Flying Objects: Unidentified & Identified

There seem to be a lot of stories about UFOs popping up recently. I don’t believe in UFOs, but with all the recent hype, it’s hard for me not to reconsider. One recent story involves a UFO seen last week near the town of Stephenville, Texas. What gives the story more credibility is the amount of people who say they saw it, including a pilot and a policeman. All of them talked about an object that hovered over the town for about five minutes. Five minutes! That’s a long time in the world of UFO’s. I wonder why nobody managed to get a high-quality video taken of the event. The pilot said the UFO flew away at “more than 3,000 mph,” while two fighter jets tried hopelessly to keep up with it. Military officials were skeptical, of course, saying it was simply an optical illusion: sunlight reflecting on two airplanes.

UFO. Unidentified Flying Object (OVNI – Objeto Volante No Identificado)
To pop up. Aparecer (This verb is used in an informal way.)
Hype. Promoción exagerada
To hover. Planear
To wonder. Preguntarse
To manage. Lograr, conseguir
Mph. Miles per hour
Fighter jet. Avión de caza
To keep up (with). Mantenerse al ritmo

Richard Knerr died the other day. He was 82. Does his name ring a bell? He was the co-founder of Wham-O, Inc., the company that sold the Frisbee – those flying discs. I used to play Frisbee as a kid and I still enjoy tossing a Frisbee in my free time. Mr. Knerr, along with Mr. Arthur Melin, started Wham-O practically by accident. Their first business involved training falcons. Buy using slingshots, they shot meatballs in the air as a way to teach the falcons how to dive at their prey! One potential customer became so interested in their slingshot, and not the falcons, that he wanted to buy one for himself. That’s when the two men quit the falcon business and -along with slingshots- they started making Hula Hoops. At one point they were producing 20,000 hoops a day!

Does his name ring a bell? ¿Os suena su nombre?
To toss. Tirar, lanzar
By accident. Por casualidad
Falcon. Halcón
Slingshot. Tirachinas
Meatball. Albóndiga
To dive. Lanzarse en picado
Prey. Presa
Hoop. Aro

Published by: Drew Crosby