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Speaker 1: Okay, picture of this. It's November two, nineteen sixty six.

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You're driving home late alone West Virginia Highway. Suddenly there's

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this weird craft zips right over your van, stops cold,

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just hovering there in front of you, right there on

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the road exactly. You slam the brakes.

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Speaker 2: Then a door opens and outsteps Well just a guy

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looks totally normal, tan, dark hair slipped back, and he's

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got this constant, kind of gentle smile.

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Speaker 1: He walks up to your window. You roll it down,

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and then you hear him speaking clear as anything, right

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inside your head, but his mouth doesn't move, still smiling,

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he says, his name's Cold Searcher from a planet called Lenuelo's.

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I mean, what do you even do? Then?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? It really does sound like something from you know,

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an old pulp magazine, doesn't it.

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Speaker 1: But for whatdy?

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Speaker 3: Darren Berger, this guy from Mineral Wells, West Virginia, Well,

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according to him, this was in fiction. No, this was

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the start, the really bewildering, kind of terrifying and well

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life changing beginning, this whole saga. It pulled him into

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one of the weirdest, most arguable stories in UFO history.

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Speaker 1: And it wasn't just that one time on the road.

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This thing spirals, you know, claims of more contact, these

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really strange figures popping up in weird places, even trips

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to other planets. It's complicated, deeply strange, and yeah, super controversial,

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which is why we're digging into it.

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Speaker 3: Definitely, we've gathered like a whole collection of material on

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this wood, these accounts, other people's stories, notes from investigators

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who looked into it, analysis, trying to make sense of

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it all. So our mission here is really to unpack

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all that for you, explore the incredible details, the claims,

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what he made.

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Speaker 1: But also look at it critically, right, based on what

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the sources.

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Speaker 3: Say exactly, look at the information from different angles. What's

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the core story? Are there links between these different weird events?

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And importantly, where does the analysis in these sources kind

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of push back and raise some serious questions? So yeah,

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let's get into it.

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Speaker 1: Okay, So the story really kicks off, like we said,

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November second, sixty six, Woody Darren Berger, you as a

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salesman driving home on Route seventy seven near Parkersburg, West Virginia.

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Here's his noise, loud, like a jet or something behind him,

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looks back, sees this bizarre vehicle catching up really.

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Speaker 3: Fast, and he described it very specifically, which is interesting.

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He said it looked like an old fashioned kerosene lamp

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sitting on its side, dark gray, sort of charcoal colored,

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a tube shape with a bulge in the middle. Right.

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It flew right over his van, apparently went silent once

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it was overhead, and then just stopped hovering maybe what

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four feet off the road, Yeah, directly in his path.

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Speaker 1: He said.

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Speaker 3: He was just frozen, totally thought he was about to

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be killed.

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Speaker 1: And then the door opens and it's not like little

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Green men or some monster. It's this incredibly well ordinary

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looking guy mid forties maybe average height, average build, dark clothes,

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had this noticeable tan, dark slick back hair, and that constant,

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amiable smile, almost serene, you know.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, And as soon as the man stepped out, the

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craft just shot straight up, vanished. The man walks over

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what he's passenger side window gestures for him to roll

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it down. What he does, and that's when the communication starts.

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Wood he heard the words perfectly clearly, but inside his.

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Speaker 1: Head telepathy, that's what he called it.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, man's mouth just kept that smile, didn't move wild.

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Speaker 1: So what was the first thing he said or thought telepathically?

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Speaker 3: The first thing was asking why wood he was so scared.

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Said they didn't mean any harm, just wished him happiness.

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Asked what he his name, then introduced himself just as Cold,

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a searcher from a place called Lanulos, A searcher. Okay,

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and the sources say the conversation after that initial shock

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was surprisingly mundane. Cold asked some basic stuff about the town,

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what he did for work, salesman. Cold just offered that

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he himself was a searcher. Small talk, basically alien small talk,

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just a.

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Speaker 1: Quick chat on the side of the highway with an alien.

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After a few minutes, Cold says he has to go.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, indicated he had to leave. The craft reappeared nearby,

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landed softly, door opened. As Cold got back in, he

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turned Wood He heard him again in his mind, It's

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been nice talking to you, mister darren Berger. We'll be

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seeing you soon. Door closed, ship just blanked out, gone

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Wow okay.

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Speaker 1: So Woody, presumably completely freaked out, drives home eventually.

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Speaker 3: Yeah managed to drive home totally shaken, told his wife

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he actually reported it to the police too. But the

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really striking thing the sources point out is how fast

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things moved after that. Yeah, he barely had time to

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process it, because, according to Woody the very next day,

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mister Cole was back the next day. Yep. And it

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was on a later visit that Cole gave his full

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name injured Cold. Okay, Injured Cold. Now, this is where

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it gets even weirder, right, because the sources start connecting

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Woody's experience to other strange stuff happening around the same time.

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His wasn't necessarily the first sighting like this.

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Speaker 1: That's a really key point from the research. Yeah, a

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few weeks before Woody's encounter, back on October eleventh, nineteen

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sixty six, there were multiple reports of strange sightings up

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in Elizabeth, New Jersey, which is, you know, a good

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eight hour drive away New Jersey. What kind of sightings

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were they reporting there?

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Speaker 3: Well, around ten pm, a police officer in his will

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I saw this blazing white light so it was about

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car sized near a TV tower. Apparently it barely missed

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the tower before it just slowly faded out.

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Speaker 1: Okay.

