Humans are often called as witnesses to testify in courts and before Congress. As we are about to find out, being a witness is not exclusive to humans. Animals, puppets, and robots have also fulfilled that role.

Animals have been called as witnesses in criminal proceedings because they saw the crimes or got involved in one way or another. Some courts have allowed this use of animals, while other judges have plainly refused.

10 Bud The Parrot

In May 2015, 49-year-old Glenna Duram attempted a murder-suicide. She shot her husband, Martin Duram, five times before shooting herself. Martin died, but Glenna survived. Bud, an African grey parrot owned by Martin, was the only witness to the murder.

Bud revealed that Glenna was the shooter when the bird started saying “Don’t f—g shoot” in Martin’s voice. It often repeated what is believed to be the last conversation between the couple. The bird alternated between the voices of Glenna and Martin and always ended with Martin’s words, “Don’t f—g shoot.”

Martin’s mother, Lillian, mentioned that Bud was a filthy bird and was fond of repeating whatever it heard, so it was probably telling the truth. Prosecutors attempted to take Bud to court as a witness, but they were turned down. Nevertheless, Glenna was found guilty of murder.^[1]

9 Elmo

In 2002, Elmo of Sesame Street became the first puppet and nonhuman to testify before the US Congress. (Arguably, it is still the only puppet to have ever testified before Congress.) Elmo appeared before the Education Appropriations Subcommittee to support an increase in funding for teaching music in schools.

The increased funding was to be used to purchase music equipment and fund music research. To play the part, Elmo dressed in a suit and tie. However, not everybody found it funny.

2002 was a busy year for Congress. It was stuck right between the 2001 World Trade Center attacks and the 2003 Iraq War. The September 11, 2001, bombing was still fresh at the time, and Congress was planning a vote on the Iraq War. Besides, Elmo also interrupted other witnesses and tried to eat the microphone.^[2]

8 Murphy The Dog

In 2005, Albert K. Smith was arrested for shooting the boyfriend of his ex-wife. While in a cell, he wrote a letter to somebody named Murphy Smith. The elusive Murphy Smith interested prosecutors who believed they had gotten a lead on the murder. They issued a subpoena and called Murphy in as a witness.

When Murphy arrived at the courthouse, prosecutors were shocked to discover that he was not a human. Instead, he was Smith’s five-year-old Shih Tzu. Murphy the dog had been brought to court by Albert Smith’s unnamed brother. But they were not permitted to enter the courthouse because dogs were not allowed. The embarrassed prosecutors apologized for the mix-up.^[3]

7 Scooby The Dog

In 2008, an unnamed 59-year-old woman was found hanging in her Paris home. Police considered it a suicide, but her family suspected murder. So they insisted on an investigation. The only witness was the woman’s unnamed dog. The pooch was later nicknamed Scooby after the famous fictional investigative dog, Scooby Doo.

Police believe that Scooby was in the home at the time of the woman’s murder. They found a suspect and called Scooby to court as a witness. Prosecutors observed Scooby’s behavior when presented with the suspect to determine whether to continue with the murder investigation or rule its owner’s death as a suicide.

Scooby barked ferociously when presented with the witness. The court did not explain what decision it reached, and we were unable to find a follow-up. However, Judge Thomas Cassuto thanked Scooby for its help, saying the dog showed “exemplary behavior and (was of) invaluable assistance.”^[4]

6 Tango The Dog

French courts obviously have a thing for using dogs as witnesses. In 2014, a French court called another dog as a witness in a murder trial. The pooch was Tango, a nine-year-old Labrador. Tango’s unnamed owner had been murdered, and prosecutors believed that Tango had witnessed the homicide.

Tango was called to the witness stand where the judge ordered the suspect to threaten the dog with a bat. Prosecutors assumed that Tango’s behavior toward the suspect behaving this way would determine whether the suspect was the murderer.

To ensure that there were no errors, prosecutors used Norman, another nine-year-old Labrador, as a control. The suspect also threatened Norman with a bat. Afterward, Norman’s reaction was compared to Tango’s. Although we do not know how the dogs responded, the exercise was considered a failure. The suspect’s lawyer said it was “absurd.”^[5]

5 Officer Azor K9

In 2012, Rodney McGee appeared in a Florida court over a traffic citation. However, he called for a postponement of the proceedings because one of his key witnesses was not in court. The witness was Officer Azor K9, a German shepherd police dog.

McGee was so serious about having Officer Azor K9 in court that McGee had issued a subpoena. He was clearly shocked when a police handler led Azor into the courtroom. Apparently, McGee had not believed that the police would be crazy enough to bring a dog to court as a witness.

