George Adamski told us fairy tales about meeting a man from Venus and riding in his UFO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seven decades ago, in his 1953 best-selling book (with Desmond Leslie) George Adamski told us that Flying Saucers Have Landed. George claimed to have met a Venusian named Orthon. He followed with Inside the Space Ships in 1955 and Flying Saucers Farewell in 1961. But in December 1962 the Mariner 2 space probe found the temperature for the atmosphere on Venus actually was 932 F – so nobody really could have lived there. In my teens I found Adamski’s UFO books at the public library, and quickly realized they were pseudoscientific nonsense.

 

Along with a Wikipedia article, there is an article by Greg Daugherty at History.com on January 9, 2020 about how George Adamski got famous sharing his UFO photos and alien ‘encounters’. Adamski is also discussed in three articles at the Denver Public Library by Chris Root: one on August 30, 2022 titled The man who met a Venusian (allegedly), a second on September 20, 2022 titled The man who boarded a flying saucer (allegedly), and a third on October 19, 2022 titled The man who hitched a ride to a Venus (allegedly).

 

I was surprised to find that the second half of the February 14, 2024 Coast to Coast AM radio show had a guest tell us favorably about Adamski as follows:

 

“Author and ufologist Glenn Steckling is the director of the sixty-year + George Adamski Foundation, one of the oldest enduring UFO organizations. In the latter half, he shared his findings in his longstanding UFO research and pointed out some of what he believes is misinformation and disinformation in the field. Adamski, he noted, was well known in the 1950s contactee movement, and shot numerous clear photos of UFOs. Steckling’s parents worked with Adamski, and also had their own sightings and encounters. Glenn said his current mission is to educate the public regarding ‘accurate’ UFO historical information and documentation as opposed to substituting with ‘science fiction, wishful thinking, or vivid imagination.’ “

 

I think calling that organization a Foundation is hilarious, since Adamski’s books really lack any foundation. In a March 22, 2009 blog post titled Goink! I said some of what appears on Coast to Coast AM deserves the term parastupid.

 

In the Wikipedia article there is an image of a Coleman gas lantern (sold by Sears Roebuck) which apparently was the model for the Scout Ship photos produced by Adamski.   

 

The cartoon of a UFO was adapted from an image at Openclipart.