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Speaker 3: Then just a few minutes later, two other police officers

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saw the same thing from a different spot. They described

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the light as like blindingly brilliant lit up the whole area.

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Speaker 1: Blinding lights, big objects. Sounds familiar, but the sources also

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mentioned actual occupants being seen around then too.

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Speaker 3: Yes, later that same night, in the town right next door,

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a woman reported seeing a flash. Then she saw a

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cylinder shaped craft land in a parking lot. Two men

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got out. She said they looked ordinary, but they asked

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her questions in this really weird dialect. Then they just

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got back in the craft and flew off.

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Speaker 1: Okay, so strange craft, ordinary looking guys asking odd questions.

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Sounds a bit like Woody's encounter, but weeks earlier and

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in a different state. And then that same night in

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New Jersey, something even stranger, more unsettling was reported.

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Speaker 3: This is where the grinning man comes into the picture.

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It's a detail that's really heavily linked to the researcher

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John Keel. Around ten thirty pm that same night, October eleventh,

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two teenage boys were crossing under the New Jersey Turnpike.

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They reported seeing this man standing somewhere basically impossible to

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get to, like on this steep fenced off embankment right

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next to the highway.

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Speaker 1: And this guy didn't look ordinary at all.

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Speaker 3: No, definitely not. According to the sources, the boy said

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he was huge, almost seven feet tall, really broad, wearing

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these green coveralls that seemed to glitter. He turned towards

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him and they saw he had these beady, wide set eyes.

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And this is the bit everyone remembers, a giant, unnatural grin.

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It's terrifying. They ran obviously that grin.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's chilling. So these boys, they didn't tell anyone

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right away.

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Speaker 3: Not at first, but later, after hearing about other sightings,

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they reported it and that got the attention to John Keel.

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He was already deep into investigating all sorts of weird

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phenomena happening at the time.

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Speaker 1: Right, Keel, he was a big figure in this field.

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Speaker 3: Huge. He interviewed the boy and he was convinced they

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were telling the truth, that they saw something terrifying. He's

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the one who called this entity the grinning Man.

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Speaker 1: So how did Keel make the leap from this seven

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foot grinning guy and green, glittery coveralls to Woody darren

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Berger's average size visitor with a gentle smile. They sound

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completely different.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a really good question, and the sources definitely

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point this out. Apparently Keil read about Woody's encounter in

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the paper, saw him on TV. He latched onto Woody's

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description of Cold always smiling. So, based purely on that

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shared trait, that constant smile and the timing, Keel suggested

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a connection between Woody's visitor and the new Jersey grinning man.

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Speaker 1: Hmm, I feel like a bit of a stretch given

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the massive physical difference.

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Speaker 3: It does seem like a stretch. Yeah, And the sources

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highlight that as curious. It's also crucial to remember Keel

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was right in the middle of investigating the Mogman events

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happening at the exact same time down to Point Pleasant,

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West Virginia, which is only about an hour's drive from

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where Woody had his first encounter with Cold.

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Speaker 1: Ah Point Pleasant, Okay. That brings us to the next

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layer of all this strangeness. The sources definitely tie Woody's

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story into the whole bizarre cluster of events happening around

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Point Pleasant right after his encounter stuff Keel was looking into.

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Speaker 3: One big example the sources focus on is the James

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Lilly family right there in Point Pleasant, starting just after

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wood he met Cold. They reported this whole series of

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really unsettling things, not just like poltergeis stuff, doors slamming,

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weird noises, but something more targeted, like the phone calls exactly,

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Nightly phone calls around five pm. They'd answer, and all

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they heard was this bizarre metallic voice speaking some incomprehensible language.

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The phone company apparently couldn't trace it, couldn't explain it.

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Speaker 1: And there were strange lights too, weren't there over.

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Speaker 3: Their house almost every night, they said, Unusual lights blue, green, red,

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sometimes changing colors. Some were apparently so low they thought

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they could see diamond shaped windows, and completely silent. It

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really sounds like something was messing with this family, you know,

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actively engaging with them.

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Speaker 1: And then the really scary incident with their daughter, Linda.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Linda was sixteen. Woke up one night her a

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noise in her room, looked up and saw this man

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just leering down at her. He was big, broad. She

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couldn't see his face clearly in the dark, but she

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could see he was grinning. He walked around her bed,

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stood right over her. She screamed, pulled the covers over

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her head, and when she finally looked again, he was gone.

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Speaker 1: Big broad grinning. That sounds exactly like the description from

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the boys in New Jersey. The sources definitely raise the

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question was this the same guy and was it connected

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to Cold somehow? The timing, the location, it's all clustered together.

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Speaker 3: It is, And the sources mention other weird reports from

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the Point Pleasant area on the exact same night when

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he first met Cold.

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Speaker 1: Like the construction workers.

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Speaker 3: Right, two guys driving towards Point Pleasant from Ohio. They

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encountered a strange flying object that landed right on the

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highway in front of them. A man in shiny coveralls

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got out another variation right. He asked them these sort

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of pointless questions where they were from, what they did,

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where they were going, didn't say anything about himself. They

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were too scared to ask. He got back in the object,

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it floated off. They only came forward after Woody's story broke.

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Speaker 1: So in this really short window late sixty six, you've

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got Woody meaning Cold in West Virginia, these construction workers nearby,

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the Lilly families, whole Ordeal and Point Pleasant, and then

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the New Jersey sightings, including that distinct grinning man figure.

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The sources paint this picture of this intense burst of

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high strangeness, all focused in one region.

