I'm sure you've already got it in your phone's calendar, but on the outside chance that you don't, I just want to remind you that in addition to this weekend being 4th of July (or, Independence Day) Weekend, this Saturday, July 2nd, is also World UFO Day.

Why choose July 2nd as World UFO Day, you ask? Well, that just happens to be the same date that a UFO "supposedly" crashed in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. That event started the UFO curiosity craze that's still going on today.

As you'll see reading on, UFOs (or, UAP for Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) have expanded outward in the country over the last 75 years since the Roswell incident. And, by "expanded," I mean headed for Illinois.

UFO flying over a rural farm with blue sky and clouds.
If I'm a cow, this is where I start to get a bit anxious. (Getty Images)
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UFO (unidentified flying object) beaming up a cow, illustration.
And that's the reason why I'd be anxious. (Getty Images)
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According To The National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC.org), Illinois Had The 8th Most UFO/UAP Sightings In The Nation And Most In The Midwest Over The Last Year

The state with the most overall sightings comes as no surprise, as Californians called in 15,280 sightings to grab the #1 spot. The number-two state for UFO/UAP sightings is Florida, with 7,685, and coming in 3rd is the state of Washington, with 6,812.

The Midwest sightings count looks like this:

  • Illinois: 4,073
  • Iowa: 1,156
  • Indiana: 2,566
  • Missouri: 2,660
  • Minnesota: 1,995
  • Michigan: 3,438
Woman walking towards UFOs in wheat field, 3D generated image.
Stop wrecking my fields with your stupid crop circles! (Getty Images)
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Woman walking towards UFO in wheat field, 3D generated image.
You guys need jumper cables or something? (Getty Images)
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Illinois Residents Have Seen UFOs/UAPs In All Sorts Of Shapes And Sizes Over The Last 12 Months

According to a piece at Patch.com on Illinois sightings reports to the National UFO Reporting Center, we're getting a pretty interesting variety of unknown aircraft all over our state.

  • In Dixon, a local reported that they'd seen an “unmanned object” in May in a sighting that lasted for about five minutes. They said the object changed shapes and moved just above the trees silently and that the craft looked different from various angles.
  • A Peoria resident said that they saw a fireball-like object, orange and red in color, and that the entire orb pulsated. The person said that object moved to the east for 5-10 minutes without any sound.
  • February in Collinsville, a report came in that a local resident had seen a bright column of light that was teal-colored, and stretched from the clouds and touched the ground for about 3 seconds before completely disappearing.
I'm with you Agent Mulder! (Getty Images)
I'm with you Agent Mulder! (Getty Images)
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READ ON: Weird, wild UFO sightings from throughout history

 

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