Heaven’s Houdinis noun, pl.
/ˈhev(ə)ns ˌhuˈdinis/
1. Celestial displays that escape explanation unless some missing or secret information is discovered.
2. Magic shows in the sky presented free of charge to a surprised and unsuspecting audience by a mysterious and unknown presenter.
You may have noticed all the recent hoopla about UFOs—or UAPs, as the US government prefers to label the phenomenon. But, is there anything out of the ordinary, as in extraordinary, about these whatever-you-call-its?
Over the millennia of recorded history, and almost certainly in prehistory, people have fabricated countless stories, mostly for entertainment purposes. Many UFO stories fall into this category. There are also countless stories of misinterpreted events. Many of these have probably evolved into myth.
Fabricated stories or modern myths can usually be taken with a grain of salt, and if there is any plausible mundane explanation, then each story can simply be dismissed in the sense that it proves nothing out of the ordinary. For instance, if an individual or related group of people claim to see something very weird and apparently unexplainable, a plausible explanation is that they’re just perpetrating a hoax, or they misinterpreted something. Sure, their story may seem compelling, but that kind of evidence is not strong enough to prove anything out of the ordinary.
However, some UFO cases have evidence of the extraordinary that is so strong that there is no plausible mundane explanation. These cases rise far above the din and chatter of the endless stories and misinterpretations that we humans endlessly create. Three of these strong cases will be examined in detail, and frustratingly, try as we might, there is no mundane explanation possible. Some new principle or revelation of a closely guarded secret would be required to explain these three.
These unexplainable cases have some specific characteristics which match some other UFO cases, even though those other cases don’t necessarily have ironclad evidence, but these three don’t match the characteristics of many of the most famous UFO sightings. And yes, most of those “famous UFO sightings” do have a plausible mundane explanation.
Nevertheless, there is a true mystery here, and it’s worth investigating. In the book, we discuss and flesh out many proposed UFO explanations (and we present some original ones), pointing out what additional physical principles or closely guarded secrets would need to be revealed to make each hypothesis work as an explanation.
So strap on your straight jacket and get ready for the ride!