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Speaker 3: It really does feel like a connected series of events,

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doesn't it, even if the nature of that connection is

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still pretty mysterious and definitely open to interpretation. Like the

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sources themselves struggle to definitively link the Grinning Man in

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Cold because the descriptions are just so different.

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Speaker 1: Okay, let's shift back to Woody's main story. The sources

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make it clear this wasn't just one night. He claimed.

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He kept interacting with injured Cold and others too.

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Speaker 3: That's right, Woody said, Cold sometimes with other people would

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just show up announced. Like one evening, Woody gets home

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late and Cold is just waiting there at his house

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with a friend named carl Ardo. Wood He apparently sat

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out on his proach with them for over two hours,

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just talking, even though it was cold out.

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Speaker 1: Two hours talking with aliens on your porch. What did

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they even talk about for that long?

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Speaker 3: Well, according to Woody, they talked a lot about life

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on their home planet, Landulos. Cold described it as being

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in a distant galaxy or maybe a constellation. This is

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actually where the analysis and the sources kicks in. Right away.

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Cold mentioned Ganymede in connection with lanulos yan in meat.

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Speaker 1: But that's one of Jupiter's moons, isn't it? Not a

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galaxy or constellation exactly?

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Speaker 3: And the sources point that out immediately. It's one of

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those early detailed geographical astronomical that just doesn't fit with

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what we know. It definitely raises questions about the literal

239
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accuracy of the account.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a flag right there. Sounds like maybe advanced

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ideas getting filtered through Woody's nineteen sixties knowledge, or maybe

242
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even bad info from Cold himself. But hadding that side

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for a second, what did Cold say life was like

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on Lanuelo's He painted.

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Speaker 3: This picture like total peace, unity, compassion. He claimed things

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like conflict, hatred, they just didn't exist there. Kids were

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taught from day one that all beings were family. It

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sounds incredibly idyllic, almost like a utopia.

249
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Speaker 1: And the source has found something interesting about that description too,

250
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didn't they?

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Speaker 2: Oh?

252
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Speaker 3: Absolutely. The analysis highlights how that description peaceful, unified, no conflict,

253
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everyone's family sounds remarkably similar to the hopes and frankly,

254
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the anxieties of nineteen sixties America, you know, the Vietnam War,

255
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the civil rights movement, deep divisions. This vision felt almost

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tailor made for that human context.

257
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Speaker 1: So maybe projecting Earth's ideals onto this alien world, that's

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what the analysis suggest.

259
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Speaker 3: Did they talk about religion, Yeah, they believed in one

260
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single universal God, creator of everything, all worlds, all life. Woody,

261
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coming from his background, naturally interpreted that through a Christian lens.

262
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The whole purpose Cold said was just serving the community,

263
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helping each other.

264
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Speaker 1: And what about their abilities, like the telepathy, How did

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they explain that?

266
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Speaker 3: Well, they said they'd reached this kind of technological enlightenment

267
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over centuries, mastered gravity, space manipulation. Mental telepathy was apparently

268
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just a universal skill on Landulos. Everyone learned it as kids.

269
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Cold even offered this really strange origin story for it,

270
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maybe existing on Earth too.

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, what was that?

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Speaker 3: He claimed it actually started when a group of Earth

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explorers supposedly crash landed on Lanulos ages ago, and their

274
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intense feelings of loneliness somehow sparked latent telepathic abilities in

275
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the Lanulins themselves.

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Speaker 1: Whoa wait, so an Earth connection supposedly triggered their main ability.

277
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Speaker 3: That's a twist it is, isn't it. And they believed

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if humans on Earth could learn telepathy, it would bring peace,

279
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because you know, if you could read minds, dishonesty is impossible,

280
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you could truly understand how others feel.

281
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Speaker 1: That's a powerful idea, though the sources probably note that

282
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might be a bit idealistic about human nature, filtered through

283
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what his own hopes.

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Speaker 3: Maybe probably, Yeah, Yeah, that's the kind of analysis the

285
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sources bring in. Anyway, these visits continued and then one

286
00:14:08,879 --> 00:14:11,720
evening Wood he got invited inside the ship.

287
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Speaker 1: Ah, inside the craft. What did he say he saw?

288
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Speaker 3: He described technology he couldn't really understand. Panels on the

289
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walls with this like cryptic writing made of blue light

290
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that kept changing. He compared them to symbols. But then

291
00:14:25,159 --> 00:14:29,039
he also described things that felt very well, very nineteen sixties,

292
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like the doors they opened on their own shore, but

293
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apparently had these big visible hinges like a car door

294
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and made a definite thunk sound when.

295
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Speaker 1: They closed hinges, and a thunk on an intertellar spacecraft.

296
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Speaker 3: Yeah exactly. He also mentioned seeing unexplained fire shooting out

297
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of the ship at one point, and.

298
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Speaker 1: That mix of advanced and mundane tech. That's another thing

299
00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:49,039
the sources really pick up on, isn't it.

300
00:14:49,279 --> 00:14:53,200
Speaker 3: Absolutely. The analysis points out this weird blend, seemingly advanced

301
00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:58,000
stuff but described with oddly familiar, almost basic, nineteen sixties details.

302
00:14:58,559 --> 00:15:02,360
The hinge doors, the thunk. Later he mentions their cameras

303
00:15:02,399 --> 00:15:06,440
instantly printing photos on paper, which sounds exactly like a

304
00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:08,519
Polaroid cutting edge for nineteen sixty six.

305
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Speaker 2: Yeah.

