The index page for the 1954 French flap section of this website is here.
Reference for this case: 3-Oct-54-Tomblaine.
Please cite this reference in any correspondence with me regarding this case.
The regional newspaper L'Est Républicain for October 5, 1954, reported that on October 4, one of their readers told them that on Sunday, October 3, 1954, at 01:36 p.m. (the time is precise because this reader had looked at his watch), he saw "balls" passing over his house on Quai de la Bataille, coming from the direction of Tomblaine.
Caught in a whirlwind, one of these "balls" touched the ground, which allowed the witness to observe that it was merely an amalgam of what is commonly known as "gossamer" or "angel hair" - "Virgin's Threads" in French.
[Ref. ler1:] NEWSPAPER "L'EST REPUBLICAIN":
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Reports of the passage of "mysterious craft" keep coming in, sometimes contradicting each other. After the "pans" that flew over Vandoeuvre on Sunday around 3:45 p.m., another reader informed us yesterday that on Sunday, around 1:36 p.m. (he checked his watch, he specified), he saw "balls" passing over his house, located on Quai de la Bataille, coming from the direction of Tomblaine.
Caught in a whirlwind, one of these "balls" touched the ground, allowing the witness to observe that it was merely an amalgamation of what is commonly called "Virgin's Threads."
These "objects" were therefore nothing mysterious.
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This is what is called in ufology a "negative case": a case for which the witness himself found an ordinary explanation.
Documenting negative cases is very useful as it allows for a "comparative" ufology: a so-called "unexplained" case may resemble another that does have an ordinary explanation, which could potentially apply to the former.
"Angel hair" ("Fils de la Vierge" in French), is a term that refers to a means of aerial locomotion used notably by certain spiders, mites, and butterfly larvae. Their silk creates a trail and allows the animal to take off. For spiders, this enables them to escape danger, leave a burned area, cross obstacles, or colonize new environments. The phenomenon can involve millions of spiders.
(These keywords are only to help queries and are not implying anything.)
Tomblaine, Meurthe-et-Moselle, balls, ground, angel hair, negative case
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| Version: | Created/Changed by: | Date: | Change Description: |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Patrick Gross | July 9, 2025 | First published. |
