THE ELEPHANT'S TOE-NAIL or The Illusion of Science / OBSERVATIONAL DATA OF AN ANOMALISTIC AERIAL PHENOMENON

This document contains two distinct sections. The first, 'The Elephant's Toe-Nail' by John Whitmore, critiques the scientific establishment's handling of psychic phenomena, specifically the research surrounding Uri Geller. Whitmore argues that the scientific community, represented by figures like Martin Gardner and Philip Morrison, unfairly dismisses anomalous phenomena that do not fit within existing paradigms. He suggests that the demand for repeatability and the reliance on magicians like 'The Amazing Randi' to debunk psychic claims serve to protect the status quo rather than advance understanding. The second section, 'Observational Data of an Anomalistic Aerial Phenomenon' by William H. Spaulding, presents a report from Ground Saucer Watch, Inc. (GSW). It details a sighting on August 28, 1969, by Norman Vedaa, who observed and photographed a yellow-gold, oval-shaped, soundless object near Denver, Colorado. GSW, a civilian research organization, analyzed two 35mm photographs of the event. They concluded that the images depict an object that cannot be explained by known natural or celestial phenomena, noting that the object exhibited a bright glow and reflective light that illuminated the clouds before disappearing at high speed. The report emphasizes that the witness was a trained observer and that the data provides strong evidence for an unknown craft in the atmosphere.