McGee had subpoenaed Azor because the dog had been present at the scene when police suspected that McGee had drugs in his car. McGee said he wanted to hide marijuana in the courtroom and determine if Azor could find drugs.

The unimpressed Judge Peter Bell did not allow Azor to testify. Bell did not permit McGee to hide marijuana in the courtroom, either. Instead, the judge ordered McGee to pay a $300 fine for not using his turn signal.^[6]

4 Pepper The Robot

In 2018, Pepper became the first robot to appear before the British Parliament. Several human witnesses, including computer scientists and roboticists, also testified. The idea was to prove the usefulness of robots and artificial intelligence to humans.

Pepper provided evidence about artificial intelligence, robotics, and the fourth industrial revolution. The robot also answered questions from members of Parliament, although it was unclear if the responses were preprogrammed or used artificial intelligence technology.

Pepper is part of a category of smart robots created by SoftBank Robotics, a Japanese company. The robots have microphones, cameras, and touch screens on their chests. They have been used in several roles, including receptionists. However, not everything has not been rosy for the robots. One was fired from its job at a grocery store.^[7]

3 Peach The Dog

In 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which handles criminal prosecution in England and Wales, requested a witness statement from Police Constable Peach of the West Midlands Police Station. Officers at the station wrote back to CPS to inform them that PC Peach was actually PD Peach—that is, Police Dog Peach.

Despite this, CPS insisted it needed a statement from the German shepherd. Peach’s handler wrote the statement after a series of correspondence. The handler used wriggly handwriting, the sort a dog would supposedly use if it could write. The statement read, “I chase him. I bite him. Bad man. He tasty. Good boy. Good boy Peach.”^[8]

The handler signed the statement with Peach’s paw print. Peach was four years old, and his service number started with PD, clearly indicating he was a dog. Officers posted the statement on the wall of their station, and it finally ended up on Facebook and Twitter where CPS became the butt of jokes. CPS was unimpressed.

2 Buddy The Dog

In the early 20th century, a court in the District of Columbia called a dog as a witness in a lawsuit over its ownership. Both Major General Eli Helmick of the US Armed Forces and Keeley Morse, a hat seller, insisted they owned the dog.

Helmick claimed that he had purchased the dog in 1920 and called it Buddy. In November 1921, the pooch disappeared. His wife, Florence, found the missing dog in Keeley Morse’s hat shop several months later. Florence insisted that the dog was called Buddy and belonged to her husband. Morse maintained that the dog, named Prince, was his.

Major General Helmick soon got involved and called the police. They detained the dog when they could not determine its real owner. Both men went to court, where Helmick showed receipts, records, and photographs to prove that he owned the canine. Morse said the evidence was unnecessary because Prince was another dog.

Morse insisted that he had purchased Prince on October 24, the month before Buddy went missing, so it could not have been the general’s missing dog. One at a time, the men argued over the breed of the dog to prove ownership. Judge Edward Kimball later decided to settle the case the good old-fashioned way.

Kimball called the dog into the courtroom as a witness. It was put on a chair where it promptly jumped and ran toward Mrs. Helmick. This action, the judge ruled, proved that the dog belonged to the Helmicks and not Morse.^[9]

1 Max The Parrot

In November 1991, 36-year-old Jane Gill was found dead in her Northern California home. Suspicion fell on Gary Joseph Rasp, Gill’s business partner, who appeared in court as a suspect. The only witness was Max, Gill’s parrot, which probably saw the murder.

Max had remained inside its cage for two days after the murder until Gill’s body was found. The bird was hungry and thirsty when it was rescued. So it was taken to a pet shop where it was nursed back to health. After getting better, Max started to shout, “Richard, no, no, no!”^[10]

Charles Ogulnik, Rasp’s attorney, took an interest in the bird. His client could not be guilty if the parrot had squawked, “Richard, no, no, no!” Ogulnik was questioning a private investigator about looking into the bird’s statements when the district attorney objected.

The judge sustained the objection, ending the bird’s chance of being a witness. Ogulnik later confirmed that he was not trying to produce the bird as a witness. He only wanted to introduce evidence provided by the bird.

Max’s location was kept secret after the incident. The private investigator joked that the bird was in a witness protection program and its identity had been changed from a parrot to a macaw.

Humans are often called as witnesses to testify in courts and before Congress. As we are about to find out, being a witness is not exclusive to humans. Animals, puppets, and robots have also fulfilled that role.

Animals have been called as witnesses in criminal proceedings because they saw the crimes or got involved in one way or another. Some courts have allowed this use of animals, while other judges have plainly refused.

10 Bud The Parrot

In May 2015, 49-year-old Glenna Duram attempted a murder-suicide. She shot her husband, Martin Duram, five times before shooting herself. Martin died, but Glenna survived. Bud, an African grey parrot owned by Martin, was the only witness to the murder.

