Michigan Dexter Swamp Gas Controversy 1966

Beginning March 21, 1966, Michigan State Police officers, a farm family, University of Michigan students, and ultimately over 500 witnesses across Michigan reported disc-shaped craft at low altitude. The reports from professional police observers were particularly credible. Project Blue Book sent its scientific consultant Dr. J. Allen Hynek to investigate. Under pressure to produce a quick explanation for the wave of reports, Hynek suggested 'swamp gas' — fermented marsh gas — as a possible explanation for some cases. The public response was immediate and furious. House Minority Leader Gerald Ford demanded Congressional hearings and wrote to the Secretary of the Air Force. The political pressure generated by the swamp gas controversy directly led to Congress funding the Condon Committee — the scientific study of UFO phenomena conducted by the University of Colorado from 1966 to 1968. Hynek later publicly repudiated the swamp gas explanation and devoted the rest of his career to serious scientific study of UAP, founding the Center for UFO Studies. The Michigan 1966 wave is thus one of the most consequential in terms of its political and scientific legacy.