenon, Vallée says, “it’s a lot smarter than we are, and it uses humor at another level.”

Ibid.

Well Jacques's observation here is right on the money.

If you play with the 'UFO phenoenon' like it's playful fairies, things tend to turn
out a lot better.

There's a LOT of discussion of the humor aspect, I mean on a daily basis
between my writing partner and I.

Also from the article:

When you looked at these cases in aggregate, there was sameness to the strangeness. In 1961, for example, the occupants of a silvery UFO, who wore turtlenecks, signaled a Wisconsin plumber to fill their jug with water. He thought they seemed to be “Italian-looking.” He granted the request, and they repaid his kindness with a plate of pancakes that tasted “like cardboard.” (The pancakes were unsalted, according to a subsequent analysis by the US Food and Drug Administration.)

This exchange, Vallée pointed out, echoed stories from before the industrial revolution about elves offering buckwheat cakes to Bretons. And those “little people” were known not to stomach salt, either. Could it be, Vallée asked, that whatever was behind the fairy faith was behind ufology? Couldn’t they come from the same “deep stream,” filtered through changing cultural and technological milieus?

Also right on the money.

But why do the little fellers not like salt?

Well you could go all folklore and say that salt represents 'purification'
and the nasty little devils don't like that.

But really?

Salt is an electrolyte.. it enhances conductivity in a liquid.

Also, you will find that all hemoglobin is missing from some
cattle mutiliation carcasses.

Iron is mostly stored in the body in the hemoglobin

Fairies don't like iron.

Now i know there is all this noise about UAP and UFO.. but
really?

Theres not that much of a mystery left.

People just don't like what the answer turns out to be.

One last note.

Some people find me 'inconsistent' on 'beings'.

"Beings" are a really annoying thing in research.

One day, one walk up and knocks you on the head.

The next day, you curse yourself for being so gullible.

It's like Quantum Mechanics you see..

One day the wave flows by, and you might sense it, but not see it.

The next day a 'big old particle' hits you.

Which is it?

Both?

Neither?

A Delusion?

There's a whole new language, a whole new philosophical
system you have to build to make sense of it..

That's what I've been working on all these years.

Kev

a reply to: KellyPrettyBear

When I saw that Jacques was involved, my curiosity was piqued. It's interesting how he looks at even the alleged 'nuts and bolts' craft as no different from the 'non-physical'. This non-human intelligence apparently can do whatever the hell it wants.It's interesting how some people made the fairy\leprechaun\alien connection early on, while others still want to believe these beings are coming from Proxima Centauri.

I heard an interview years ago with Whitley Streiber that was riveting. I know some people dismiss him as a loon, and he's been ridiculed, but I suspended judgement and just listened. If even a fraction of his story is true, then he is a total magnet for paranormal activity and high strangeness. He related the story of the implant that was placed in his ear. He had numerous encounters at his mountain cabin, and he said he was thinking the creatures involved were possibly extraterrestrial. But then one afternoon, while sitting on the couch, he heard a car coming up the gravel driveway. He was
immobilized as he heard the car doors open and close. He heard footsteps as someone entered the house. He passed out, and awoke with the implant "installed". The host asked him repeatedly who he thought the people were, and what their agenda was. He said he had no idea. His final words to the interviewer were "Do we even know who WE are?"

I found this earlier, and plan on listening soon. Hope it's a good one!

a reply to: ColeYounger

This non-human intelligence apparently can do whatever the hell it wants

It's true.

ANYTHING.

Make the world blink out and return.

I don't know WS personally, but he is a friend of a friend..

He's actually far more level-headed than people assume..

He, like others of his classification apparently experienced
all this stuff due to 'trauma'.

Trauma is the key to most 'in your face' supernatural effects
such as 'real' UFOs.

Kev

a reply to: KellyPrettyBear

I don't know WS personally, but he is a friend of a friend..

That's very cool. It would be incredible to sit down with him over a couple beers and hear some stories.

I just found this interview in my searching. Looks good.

a reply to: ColeYounger

There's strong links between 'spiritual experience' and 'ufos'.

Imagine that.

Now, when handed lemons, some people make lemon aid.
That's what WS did.

Are his conclusions right?

Well, they are right for him.

I hate to sound all post modernist,

but it's the EXPERIENCERS who are invited to the party,
not the scientists.