Bud revealed that Glenna was the shooter when the bird started saying “Don’t f—g shoot” in Martin’s voice. It often repeated what is believed to be the last conversation between the couple. The bird alternated between the voices of Glenna and Martin and always ended with Martin’s words, “Don’t f—g shoot.”

Martin’s mother, Lillian, mentioned that Bud was a filthy bird and was fond of repeating whatever it heard, so it was probably telling the truth. Prosecutors attempted to take Bud to court as a witness, but they were turned down. Nevertheless, Glenna was found guilty of murder.^[1]

9 Elmo

In 2002, Elmo of Sesame Street became the first puppet and nonhuman to testify before the US Congress. (Arguably, it is still the only puppet to have ever testified before Congress.) Elmo appeared before the Education Appropriations Subcommittee to support an increase in funding for teaching music in schools.

The increased funding was to be used to purchase music equipment and fund music research. To play the part, Elmo dressed in a suit and tie. However, not everybody found it funny.

2002 was a busy year for Congress. It was stuck right between the 2001 World Trade Center attacks and the 2003 Iraq War. The September 11, 2001, bombing was still fresh at the time, and Congress was planning a vote on the Iraq War. Besides, Elmo also interrupted other witnesses and tried to eat the microphone.^[2]

8 Murphy The Dog

In 2005, Albert K. Smith was arrested for shooting the boyfriend of his ex-wife. While in a cell, he wrote a letter to somebody named Murphy Smith. The elusive Murphy Smith interested prosecutors who believed they had gotten a lead on the murder. They issued a subpoena and called Murphy in as a witness.

When Murphy arrived at the courthouse, prosecutors were shocked to discover that he was not a human. Instead, he was Smith’s five-year-old Shih Tzu. Murphy the dog had been brought to court by Albert Smith’s unnamed brother. But they were not permitted to enter the courthouse because dogs were not allowed. The embarrassed prosecutors apologized for the mix-up.^[3]

7 Scooby The Dog

In 2008, an unnamed 59-year-old woman was found hanging in her Paris home. Police considered it a suicide, but her family suspected murder. So they insisted on an investigation. The only witness was the woman’s unnamed dog. The pooch was later nicknamed Scooby after the famous fictional investigative dog, Scooby Doo.

Police believe that Scooby was in the home at the time of the woman’s murder. They found a suspect and called Scooby to court as a witness. Prosecutors observed Scooby’s behavior when presented with the suspect to determine whether to continue with the murder investigation or rule its owner’s death as a suicide.

Scooby barked ferociously when presented with the witness. The court did not explain what decision it reached, and we were unable to find a follow-up. However, Judge Thomas Cassuto thanked Scooby for its help, saying the dog showed “exemplary behavior and (was of) invaluable assistance.”^[4]

6 Tango The Dog

French courts obviously have a thing for using dogs as witnesses. In 2014, a French court called another dog as a witness in a murder trial. The pooch was Tango, a nine-year-old Labrador. Tango’s unnamed owner had been murdered, and prosecutors believed that Tango had witnessed the homicide.

Tango was called to the witness stand where the judge ordered the suspect to threaten the dog with a bat. Prosecutors assumed that Tango’s behavior toward the suspect behaving this way would determine whether the suspect was the murderer.

To ensure that there were no errors, prosecutors used Norman, another nine-year-old Labrador, as a control. The suspect also threatened Norman with a bat. Afterward, Norman’s reaction was compared to Tango’s. Although we do not know how the dogs responded, the exercise was considered a failure. The suspect’s lawyer said it was “absurd.”^[5]

5 Officer Azor K9

In 2012, Rodney McGee appeared in a Florida court over a traffic citation. However, he called for a postponement of the proceedings because one of his key witnesses was not in court. The witness was Officer Azor K9, a German shepherd police dog.

McGee was so serious about having Officer Azor K9 in court that McGee had issued a subpoena. He was clearly shocked when a police handler led Azor into the courtroom. Apparently, McGee had not believed that the police would be crazy enough to bring a dog to court as a witness.

McGee had subpoenaed Azor because the dog had been present at the scene when police suspected that McGee had drugs in his car. McGee said he wanted to hide marijuana in the courtroom and determine if Azor could find drugs.

The unimpressed Judge Peter Bell did not allow Azor to testify. Bell did not permit McGee to hide marijuana in the courtroom, either. Instead, the judge ordered McGee to pay a $300 fine for not using his turn signal.^[6]

4 Pepper The Robot

In 2018, Pepper became the first robot to appear before the British Parliament. Several human witnesses, including computer scientists and roboticists, also testified. The idea was to prove the usefulness of robots and artificial intelligence to humans.