306
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Speaker 3: It suggests the descriptions might be limited by Woody's own

307
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:14,919
frame of reference, or maybe the tech wasn't as alien

308
00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:17,159
as claimed. For maybe it was something else entirely that

309
00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:18,519
he just interpreted that way.

310
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Speaker 1: It's like trying to describe a smartphone to someone in

311
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:25,639
I don't know, nineteen twenty, you'd use the terms you have. Anyway,

312
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Wood's fascinated by the ship, and Cold asks if he

313
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wants to go for a ride.

314
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Speaker 3: Yep, what he said, yes, absolutely, Cold told him name

315
00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,360
any place you want to see. Yeah, and for some reason,

316
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Woody picks the Amazon.

317
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Speaker 1: Jump the Amazon, okay, and they just went.

318
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Speaker 3: According to Whitty, Yeah, door closed with the hiss gentle vibration,

319
00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:44,879
and bam. Months later the windows open and they're hovering

320
00:15:44,919 --> 00:15:47,600
over the Amazon. He didn't feel any travel take off, nothing.

321
00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,320
The instant relocation saw treetoks villages, people down below.

322
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Speaker 1: That's incredible. Taking a salesman from West Virginia for a

323
00:15:54,559 --> 00:15:56,120
quick look at the Amazon.

324
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Speaker 3: Woody was thrilled. Obviously, so Cold Up's the ante asked

325
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if he wants to see their planet?

326
00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:01,559
Speaker 2: What do?

327
00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:06,519
Speaker 3: He agrees? Windows close, ship vibrates again and within about

328
00:16:06,519 --> 00:16:09,320
thirty minutes what he says they were off til Annulo's

329
00:16:09,399 --> 00:16:10,960
by bending space and time.

330
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Speaker 1: Okay, now we're really escalating beyond Earth interplanetary travel, claims dramatically.

331
00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,320
Speaker 3: Wood He meets more crew on the smaller ship Tanny

332
00:16:20,399 --> 00:16:23,240
Darryl Cold's wife, Kimmy. They reach a point about six

333
00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:24,919
hundred miles from the Moon, and they dock with this

334
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much a bigger ship what he called it the mother ship,

335
00:16:27,799 --> 00:16:30,840
but Cold apparently called it the flagship. Woody said it

336
00:16:30,879 --> 00:16:33,720
was huge, eight nine stories tall, maybe three hundred feet long.

337
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Speaker 1: They got close to the Moon, you said, yeah, wood.

338
00:16:35,559 --> 00:16:37,720
Speaker 3: He claimed they got within fifty feet of the surface,

339
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saw other ships park there. Then windows closed, opened again,

340
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and suddenly they're supposedly above Saturn. Cold told Woody there

341
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was agriculture on Saturn.

342
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Speaker 1: Agriculture on Saturn. Okay, that's another big red flag. Scientifically,

343
00:16:50,159 --> 00:16:51,879
isn't it? Sources must have pointed that out.

344
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,960
Speaker 3: Oh, definitely, another clear factual inaccuracy based on everything we

345
00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,519
know about the gas giant. More details that just don't

346
00:16:58,559 --> 00:17:01,320
line up. Finally, Lanulos.

347
00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,079
Speaker 1: Finally, Yeah. After the quick stop at Saturn, the trip

348
00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:07,160
to Lanulos itself bending space time, took about thirty minutes.

349
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They arrived, transfer back to the smaller ship zip around

350
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the planet. Woody saw cities, they called them gatherings, huge fields, forests, rivers,

351
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people everywhere, vehicles hovering at a foot off the ground,

352
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no wheels. What was the planet like Cold's home?

353
00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:27,200
Speaker 3: The cities yet taken to Cold's home described it as

354
00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:31,240
pretty modern, brick and glass, automated kitchen, laundry, all powered

355
00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:33,920
by nuclear energy. Apparently visited a city too, Number twenty

356
00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:38,480
seven gathering saw moving sidewalks, shops, department stores. Again, structures

357
00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:40,240
that sound very familiar, very earthlike.

358
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Speaker 1: But there was one really big, very memorable difference that

359
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:45,440
stood out to Woody.

360
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,559
Speaker 3: Right, the most striking thing. Yeah, everyone on Lanielos was naked.

361
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Apparently their belief was you should be seen exactly as

362
00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:55,119
God intended. They only covered up for dancing or if

363
00:17:55,119 --> 00:17:58,559
it was cold. Woody, who said he was a bit overweight,

364
00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,440
apparently fell pretty self conscious about it, especially since all

365
00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:05,240
the Lanulns he saw were like, perfectly in.

366
00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,960
Speaker 1: Shape, so physically human, similar buildings to Earth, but a

367
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,160
completely different view on clothes and apparently great physiques.

368
00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,359
Speaker 3: Cold told Woody they were physically human and they lived

369
00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:17,359
a long time one hundred and twenty five two hundred

370
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:21,039
and seventy five years. Attributed it to their healthy, peaceful lifestyle.

371
00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:25,240
Their diet was all organic, no chemicals, avoided stuff like chocolate, pork,

372
00:18:25,319 --> 00:18:29,920
bleached flour, preferred seafood, fruits, vegetables, and apparently decaff coffee

373
00:18:30,039 --> 00:18:30,799
was really popular.

374
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,000
Speaker 1: Decaff coffee is popular on the paradise planet. Okay, maybe

375
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:35,160
not total paradise then.

