Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP)
Apparently the term "UFO" is out; in its place, "UAP," for "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," is gaining popularity.
Jon Hilkevitch of the Chicago Tribune says:
The Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (the term that extraterrestrial-watchers nowadays prefer over Unidentified Flying Object) was first seen by a United ramp worker[....]
--"In the sky! A bird? A plane? A ... UFO?", by Jon Hilkevitch
But other sources suggest that the "UAP" term is actually an older term, and TSOR hasn't led me to anything definitive one way or t'other. Any thoughts?
Comments
Hmm. I think the article-writer misuses the term; phenomena is plural; he wants phenomenon.
Posted by: Fred | January 3, 2007 11:01 PM
I see it used in a New York Times article from 8/1/1952, p. 19, "'Flying Saucer' Queries Hamper Air Force Work". And then another the very next day, p. 3, which even has a photo released by the US Coast Guard of "flying saucers". The only other NYT reference is 1/17/1967, p. 5, which talks about UFO hoaxes. All of the references to UAPs are related to the military so it's probably a military term dating back even further than the early 1950s.
There's another article in the Chicago Tribune, 2/5/1959, p. W3, "Five Riverside PTA's to Hear Talk on Space". No military references here.
Posted by: sam | January 3, 2007 11:56 PM
Sorry, I should've been clearer in my question. I knew that "UAP" had been used a while back; what I wasn't sure about was whether the article's claim that it's the newly-in-vogue term of choice among aficionados was accurate or not.
But thanks for the citations! Good to see.
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January 9, 2007 10:12 AM