Pepper provided evidence about artificial intelligence, robotics, and the fourth industrial revolution. The robot also answered questions from members of Parliament, although it was unclear if the responses were preprogrammed or used artificial intelligence technology.

Pepper is part of a category of smart robots created by SoftBank Robotics, a Japanese company. The robots have microphones, cameras, and touch screens on their chests. They have been used in several roles, including receptionists. However, not everything has not been rosy for the robots. One was fired from its job at a grocery store.^[7]

3 Peach The Dog

In 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which handles criminal prosecution in England and Wales, requested a witness statement from Police Constable Peach of the West Midlands Police Station. Officers at the station wrote back to CPS to inform them that PC Peach was actually PD Peach—that is, Police Dog Peach.

Despite this, CPS insisted it needed a statement from the German shepherd. Peach’s handler wrote the statement after a series of correspondence. The handler used wriggly handwriting, the sort a dog would supposedly use if it could write. The statement read, “I chase him. I bite him. Bad man. He tasty. Good boy. Good boy Peach.”^[8]

The handler signed the statement with Peach’s paw print. Peach was four years old, and his service number started with PD, clearly indicating he was a dog. Officers posted the statement on the wall of their station, and it finally ended up on Facebook and Twitter where CPS became the butt of jokes. CPS was unimpressed.

2 Buddy The Dog

In the early 20th century, a court in the District of Columbia called a dog as a witness in a lawsuit over its ownership. Both Major General Eli Helmick of the US Armed Forces and Keeley Morse, a hat seller, insisted they owned the dog.

Helmick claimed that he had purchased the dog in 1920 and called it Buddy. In November 1921, the pooch disappeared. His wife, Florence, found the missing dog in Keeley Morse’s hat shop several months later. Florence insisted that the dog was called Buddy and belonged to her husband. Morse maintained that the dog, named Prince, was his.

Major General Helmick soon got involved and called the police. They detained the dog when they could not determine its real owner. Both men went to court, where Helmick showed receipts, records, and photographs to prove that he owned the canine. Morse said the evidence was unnecessary because Prince was another dog.

Morse insisted that he had purchased Prince on October 24, the month before Buddy went missing, so it could not have been the general’s missing dog. One at a time, the men argued over the breed of the dog to prove ownership. Judge Edward Kimball later decided to settle the case the good old-fashioned way.

Kimball called the dog into the courtroom as a witness. It was put on a chair where it promptly jumped and ran toward Mrs. Helmick. This action, the judge ruled, proved that the dog belonged to the Helmicks and not Morse.^[9]

1 Max The Parrot

In November 1991, 36-year-old Jane Gill was found dead in her Northern California home. Suspicion fell on Gary Joseph Rasp, Gill’s business partner, who appeared in court as a suspect. The only witness was Max, Gill’s parrot, which probably saw the murder.

Max had remained inside its cage for two days after the murder until Gill’s body was found. The bird was hungry and thirsty when it was rescued. So it was taken to a pet shop where it was nursed back to health. After getting better, Max started to shout, “Richard, no, no, no!”^[10]

Charles Ogulnik, Rasp’s attorney, took an interest in the bird. His client could not be guilty if the parrot had squawked, “Richard, no, no, no!” Ogulnik was questioning a private investigator about looking into the bird’s statements when the district attorney objected.

The judge sustained the objection, ending the bird’s chance of being a witness. Ogulnik later confirmed that he was not trying to produce the bird as a witness. He only wanted to introduce evidence provided by the bird.

Max’s location was kept secret after the incident. The private investigator joked that the bird was in a witness protection program and its identity had been changed from a parrot to a macaw.

Most UFO sightings are witnessed by only one person, which makes it harder to convince others that the sighting was not just a figment of someone’s imagination. However, some encounters take place in front of multiple witnesses—and this changes things entirely.

Even if these events are not alien in nature, the fact that so many people witnessed these incidents at the same time means that “something” took place. Perhaps more importantly, this suggests that these episodes are not purely the products of the imagination.

10 Lesser-Known UFO Crash Incidents

10 Hudson Valley Sightings
New York, Early 1980s

With Fourth of July celebrations fast approaching in late June 1983, part of the evening sky over New York’s Hudson Valley was awash with fireworks. This was the result of early Independence Day celebrators. Out of the mini explosions of color suddenly came a low humming sound that brought with it a huge disc-shaped craft “about the width of 16 or 17 houses!”

As it hovered over the witnesses, the strange humming ceased and the craft simply hung in the air in chilling silence. Several minutes after the UFO first appeared, the humming began again and the disc shot off at great speed.

This was just one of many UFO sightings in Hudson Valley in the early 1980s. But it was not the only one to have multiple witnesses to the event.