376
00:18:35,279 --> 00:18:39,680
Speaker 3: Slight chuckle. Depends on your priorities. I guess their society,

377
00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,279
according to Cold, was all about happiness and understanding. School

378
00:18:43,279 --> 00:18:45,960
went on until age twenty eight. Adults could choose any

379
00:18:46,039 --> 00:18:49,200
job change easily. Woody was really struck by how they

380
00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,400
handled resources. People got compensated based on family size and needs,

381
00:18:53,599 --> 00:18:57,640
not skill or talent. Cold described it as each according

382
00:18:57,680 --> 00:18:58,720
to his needs.

383
00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,640
Speaker 1: Each according to his needs, which, as the analysis and

384
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,920
the sources surely points out sounds exactly like a core

385
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,480
principle of Marxism, right, another very earth bound concept showing

386
00:19:08,519 --> 00:19:11,039
up in this alien utopia exactly.

387
00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:14,240
Speaker 3: The sources definitely find that parallel notable when they're analyzing

388
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:16,960
where these descriptions might come from. But the story gets

389
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,960
even more complex. It wasn't just the peaceful annulence what

390
00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:22,359
he claimed. He encountered other kinds of visitors too.

391
00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:25,720
Speaker 1: Oh really, not everyone was like Cold and his friendly crew.

392
00:19:25,839 --> 00:19:28,440
Speaker 3: Nope. After Woody got back to Earth, he and a

393
00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:31,160
friend named Jim apparently went to this spot known for

394
00:19:31,319 --> 00:19:36,079
UFO sightings. They saw a pink UFO land. Two beings

395
00:19:36,079 --> 00:19:40,119
got out looked human. As Woody and Jim walked closer,

396
00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:44,319
Cold carl Ardo another guy named Demo Hassan suddenly appeared

397
00:19:44,319 --> 00:19:47,839
nearby telepathically warned Woody, these aren't our people. They're from

398
00:19:47,839 --> 00:19:48,960
another galaxy, and.

399
00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:50,880
Speaker 1: Cold wanted Woody to create a distraction.

400
00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:53,680
Speaker 3: Yeah, so Cold's crew could sneak up behind the newcomers.

401
00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:56,000
Wood He pretended to have a big argument with Jim

402
00:19:56,599 --> 00:19:58,920
Cold's guys confronted the other beings. What he thought it

403
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,240
might get violent, but the beings just got back in

404
00:20:01,279 --> 00:20:04,880
their ship and were sort of escorted away by Cold's team.

405
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,240
Speaker 1: Who are these other beings? According to Cold?

406
00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,680
Speaker 3: Cold called them humanoids from another yalaxy. So they looked

407
00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,200
human from far away, but up close you could see

408
00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:17,240
differences like red wrinkled skin around their eyes, and instead

409
00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:20,000
of hair, they had something like tiny pin feathers, like

410
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,920
on a bird pin feathers.

411
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:23,759
Speaker 1: Weird. Were they dangerous?

412
00:20:24,039 --> 00:20:27,200
Speaker 3: Cold warned they weren't necessarily dangerous, but they tended to

413
00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,720
steal things, including apparently humans. He even made the really

414
00:20:31,759 --> 00:20:34,680
specific claim that they were the ones responsible for the

415
00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:36,960
famous Betty and Barney Hill abduction case.

416
00:20:37,039 --> 00:20:40,200
Speaker 1: Wow, he blamed them for the Hill abduction. That's a

417
00:20:40,319 --> 00:20:42,799
massive claim, linking his story to one of the most

418
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,759
famous UFO cases ever. I bet the source has raised

419
00:20:45,759 --> 00:20:46,680
some questions about that.

420
00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:50,000
Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely they do. The Analyson points out that making

421
00:20:50,079 --> 00:20:52,839
such a specific claim about a separate, well known case

422
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,839
is well convenient for adding weight to his story, but

423
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,920
it's totally unverifiable and it doesn't really match the description

424
00:21:00,079 --> 00:21:02,279
from the Hill case itself. It basically sets up this

425
00:21:02,319 --> 00:21:06,079
classic good aliens versus bad aliens dynamic, you know, a

426
00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:08,960
very common sci fi trop right the sources also mentioned

427
00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,720
Woody describing a later standoff involving like eleven of these

428
00:21:12,799 --> 00:21:17,200
humanoid ships apparently ended peacefully, with Cold's group escorting them

429
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:18,960
to the edge of the galaxy and telling them not

430
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:19,559
to come back.

431
00:21:20,039 --> 00:21:23,240
Speaker 1: It really does escalate into this huge sci fi epic,

432
00:21:23,319 --> 00:21:25,799
doesn't it. From a guy smiling by the roadside to

433
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:27,160
galactic border patrol.

434
00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,519
Speaker 3: The narrative just keeps expanding. Yeah, which brings us back

435
00:21:30,559 --> 00:21:34,799
to that core question. The sources rustle with why Woody Darrenberger,

436
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,160
why pick this particular salesman from West Virginia, and.

437
00:21:38,079 --> 00:21:39,440
Speaker 1: What was cold supposed reason?

438
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,480
Speaker 3: According to Woody, Cold said he chose him specifically because

439
00:21:43,519 --> 00:21:46,839
he wanted Woody to talk to people, to share his experiences,

440
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,799
to show people on Earth how his people lived without

441
00:21:49,839 --> 00:21:50,839
all the hate and greed.

442
00:21:51,599 --> 00:21:54,200
Speaker 1: So wood you was meant to be a messenger to

443
00:21:54,279 --> 00:21:57,039
bring this message of hope, this vision of a better way.