I mean, some scientsts are experiencers alright..
the two sets of peopel do intersect.

When I say there is an invitation only club, this is mostly
what I mean.

Kev

a reply to: ColeYounger

This is not a UFO video, just to inform anyone who might
wish to watch it.

I'ts also not about 'spirituality' in any way that most
'spiritual people' would get something out of.

But Mr. Cole, I'd be interested in your feedback, if you
somehow watched it.

a reply to: ColeYounger


Strieber changed the landscape of ufology in 1987 with the publication of 'Communion', and single-handedly kick-started the modern Abduction phenomenon, as well as popularising 'Grays' as the standard alien fashion after decades of wavering descriptions (Travis Walton took no chances in 1975 by covering all bases, mixing 50s-style Nordic contactees with the 60s trend for more 'gray'-ish imps). As most of us know, Strieber refused to use 'ET' as an explanation for his beings, infamously referring to them as 'Visitors' instead.

Strieber's previous novels with attendant supernatural elements (eg werewolves, vampires) understandably raised immediate suspicion as soon as 'Communion' hit the headlines. I haven't studied Strieber's post-'Communion' work in any great detail, but it's interesting that the theme of one of his most famous novels, 'The Wolfen' (1978, later filmed in 1981 with Albert Finney), concerns the parallel evolutionary path of intelligent wolves rather than the cliched transformation of people due to full-moons.

Is Strieber hinting that his Visitors are a hidden parallel evolution of mankind?

Dunno, just a passing thought as I peruse the thread.

a reply to: ConfusedBrit

He's a friend of a friend, so this one time, I'm not going to
give any public analysis, other than to say, that EVERYONE
and their brother has something different to say about the
"one truth".

So I'd keep that in mind.

;-)

Kev

a reply to: KellyPrettyBear

I thought it was a great discussion. I drifted off slightly a couple of times while listening to it last night. I'm going to listen again later.
He touched on so many interesting topics. His knowledge is amazing. As you said, he takes things in stride. He seems to deal with events and circumstances that would be too much to handle for the 'average' person.

His pre-dawn 'sensing' meditation is interesting.

a reply to: ColeYounger

I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you posting this. I was unaware of it.

My favorite case has always been Hopkinsville. Although it's almost purely witness testimony, it seemed so black and white to me. Either they saw what they said they saw, or they were all telling the same lie. Despite clumsy attempts to do so, there is no real possibility of mis-identification. And given the character and reputations of the witnesses, there is nearly zero chance they all conspired to tell the same lie. There was no reason to do so. The most likely explanation, by far, is that they saw what they said they saw.


But the Council Bluff case is a step better. Even if you assume all the witnesses are lying or mis-identifying something, it doesn't explain how that much molten iron is essentially puddled in that remote location.

I confess, I guffawed a little with the idea that it was a byproduct of a propulsion or power system. A vision popped in my head of Scotty saying, "Captain! We have too much iron in the warp nacells! We'll have to jettison it immediately!"

But then I thought: almost pure iron. Hmmm.

Stars generate energy through nuclear fusion, combining light elements to make heavier ones. But stars run into a wall at iron. Fusing lighter elements into iron or heavier elements requires more energy than it produces. Heavier elements are produced in super-novas.

So, if you had a fusion reactor as efficient as a star, you could feed it hydrogen and get energy plus helium. You could further fuse the helium for energy, continue fusing the resulting elements, and repeat until you are left with iron.

Once you have iron, it is worthless a fuel source, no matter how efficient your fusion reactor. It would make sense to dump it and pick up some lighter elements.

a reply to: ColeYounger

This non-human intelligence apparently can do whatever the hell it wants.It's interesting how some people made the fairyleprechaunalien connection early on, while others still want to believe these beings are coming from Proxima Centauri.

He was absolutely spot on there. However, he dances around the meaning of this, when he himself made it quite simple, then he complicated stuff for unknown reasons and made a fool of himself. Wrong about abductions, about Roswell, about SAPs, and whatever have you. That is one of the most curious stuff about this UFO circus.
A lot of posturing about others, judgmental as hell, then complaining that others complained about him. Some of his attitudes are quite disturbing.
Then again, the hero of ufology, Hynek, was much worse.

a reply to: ConfusedBrit

I've always thought of Close Encounters of the Third Kind as being the benchmark for what aliens (greys) look like.