On March 24, 1983, there were so many reports of a sighting of a strange craft and weird lights in the sky of Yorktown that the town’s switchboard almost went into meltdown. That evening, the Taconic parkway became gridlocked with vehicles that had stopped suddenly. Their mesmerized drivers now stood beside their cars staring up at the assumed UFO passing over them.^[1]

9 Arthur Kill River Incident
New Jersey Turnpike, 2001

On the evening of July 14 and into the morning of July 15 in 2001, at least 15 people witnessed strange golden-orange lights over the Arthur Kill River at the New Jersey Turnpike. They appeared to be in a V-formation. However, it wasn’t clear from the many accounts if the lights were separate entities or if they belonged to one large V-shaped craft.

Others reported that the lights were in a more “scattered” formation and simply disappeared into the night sky one by one. Newark Airport was contacted, but they hadn’t detected anything abnormal on their radar. According to the National Weather Service, there was no unusual weather that evening, either.

Witness Veronica Bagley managed to capture the lights on video. Meanwhile, another witness, Patty Ercallino, stated that the whole incident was “very peaceful, very serene, and very beautiful.” She even believed that they had observed “some type of miracle!”^[2]

8 The Cosford Incident
Western England, 1993

According to UFO expert Nick Pope, over 100 people reported seeing a UFO on the evening of March 30 and into the early hours of March 31, 1993, over the west of England. What’s more, many observers were active police and military personnel. Pope worked on the case personally as was his remit during the time he spent with the British Ministry of Defense.

Most sightings described triangular craft that moved through the night sky at a blistering pace. One particular witness—a policeman—was with a group of scouts on the Quantock Hills in Somerset. They described the objects as “like two Concordes flying side by side and joined together!”^[3]

There were more reported sightings in Cornwall, Devon, and West Midlands as well as over two RAF bases in Shropshire—RAF Shawbury and RAF Cosford. Neither base managed to pick up the mysterious craft on radar. At the time, Pope described this in his report as being of “considerable defense significance” that should be investigated further.

7 Ellsworth Air Force Base Sighting
South Dakota, 1953

Numerous military personnel saw a UFO on the evening of August 5, 1953, near Ellsworth Air Force Base. There were also 45 concerned residents of nearby towns who witnessed the bizarre events.

The first sighting was reported just after 8:00 PM in the town of Blackhawk. Mrs. Kellian, a volunteer member of the Ground Observer Corp, had observed a strange glowing red light in the clear night sky.

As she was trained to do, she reported her sighting immediately. She was eventually put through to the on-duty radar operator at Ellsworth Air Force Base.^[4]

The craft was picked up on radar clearly heading toward the base. An F-84 jet fighter on patrol in the area was directed toward the object. As the F-84 got to within 5 kilometers (3 mi) of the disc-like craft, the UFO moved away fast.

Although the F-84 attempted to give chase, it was unable to match the UFO’s speed and returned to Ellsworth. A second F-84 made its way to the area. The pilot confirmed that he could visually see the object. Also unable to keep up with the UFO, the F-84 suffered strange malfunctions of his aircraft.

6 Exeter
New Hampshire, 1965

Norman Muscarello was hitchhiking home to Exeter, New Hampshire, in the early hours of September 3, 1965. Patiently making his way along Route 150 as he looked out for his next potential ride, Muscarello noticed a strange light in the dark early morning sky. Within seconds, the light was heading straight toward him.

Fearing that he would be struck by the strange craft, Muscarello flung himself to the ground on the roadside. However, at the last moment, the UFO changed direction. Muscarello got up and fled the area as quickly as he could.

Around an hour earlier a short distance away, Eugene Bertrand, an on-duty policeman, had come across a parked vehicle on the side of the road. Inside sat a woman who frantically informed Bertrand that she had been chased by a “flying object.”

However, Bertrand assured the woman that there was no cause for concern. Genuinely believing that the lady had been mistaken, he went on his way.^[5]

It was around 3:00 AM by the time Muscarello made his way to the Exeter Police Station. Shortly after, Bertrand returned and listened to the story himself. He then drove the young man back to Route 150 to investigate.

After parking on the same stretch of road, the two men soon spotted the strange craft. As it had done before, the object moved closer to the pair. Unnerved, the two men quickly made their way back to the police car. A short time later, calls about more sightings began to flood in.

10 Fascinating Early UFO Sightings

5 The Greifswald Lights
Germany, 1990

Strange spherical lights had been reported regularly from the coast along the Baltic Sea from the beginning of August 1990. By August 24, the lights appeared to have moved inland and were reported by residents of Greifswald, a coastal town in eastern Germany.

