Editing Unidentified flying object (section)

==In popular culture==

{{Main|UFOs in fiction}}
[[File:Tenjo Estatua UFO.JPG|thumb|right|A UFO monument in [[Tenjo]], [[Colombia]]]]

UFOs have constituted a widespread international [[cultural phenomenon]] since the 1950s. [[Gallup (company)|Gallup Polls]] rank UFOs near the top of lists for subjects of widespread recognition. In 1973, a survey found that 95 percent of the public reported having heard of UFOs, whereas only 92 percent had heard of [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Gerald Ford]] in a 1977 poll taken just nine months after he left the White House.<ref>[[#Jacobs|Jacobs 2000]], Chapter: "UFOs: Lost in the Myths" by Thomas E. Bullard, p. 141</ref><ref>[[#Jacobs|Jacobs 2000]], Chapter: "UFOs, the Military, and the Early Cold War Era" by [[Michael D. Swords]], pp. 82–121</ref>

A 1996 Gallup Poll reported that 71 percent of the United States population believed the U.S. government was covering up information regarding UFOs. A 2002 [[Elmo Roper|Roper Poll]] for the [[Syfy|Sci-Fi Channel]] found similar results, but with more people believing UFOs are extraterrestrial craft. In that latest poll, 56 percent thought UFOs were real craft and 48 percent that aliens had visited the Earth. Again, about 70 percent felt the government was not sharing everything it knew about UFOs or extraterrestrial life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scifi.com/ufo/roper/ |title=The Roper Poll |work=Ufology Resource Center |publisher=[[Syfy|SciFi.com]] |date=September 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060713204836/http://www.scifi.com/ufo/roper/ <!--Bot retrieved archive--> |archive-date=July 13, 2006 |access-date=August 19, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mufon.com/fastfacts.htm |title=UFO Fast Facts |website=MUFON.com |publisher=Mutual UFO Network, Inc. |location=Cincinnati, OH |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430100715/http://www.mufon.com/fastfacts.htm |archive-date=April 30, 2008 |access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref>

Another effect of the flying saucer type of UFO sightings has been Earth-made flying saucer craft in space fiction, for example the United Planets Cruiser [[C-57D|C57D]] in ''[[Forbidden Planet]]'' (1956), the ''[[Jupiter 2|Jupiter{{nbsp}}2]]''<!--No correction needed.--> in ''[[Lost in Space]]'', and the saucer section of the [[Starship Enterprise|USS ''Enterprise'']] in ''[[Star Trek]]''. UFOs and [[extraterrestrials]] have been featured [[List of films featuring extraterrestrials|in many movies]].

The intense secrecy surrounding the secret Nevada base, known as [[Area 51]], has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component of UFO folklore. In July 2019, more than 2 million people replied to a [[Storm Area 51|joke proposal to storm Area 51]] which appeared in an anonymous Facebook post.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/storm-area-51-when-where-aliens-military-base-raid-facebook-event-a9005546.html|title=Storm Area 51: Are Alien-hunters Really Planning to 'Raid' the Secret U.S. Military Base?|first=Andrew|last=Griffin|newspaper=The Independent|date=July 17, 2019|access-date=July 3, 2021|archive-date=July 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716140827/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/storm-area-51-when-where-aliens-military-base-raid-facebook-event-a9005546.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Two music festivals in rural Nevada, "AlienStock" and "Storm Area 51 Basecamp", were subsequently organized to capitalize on the popularity of the original Facebook event.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-area51/in-nevada-desert-area-51-raid-lures-festive-ufo-hunters-three-arrested-idUSKBN1W51H6|title=Area 51 raid lures festive UFO hunters to Nevada desert; five arrested|last=Richwine|first=Lisa|date=September 20, 2019|work=Reuters|access-date=July 3, 2021|archive-date=November 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123210209/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-area51/in-nevada-desert-area-51-raid-lures-festive-ufo-hunters-three-arrested-idUSKBN1W51H6|url-status=live}}</ref> 150 people showed up to the Area 51 entrance and attendance at the festivals was 1,500.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Baynes |first1=Chris |title=Storm Area 51: Hundreds of people gather at US military base to 'see them aliens' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/storm-area-51-military-aliens-nevada-rachel-a9114211.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/storm-area-51-military-aliens-nevada-rachel-a9114211.html |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=September 21, 2019|access-date=September 23, 2019}}</ref>