UFO sightings increased around X-Files
UFO sightings in the UK hit an all-time high in 1996 ... the same year as Independence Day landed in the cinema and The X-Files was a huge TV hit.MoD records show that in 1996 there were a massive 609 reported UFO sightings across the UK, up from just 117 the previous year.
Experts argue that the increase was because people had a greater interest in aliens and UFOs rather than little green men visiting more to tune into the Mulder and Scully show.
In fact the previous peak for people seeing unidentified flying objects was 1978 ... the same year Close Encounters of the Third Kind came out.
Dr David Clarke, a journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, said: "It's evident there is some connection between newspaper stories, TV programmes and films about alien visitors and the numbers of UFO sightings reported to the MoD.
"Obviously, films and TV programmes raise public awareness of UFOs and it's fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see to the authorities."
LINKS
UFO @ The National Archives
"Obviously, films and TV programmes raise public awareness of UFOs and it's fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see to the authorities."
LINKS
UFO @ The National Archives