At first, the strange spheres hovered in the air almost motionless for around 30 minutes. Many witnesses managed to capture photographs and even video footage. The case is regarded as one of the best-documented UFO sightings.^[6]

It seemed to consist of two separate sets of lights. The first set formed a circle and remained largely still. When they did move, they moved as one. The second set of lights seemed to be in the shape of a Y. Of more import, they appeared to move freely of each other.

Neither the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) nor mainstream scientists have been able to offer a solid or satisfactory explanation.

4 Fort Beaufort
South Africa, 1972

Bennie Smit believed without a doubt that he and his workers had witnessed a strange craft over his farm on June 26, 1972. However, he firmly believed that they had seen a top secret military craft and not visitors from another world.

Smit’s farm sat about 16 kilometers (10 mi) away from Fort Beaufort, a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. On that June morning, Smit found his workers cowering in a shed on the farm. They claimed that something strange was hovering above the trees in one of the fields.

Smit went to investigate and did indeed see a strange object. The farmer promptly fired at it with his .303 rifle. He maintained that his aim was correct and that he did hit the target. The bullets, however, had no effect.

Smit contacted the local police, who arrived just in time to see the craft landing on the ground. The UFO appeared to be the same shape as an oil drum, with three distinct “legs” underneath it.

One of the policemen, Sergeant Kitching, also fired his weapon at the craft. The UFO appeared to react to the discharge this time. The strange object began to change color from black to green. Then it turned yellow before finally becoming a pale white.

The witnesses heard a “whirring” sound before the craft took off from the field and vanished.^[7]

3 Sighting Over Houston Goes Viral Online
Houston, Texas, 2014

On August 11, 2014, hundreds of people in Houston saw a circle of lights in the evening sky. Pictures spread like wildfire over social media accounts. When video footage of the encounter was made available on the Internet, however, it became apparent that the lights were moving independently and were not a static circle.

Dr. Carolyn Sumners of the Houston Museum of Natural Science cautioned that no one should assume that the strange object was an alien visitor. With UFO sightings, she stated, we need to figure out what else it could be instead of aliens. However, no official explanation or theory has since been made available.

Witnesses to the event have their own theories about it. Not surprisingly, many believe that the lights were indeed extraterrestrial in origin. However, others think they saw a government drone or even the reflection of lights from a nearby football stadium.^[8]

2 Mass UFO Sighting During Baseball Game
Vancouver, Canada, 2013

During a minor league baseball game between the Vancouver Canadians and the Everett AquaSox in 2013, hundreds of people had their attention drawn away from the game as a strange object appeared over the field.

The UFO had a triangular shape with lights around its edges. Even the players seemed to notice the aerial anomaly. One spoke on social media after the contest about the “alien spaceship” that had been seen.^[9]

Many photographs and videos soon surfaced online, although no official explanation was initially offered. A local newspaper, however, speculated that the UFO could have been—and most likely was—a remote-control helicopter.

But the truth about this “UFO” was revealed just a couple of weeks later. The whole thing was a marketing ploy to publicize a new planetarium theater at the H.R. MacMillan Space Center in Vancouver.

Maybe that’s why Vancouver had more UFO sightings in 2013 than any other Canadian city.

1 The Trindade UFO Incident
1958

In October 1957, the Brazilian navy set up a scientific research base on the island of Trindade. By January 1958, they were witness to some of the most bizarre UFO sightings of the 20th century.

Upon establishing the base, personnel began to report strange silvery objects that seemed to be observing their actions. On the morning of New Year’s Day 1958, the entire garrison witnessed a strange light passing overhead. The following evening, a glowing object circled around one of the navy ships for 10 minutes. It executed sudden and precise turns as it did so.

On January 6, Commander Carlos A. Bacellar launched a weather balloon. However, he realized that the signals it should have been emitting had suddenly stopped. When he looked at the sky, he saw the balloon being “sucked up” into a cloud and disappearing.

Ten minutes later, it reappeared, only without its instruments. A little while later, a silver object exited the same cloud and calmly made its way from the scene.^[10]

On January 16, the entire crew of a navy ship off the coast of the island witnessed a strange bright object. It was making its way over the ship and toward the island. One observer managed to take several photographs of the airborne craft. Once the photographs had been developed, they were promptly released to the press.

10 Eerie Videos Of UFOs Captured On Live Television

About The Author: Marcus Lowth is a writer at Me Time For The Mind and Me Time For The Mind on Facebook.

President John F. Kennedy arrived at Love Field in Dallas via Air Force One on November 22, 1963, after stops in San Antonio and Fort Worth in the Lone Star State. Thousands watched in delight as a motorcade with his vehicle made its way through the city toward a luncheon.