444
00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:00,559
Speaker 3: That was the stated goal. Yeah, Cold's ultimate aim, as

445
00:22:00,599 --> 00:22:03,160
Woody related, it, was to get people on Earth to

446
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:05,799
pressure their governments into telling the truth about UFOs and

447
00:22:05,839 --> 00:22:10,000
alien contact. Cold apparently believe humanity was smart enough, ready

448
00:22:10,039 --> 00:22:12,079
to accept it, ready to understand our place in the

449
00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:16,200
bigger universe, free from war division, seeing ourselves as one

450
00:22:16,559 --> 00:22:17,200
human race.

451
00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:21,880
Speaker 1: It's a powerful message peace unity, especially resonent back in

452
00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,039
the turbulent nineteen sixties, and wood he did try to

453
00:22:25,079 --> 00:22:26,279
deliver that message.

454
00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:28,720
Speaker 3: He did, He wrote his book, visitors from Lanulo's, did

455
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,960
TV interviews, gave lexers, tried to get the word out,

456
00:22:32,039 --> 00:22:34,880
and by all accounts in the sources, he never changed

457
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:38,880
his story, never wavered. However, this is where the bulk

458
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,799
of the critical analysis and skepticism in the source material

459
00:22:42,079 --> 00:22:45,759
really comes into play. Right, While Woody's sincerity is sometimes debated,

460
00:22:46,319 --> 00:22:50,519
most UFO researchers, including John Keel, actually they don't buy

461
00:22:50,559 --> 00:22:54,319
the whole story as a literal, factual account, even if

462
00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:56,799
they think something strange probably happened that first night on

463
00:22:56,839 --> 00:22:57,200
the road.

464
00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,200
Speaker 1: Okay, so let's unpack those key points of skepticism from

465
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,640
the sources. We've kind of touched on some already, like

466
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:06,839
the tech descriptions, feeling data, the culture being too earthy exactly.

467
00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:10,440
Speaker 3: The analysis digs into several areas we mentioned, the technology

468
00:23:10,519 --> 00:23:13,960
sounding filtered through the sixties, the hinges, the polaroid style

469
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:17,920
photos that suggests the description might be shaped by Woody's

470
00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,480
own understanding, or maybe the tech wasn't that alien, or

471
00:23:21,559 --> 00:23:24,039
maybe it was something else he just interpreted that way, and.

472
00:23:24,039 --> 00:23:27,440
Speaker 1: The Lanuelos culture mirroring nineteen sixties America.

473
00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,519
Speaker 3: Yeah, the sources find that really striking, how this supposed

474
00:23:30,559 --> 00:23:34,839
alien utopia aligns so neatly with contemporary American ideals and worries.

475
00:23:35,279 --> 00:23:39,160
A single god interpreted christianly Christmas on December twenty fifth,

476
00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:42,519
the piece message echoing anti war feelings, the resource system

477
00:23:42,599 --> 00:23:46,599
sounding like socialist ideas being debated, then even seemingly traditional

478
00:23:46,599 --> 00:23:49,799
gender roles despite claims of equality. It feels less like

479
00:23:49,839 --> 00:23:52,680
a truly alien society and more like an earth based

480
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:53,759
concept of paradise.

481
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,079
Speaker 1: Plus the biology and environment being so earth like too right.

482
00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:01,400
Speaker 3: The sources note the claims of the same animals cows, pigs, chickens,

483
00:24:01,839 --> 00:24:06,400
same vegetables, same coffee, details that really stretch credibility for

484
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,319
a planet light years away. Then you have those clear

485
00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:13,000
astronomical and geographical mistakes. The sources flag again me being

486
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:16,240
called a galaxy or constellation, the inaccurate descriptions of Mars

487
00:24:16,319 --> 00:24:17,720
Venus Saturn, And wasn't there.

488
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:19,559
Speaker 1: Something about an intergalactic alphabet?

489
00:24:19,839 --> 00:24:22,759
Speaker 3: Oh? Yeah, The sources highlight that the alphabet shown in

490
00:24:22,759 --> 00:24:27,559
Woody's book, supposedly used across galaxies, is structurally identical to

491
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,839
the standard Latin alphabet. We use, just different symbols. Given

492
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:34,720
the incredible diversity of writing systems just here on Earth,

493
00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:39,079
the idea that a universal galactic alphabet would perfectly match

494
00:24:39,079 --> 00:24:43,960
one used by a small fraction of humans well strains belief.

495
00:24:44,039 --> 00:24:47,640
Speaker 1: For really, major point of skepticism, the sources emphasize, is

496
00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,240
just the lack of independent proof for so many of

497
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:50,839
these claims.

498
00:24:50,880 --> 00:24:53,960
Speaker 3: That's crucial. Yeah, Woody said lots of his friends saw

499
00:24:54,079 --> 00:24:57,319
Cold talk to the Lanulns, but according to the sources,

500
00:24:57,319 --> 00:25:00,279
none of these people have ever been found independently never

501
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,279
verified his story. John Keel is pretty much the sole

502
00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:04,920
source for a lot of the details about the New

503
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:08,079
Jersey sightings, including the specific description of the grinning man

504
00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:10,279
and the claim Cold was there, And as the sources

505
00:25:10,279 --> 00:25:12,599
point out, Keel's also the only one really pushing the

506
00:25:12,599 --> 00:25:18,480
connection between that tall, grinning, weirdly dressed figure and Woody's

507
00:25:18,519 --> 00:25:22,720
average sized friendly visitor, even though the descriptions clash, The

508
00:25:22,759 --> 00:25:26,279
analysis suggests Keel, while a pioneer, was also known to

509
00:25:26,319 --> 00:25:30,880
sometimes see doo connect dots that weren't strongly supported, maybe

510
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,759
embellished for dramatic effect. He even admitted exaggerating in his

511
00:25:34,799 --> 00:25:37,880
writing sometimes. Plus there's very little evidence in actual news

512
00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,640
reports or UFO group files from the time about those

513
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:42,119
widespread New Jersey sidings.

