This episode examines reports of UFOs across vastly different eras, arguing that the variety of shapes—disks, triangles, cylinders—might indicate multiple extraterrestrial civilizations visiting Earth. The inquiry begins with the Nuremberg celestial event of April 14, 1561, documented in a contemporary woodcut, where thousands of witnesses reportedly saw hundreds of strange objects engaging in what looked like aerial combat. A similar mass sighting occurred in Basel, Switzerland five years later, also preserved in a woodcut. Ancient astronaut theorists including Giorgio Tsoukalos and George Noory propose that different craft shapes reflect different origins or functions: scout ships versus mother ships, or vehicles from distinct planetary systems, much like how different nations on Earth build different aircraft designs. Physicist Michio Kaku discusses the extreme g-forces involved in reported UFO maneuvers, while Richard Dolan describes radar returns equivalent to ten aircraft carriers appearing in the sky.
Historians and atmospheric scientists typically attribute the 16th-century Nuremberg and Basel events to rare optical phenomena—sun dogs, parhelia, or unusual cloud formations—interpreted through the religious and symbolic language available to Renaissance observers. The woodcuts themselves follow established allegorical styles of the period, depicting celestial "wonders" as divine portents rather than literal documentary evidence. Modern UFO shape variation might stem from misidentification of conventional aircraft, drones, satellites, and atmospheric conditions viewed from different angles and distances. Still, the episode offers genuine intrigue: mass sightings involving thousands of witnesses, documented in historical records, present a more complex puzzle than easily-dismissed individual accounts, inviting questions about how different cultures interpret extraordinary aerial phenomena.
Basel, Switzerland
Switzerland · Europe
Theorists cite a 1566 woodcut from Basel depicting a similar aerial phenomenon to the 1561 Nuremberg event as further evidence of mass historical UFO sightings. The episode presents this as corroborating evidence that multiple shapes of craft have been reported since the 16th century.
Chilean airspace (cigar-shaped UFO incident)
Chile · South America
Theorists present the Chilean pilot encounter with a massive cigar-shaped object detected visually and on both airborne and ground-based radar as the largest UFO ever reported, with a radar return equivalent to ten aircraft carriers. The object accelerated instantly and disappeared as the pilots approached.
Mount Washington, New Hampshire
United States · Modern
Theorists point to what they describe as the first documented UFO photograph, taken in 1870 over Mount Washington, showing a long cylindrical craft as early physical evidence of cigar-shaped extraterrestrial vehicles. No mainstream scientific investigation has confirmed the object in the photograph as artificial or extraterrestrial.
Nuremberg, Bavaria
Germany · Modern
Theorists argue the April 14, 1561 mass sighting over Nuremberg, illustrated in a contemporary woodcut, represents one of the greatest mass UFO sightings in recorded history, depicting mechanical spacecraft. The mainstream framing offered in the episode is that the event was genuinely novel and unlike a meteor shower, but no conventional explanation is provided on camera.
Pacific Ocean off the coast of California (Tic Tac UFO)
United States · Modern
Theorists cite December 2017 declassified infrared footage of a Tic Tac-shaped object tracked at 3,600 miles per hour off the California coast as evidence of craft far exceeding human technology. The episode contrasts this speed with the SR-71 Blackbird's maximum of just over 2,000 mph to underscore the anomalous performance.
Phoenix, Arizona
United States · North America
Theorists present the 1997 Phoenix Lights incident as a mass sighting of a translucent half-mile-long triangular craft witnessed by thousands, including Governor Fife Symington, who confirmed it resembled no man-made object. The episode also notes the craft appeared to use advanced stealth or cloaking technology to blend with the star field.
Southern Illinois Flying Triangle sites
United States · Modern
Theorists describe a 2000 incident over southern Illinois in which multiple police officers witnessed three large arrowhead-shaped craft that appeared to project the star field onto their undersurface as camouflage, suggesting advanced cloaking technology. The episode presents this as evidence that triangular UFOs employ alien stealth capabilities far beyond current human technology.
Wittenberge, Germany
Germany · Modern
The episode cites a September 18, 2013 video recording from Wittenberge of a triangular unidentified object exhibiting impossible acceleration as further evidence of advanced extraterrestrial craft. No conventional explanation is provided.