The president’s motorcade that day consisted of multiple vehicles, including a lead car, the president’s limousine, the president’s follow-up car, the vice president’s car, the vice president’s follow-up car, motorcycles, and several vehicles that contained Texas politicians, White House employees, and members of the press. Also present were the numerous Secret Service agents and local and state law enforcement.

The joyful mood of the day changed to sadness when Kennedy was shot and the motorcade headed to nearby Parkland Hospital. However, doctors could not save him, and Kennedy was pronounced dead by hospital staff at 1 pm on November 22.

With the 58th anniversary of JFK’s assassination, below is a glimpse into the lives of some of those in the president’s entourage that fateful day not named Kennedy or Johnson.

Related: 10 Moments In American History, As Seen From The Other Side

10 John Connally

Governor John Connally had worked as a coordinator for then-Congressional candidate Lyndon B. Johnson while in college. After Johnson’s victory, Connally worked for several years in Johnson’s Washington, D.C., office, then joined the naval reserve during World War II. He started as a naval ensign, ultimately becoming a lieutenant commander and receiving several military honors for his service.

After the war, Connally worked briefly with a law firm and eventually resumed working with Johnson, overseeing his successful races for U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate in the years leading up to Kennedy’s presidency. Connally also briefly served as Kennedy’s Secretary of the Navy before being elected the governor of Texas in 1962.

On November 22, 1963, Connally was in the president’s limousine and was struck by gunfire that caused injuries to his back, chest, wrist, and thigh. He survived his wounds and went on to serve approximately six more years as Texas governor. During a brief respite from politics, he practiced law again but later re-entered politics, advising Richard Nixon on various matters and unsuccessfully running for president.^[1]

9 Nellie Connally

Nellie Connally had aspired to become an actress—not a political wife—when she enrolled in college in the late 1930s. However, her plans changed when she met John Connally.

While riding in the presidential limousine on that sunny November day, Nellie noticed the adoration emanating from the crowds, telling President Kennedy, “You can’t say Dallas doesn’t love you.” Moments later, the fatal gunshots rang out, giving her the distinction of being the last to speak to Kennedy.

When not supporting her husband’s professional and political efforts, Nellie raised the couple’s five children, fought breast cancer, and raised funds for various charities. Their marriage lasted more than 50 years and ended with his death.^[2]

8 Jesse Curry

Jesse Curry had been Dallas’s Police Chief for nearly four years when President Kennedy arrived in the city on November 22, 1963. He rode in the motorcade’s lead car, an unmarked Dallas police vehicle that was intended to spot and divert trouble before it escalated. As protocol demanded, the lead car stayed between four and five car lengths ahead of the limousine transporting Kennedy—between approximately 70 and 85 feet.

Although Curry was lauded when the assassination investigation led to the quick arrest of suspected shooter Lee Harvey Oswald, the praise turned to criticism several days later when Oswald was fatally shot on live television while being transported to another prison. Reportedly, Curry was against such a public perp walk but gave in to the demands of other city leaders. He retired from the police department after 30 years of service, approximately three years after the assassination.^[3]

7 J.E. “Bill” Decker

Bill Decker was first elected Dallas County Sheriff in the late 1940s and never had an opponent in the 20-plus years he held that elected office. In the years leading up to November 23, 1963, the man once called the “most renowned lawman” to ever serve Dallas reportedly helped track down the bank robbers known as Bonnie and Clyde, worked with his counterparts in Oklahoma to arrange the return of a woman accused of murdering her husband, suspended five employees after a man was erroneously released from prison, and fired two longtime Texas lawmen.

However, Decker was more than just a crime solver; he also helped bring the sheriff’s department into the modern era.

Decker was in the lead car during President Kennedy’s ill-fated trip to Dallas. Fewer than 60 seconds after the gunfire erupted at 12:30 pm, Decker commenced the investigation that led to the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald less than two hours after the shooting.^[4]

6 Bill Greer

Had Bill Greer, a native of Northern Ireland, followed the professional path his older relatives chose, he may have become a farmer. Instead, he emigrated to the U.S., served in the Navy during World War II, and ultimately found employment with the Secret Service. He accompanied President Kennedy on many trips, including locations as far as Colombia and as close as New York City.

Greer drove the modified 1961 Lincoln convertible that transported Kennedy through Dallas on that fateful day. After momentarily slowing down after the shots were fired, he sped to Parkland Hospital.

Approximately 20 years after the assassination and long after he retired from the Secret Service, Greer broke his longstanding silence with the media. In so doing, he discussed how the tragic events in Dallas had haunted him for years and may have attributed to some health problems.^[5]

5 Samuel Kinney

There were eight Secret Service agents in or around a car—a 1955 Cadillac convertible modified for its role on November 22, 1963—directly behind President Kennedy’s. In fact, Kinney was the driver of the Secret Service follow-up car, the “Queen Mary.” And these Secret Service agents were charged with the same task they always performed in these instances: they watched for items flung from the crowd or other sudden actions from members of it.