514
00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:45,039
Speaker 1: Kiel described what about the witnesses, what he did have

515
00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:48,279
like his daughter, how reliable are they considered by the sources?

516
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,720
Speaker 3: The sources look into this quite a bit. Wood He's daughter, Tanya,

517
00:25:51,839 --> 00:25:54,960
She's often presented as this key ongoing contact, but she

518
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,240
was only three years old when Cold supposedly first started visiting,

519
00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:01,640
and as the sources note, research on childhood memory, especially

520
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,880
from that age, shows it's really suggestible kids can easily

521
00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:08,920
mix up real events with things they were told or dreamed. Plus,

522
00:26:09,079 --> 00:26:11,680
by the time Tanya was four, her mother had actually

523
00:26:11,799 --> 00:26:14,240
left Woody and moved away with the kids, and she

524
00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:16,559
left with one of the UFO investigators who was working

525
00:26:16,599 --> 00:26:20,359
on Woody's case, which adds another layer of complexity, maybe

526
00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:22,640
potential influence on Tanya's story over.

527
00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:24,599
Speaker 1: Time that complicates things it does.

528
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:27,720
Speaker 3: And Tanya's story about Cold reportedly changed over the years.

529
00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:31,200
At different points she claimed Cold was actually Valiant Thor,

530
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:35,200
another famous contact E figure. Then she said Cold had

531
00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:39,400
died more recently, that he was injured, and she consistently

532
00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,160
maintained she was the only way researchers could ever contact

533
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:46,079
Cold or his group, which makes any independent verification impossible.

534
00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,039
Speaker 1: Yeah, that makes it really tough to check anything. And

535
00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:53,000
wasn't there even a known hoaxer who validated Woody's story

536
00:26:53,039 --> 00:26:53,640
at one point?

537
00:26:53,799 --> 00:26:57,880
Speaker 3: Yes, it's a really unfortunate incident. The sources detail this guy,

538
00:26:58,079 --> 00:27:01,599
Thomas F. Monteleone, he later became a successful sci fi writer,

539
00:27:01,799 --> 00:27:04,920
called into one of Woody's live TV interviews purely as

540
00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:09,559
a prank. Yeah, Monolioni pretended he was also in contact

541
00:27:09,559 --> 00:27:13,039
with Cold, claimed he'd visited Lanielos, gave all these details,

542
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,440
and Woody live on TV confirmed it all is true.

543
00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:18,839
Wood he had no idea as a prank. Then he

544
00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,480
actually included this supposed validation in his book, only found

545
00:27:22,519 --> 00:27:25,400
out years later when Monoleno publicly admitted he'd made the

546
00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:25,960
whole thing up.

547
00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:28,920
Speaker 1: Wow, so his story got publicly backed up by someone

548
00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:32,000
who later confessed it was a total hoax. That really

549
00:27:32,079 --> 00:27:34,680
hits the credibility of any cooperation, doesn't it.

550
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:37,039
Speaker 3: It certainly does, and as a detail, the sources used

551
00:27:37,039 --> 00:27:39,559
to show just how difficult it is to verify anything

552
00:27:39,599 --> 00:27:42,920
in this case. So all this analysis, the tech descriptions,

553
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,440
the cultural mirroring, the science errors, the lack of independent witnesses,

554
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:49,720
the questions about witness reliability that brank call it all

555
00:27:49,759 --> 00:27:52,400
forms the basis for why most researchers are pretty skeptical

556
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,240
about what his entire story beyond maybe that initial strange

557
00:27:55,279 --> 00:27:56,119
encounter on the road.

558
00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,920
Speaker 1: It really highlights the gap between a compelling personal story

559
00:28:01,279 --> 00:28:04,839
and one that actually holds up under scrutiny, checking against

560
00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,039
facts and other evidence, and regardless of whether the claims

561
00:28:08,079 --> 00:28:11,200
were true, all that attention had a massive personal cost

562
00:28:11,279 --> 00:28:11,720
for Woody.

563
00:28:12,039 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 3: It really did. The sources are clear the attention was

564
00:28:15,319 --> 00:28:20,240
overwhelming and mostly negative. His kids were apparently harassed at school,

565
00:28:20,599 --> 00:28:24,079
people in town called him a liar. The stress contributed

566
00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,759
to his marriage breaking up. His wife left him, remember

567
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,359
with one of the UFO investigators.

568
00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:30,559
Speaker 1: Right that detail.

569
00:28:30,759 --> 00:28:32,960
Speaker 3: He lost his job, eventually had to move to another

570
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,440
state just to get away from it. All. That initial

571
00:28:35,519 --> 00:28:38,400
burst of fame around the first encounter kind of fizzled

572
00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:39,960
out by the time his book came out. He didn't

573
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,799
make much money from it. It wasn't a huge success.

574
00:28:42,079 --> 00:28:45,440
Speaker 1: That sounds like a really tragic outcome whatever actually happened.

