this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2024
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Are UFOs real? Historical markers say yes (www.npr.org)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by FlyingSquid@lemmy.world to c/skeptic@lemmy.world
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But the marker is now one of at least 15 that say, without hesitation, that aliens have come to visit Earth.

They join more than 180,000 other historical markers dotting the country’s landscape, and NPR found they wouldn’t be the first to claim something that may, or may not, be true.

There’s a marker in Massachusetts that claims the town was once home to a real, live wizard. New York has a marker about a ghost that plays the fiddle on a bridge in the moonlight.

Edit: I can only think that the downvoters either believe the aliens are among us or that they don't understand the very obvious tongue-in-cheek nature of the article despite the whole "real, live wizard" part I pasted above.

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[–] philo@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago (7 children)

UFOs are real and I've known that since I was a child. I am surprised that NPR involves itself with this bullshit article though. The U stands for UNIDENTIFIED and if they are claiming they are alien, that would mean they have been identified and are not UFOs.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (6 children)

You do know that's not what most people mean when they say UFO, correct? Not everything is thought of as its literal meaning.

[–] philo@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yes, and I know that most people are not critical thinkers.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Do you also argue that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a democratic republic? Was the German National Socialist Worker's party actually a socialist worker's party?

Or do maybe sometimes people not use the literal meaning of things even if they are capable of thinking critically?

In fact, I would suggest that the critical way to think about this is to accept that sometimes people use terms to mean things other than their literal meaning.

[–] philo@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Actually, the critical way to think about this is to keep the subject on UFOs not to change it. That is why the name has been changed from UFO to UAP.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Sorry, you can't police people's language. That's not how language works.

[–] philo@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm not policing it. I'm saying it's wrong. I can do that and I did do that. If you think that's policing, I don't have any idea what to tell you.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Okay, well enjoy experiencing people constantly getting it wrong because there's likely nothing you'll ever be able to do about it.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the way most people use "infamous," but I've come to accept it.

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