Due to a change in plans, Kinney drove the follow-up car and recalled seeing Kennedy shot, then hitting the sirens and speeding up. He contributed to a later book that the only way the Secret Service could get Jackie Kennedy to let go of her husband was if they promised her they would “cover Kennedy’s head so that no one could see.”

Kinney began his career in law enforcement as a police officer in Washington, D.C. Five years after the assassination, and with a total of 18 years of Secret Service employment that also yielded assignments with three other presidents, Kinney retired.^[6]

4 Winston Lawson

Winston Lawson served time in the Army before joining the Secret Service.

Lawson helped plan most of the minute-by-minute details of President Kennedy’s fateful trip to Dallas, performing such tasks as vetting potential threats, determining the location of the president’s luncheon (as well as how to get there), and coordinating security for the motorcade and the luncheon. Lawson was in the lead car of the motorcade when Kennedy was shot.

Although Lawson’s professional skills were admirable, he often felt riddled with guilt about the event that he was most known for. At times, he “wished he had never been born.”. He retired from the Secret Service in 1981 after 22 years of service that allowed him to work with other presidents and vice presidents).^[7]

3 Ken O’Donnell

Ken O’Donnell was a member of the Air Force before becoming a member of the Kennedy brothers’ inner circle. During his tour of duty, he was captured by the enemy but managed to escape. Upon returning to the United States, he went to Harvard University, where he became friends with his football teammate Robert F. Kennedy. This friendship spurred O’Donnell’s eventual work on John Kennedy’s senatorial campaigns of 1952 and 1958, 1960 presidential campaign, and then double duty as his appointment secretary and special assistant.

The sunny weather in Dallas on that fall day prompted O’Donnell and others to remove the bubble top for Kennedy’s automobile tour of the city. This has led to some speculation that had the weather been dreary, and the bubble top stayed on, Kennedy’s wounds may not have been as severe. When Kennedy was shot, O’Donnell was in the follow-up car that contained eight Secret Service agents.

After Kennedy was pronounced dead, O’Donnell broke the news to Vice President and now-President Lyndon B. Johnson and advised him to head back to Washington D.C., to which Johnson complied. O’Donnell was less successful convincing Jackie Kennedy to leave the area after her husband’s death and having Air Force One head back to the nation’s capital before local officials could intervene.

O’Donnell served in the Johnson administration for two years. After he stepped away from the White House, he was president of an eponymously named company, unsuccessfully ran for Massachusetts governor, and coordinated several more presidential and gubernatorial campaigns.^[8]

2 Dave Powers

Dave Powers had served in the Air Force during the Second World War. One year after the war ended, while babysitting his sister’s children, John Kennedy asked Powers to help him with his first Congressional campaign. Powers accepted and was a fixture in every political campaign of John’s after that. When Kennedy became president, he named Powers his special assistant. Sometimes, Kennedy had Powers act as his surrogate, such as a meeting with a 4H club in South Carolina and a football team from Massachusetts that came to the White House.

On November 22, 1963, Powers was in the car that contained O’Donnell and the eight other Secret Service agents. After the assassination, and at the request of Robert F. Kennedy, Powers took the first steps at creating what is now the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. He also served as its first curator and was actively involved in worldwide efforts to raise funds for it.^[9]

1 Forrest Sorrels

Forrest Sorrels had started his Secret Service career as a clerk. Years later, after overseeing several presidential trips to Dallas and the surrounding region, he was named director of the agency’s Dallas office. In this capacity, Sorrels worked in tandem with others to coordinate President Kennedy’s itinerary for that November trip.

Sorrels had no ominous feelings when he and the other passengers in the lead car passed the Texas School Book Depository moments before the gunfire that killed President Kennedy sounded. Upon the shots being fired, his auditory and visual clues made him think the shots came from a direction different than the depository. About a half-hour after the motorcade arrived at Parkland Hospital. On his way back to the assassination site, he heard police radio reports suggesting the shots came from the depository. Thus, he headed in that direction. Before he could talk to many people at that location, a reporter introduced him to Abraham Zapruder, the clothing manufacturer who had captured the assassination on film.

After Sorrels took steps to ensure the Zapruder film would be developed, he learned of Oswald’s arrest and headed to the police station to learn what he could from him and about him. Sorrels spent most of the next few days at the Dallas Police Department, acting as a liaison between authorities in Washington, D.C., and Texas. He even questioned Jack Ruby after Ruby shot and killed Oswald.

Sorrels retired from the Secret Service in 1969 after nearly a half-century of work for the agency.^[10]