575
00:28:45,599 --> 00:28:48,079
He didn't seem to profit from it, which just something

576
00:28:48,079 --> 00:28:50,519
people sometimes mentioned to argue he was sincere.

577
00:28:50,839 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 3: The sources acknowledged that, yeah, he didn't appear to get

578
00:28:53,759 --> 00:28:56,440
rich off it, which argues against it being purely a

579
00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,240
hoax for money. But the analysis also suggests made the

580
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,519
initial motivation came from that intense attention and validation he

581
00:29:03,599 --> 00:29:06,279
got right after he first reported it, before all the

582
00:29:06,319 --> 00:29:07,359
negative stuff really hit.

583
00:29:07,559 --> 00:29:11,000
Speaker 1: So even with all that critical analysis and skepticism laid

584
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,119
out on the sources, the story of Injured Cold has

585
00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:16,880
stuck around. It's still talked about a lot, and plenty

586
00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:20,559
of people still believe what he's account is literally true.

587
00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:24,920
Speaker 3: Absolutely. It's just an incredibly captivating story. It's got wonder mystery,

588
00:29:25,279 --> 00:29:29,079
even this hopeful vision mixed in, and regardless of where

589
00:29:29,119 --> 00:29:31,559
you personally land on the literal truth of the trips

590
00:29:31,559 --> 00:29:35,160
to Lanulo's or the Naked Aliens, the sources, even John

591
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:38,039
Keel's own writings, often circle back to that core message

592
00:29:38,039 --> 00:29:41,680
Cold supposedly delivered. Even skeptics like Keel found value in

593
00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:42,039
that part.

594
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,200
Speaker 1: What was that message again? Basically, it was a.

595
00:29:44,079 --> 00:29:47,920
Speaker 3: Call for governments to be honest transparency about alien contact,

596
00:29:48,599 --> 00:29:51,599
based on this belief that humanity is ready capable of

597
00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:54,640
understanding it, accepting it, and it offered this vision of

598
00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:58,160
a future without war, without division, where borders don't matter

599
00:29:58,279 --> 00:30:01,759
and everyone sees themselves as just one human race.

600
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,799
Speaker 1: It's a timeless message, really, peace unity, especially powerful coming

601
00:30:05,839 --> 00:30:08,559
out of the nineteen sixty such a conflicted time it is.

602
00:30:08,559 --> 00:30:10,559
Speaker 3: And that for a lot of people is the real

603
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:13,759
heart of the injured cold story that endures, whether the

604
00:30:13,839 --> 00:30:16,920
details about floating cities and naked people on Lanulow's are

605
00:30:17,039 --> 00:30:19,920
literal fact or something else entirely So.

606
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:21,720
Speaker 1: We've been on quite a journey in this deep dive.

607
00:30:21,759 --> 00:30:24,680
Started with that totally bizarre roadside meeting in West Virginia

608
00:30:24,759 --> 00:30:28,000
back in sixty six, followed the threads through grinning figures

609
00:30:28,039 --> 00:30:31,559
in New Jersey, weird happenings, and point pleasant explored these

610
00:30:31,599 --> 00:30:34,279
claims of trips to a utopian planet, even got warnings

611
00:30:34,279 --> 00:30:36,119
about other less friendly aliens.

612
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,880
Speaker 3: And we've tried to navigate all that by bringing in

613
00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:42,440
the critical analysis, the skepticism points from the sorts material,

614
00:30:42,839 --> 00:30:45,319
looking closely at the details that don't quite add up,

615
00:30:45,559 --> 00:30:48,319
the cultural context that might have shaped things, the real

616
00:30:48,319 --> 00:30:50,400
difficulties in finding independent proof.

617
00:30:50,559 --> 00:30:53,519
Speaker 1: It's a fascinating tension, isn't it, The sheer pull of

618
00:30:53,559 --> 00:30:58,400
this wild, amazing story versus the analytical view the sources

619
00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:01,759
bring questioning its credit ability. It really makes you think

620
00:31:01,759 --> 00:31:04,680
about how we interpret things. We don't understand how much

621
00:31:04,759 --> 00:31:07,359
the times we live in influence the stories we tell

622
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:10,960
and what we do when the evidence is messy, contradictory,

623
00:31:11,079 --> 00:31:12,359
or just plain missing.

624
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:15,359
Speaker 3: Precisely, it challenges us to think about not just the

625
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,240
extraordinary claims, but the whole context they came out of,

626
00:31:18,759 --> 00:31:21,440
and how hard it is to separate potential fact from

627
00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:25,200
psychological factors, cultural hopes, or just storytelling.

628
00:31:25,279 --> 00:31:27,720
Speaker 1: So what does all this mean for you? After exploring

629
00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:30,440
these sources with us? Whether the story of injured Cold

630
00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:34,039
is the literal, straightforward truth about benevolent aliens visiting a

631
00:31:34,039 --> 00:31:37,720
West Virginia salesman, or if it's something much more complicated,

632
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,400
maybe a real strange event that got layered with human interpretation,

633
00:31:41,599 --> 00:31:44,799
cultural dreams and fears, maybe even some invention mixed with

634
00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,160
genuine belief. Does that core message still hold value, the

635
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:51,759
message about peace, unity, being open about the unknown humanity's

636
00:31:51,759 --> 00:31:54,279
place in the cosmos. What part of this deep dive

637
00:31:54,319 --> 00:31:56,960
into the very strange case of injured cold resonated most

638
00:31:57,039 --> 00:32:00,000
with you