In the early nineties, I "studied" at the University of Oslo, and spent a lot of time in the computer labs, which was one of the few places you could access the then fairly new internet. One of the services I spent a lot of time on was Usenet, a kind of predecessor to later web-based discussion forums. And one of the topics I was very interested in was UFOs.
It probably all started when a family member and a neighbor saw a mysterious light in the sky. The association UFO Norway got involved and came to my home town to hold a public meeting. We became members and were sent their membership magazine, which was always full of stories about people who had seen mysterious spaceships, been kidnapped by aliens and found pieces of metal in their bodies afterwards.
Hessdalen was of course also a recurring story, and when I later read up on information about Roswell and Area 51 in posts on Usenet, and the famous "alien autopsy" video appeared, I was sold.
This had to be real, and the government was obviously hiding something from us!
Gradually, I got better at critical thinking and my conviction began to wane. The evidence was always anecdotal and, of course, the infamous autopsy video turned out to be fake. As exciting as the X-Files was, claiming that The Truth was out there, I was no longer a believer.
The last couple of decades have been pretty quiet around UFOs. Perhaps because everyone suddenly carries a high-resolution digital cell phone camera with them everywhere, but the high-quality images and videos of flying saucers and aliens suspiciously haven't multiplied as a result.
But in recent years, UFOs have become a topic again. This time under the less stigmatized name UAPs - Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon.
