0:00:15.584,0:00:17.293 OK. stand there, there, there. 0:00:17.314,0:00:18.650 You've got a circle for me? 0:00:18.667,0:00:22.418 Hi everybody, my name[br]is Ben Mezrich, and I'm an author. 0:00:22.419,0:00:25.281 I'm here to talk about UFOs. 0:00:25.282,0:00:27.803 But I'll talk about how I got to UFOs 0:00:27.804,0:00:31.356 because my parents get very upset[br]when I just talk about UFOs. 0:00:31.357,0:00:33.549 I'm a non-fiction writer. 0:00:33.550,0:00:35.891 I never really wanted to be[br]a non-fiction writer. 0:00:35.892,0:00:37.448 I hated non-fiction growing up. 0:00:37.451,0:00:40.161 I loved TV, really bad TV, 0:00:40.162,0:00:42.592 like "Saved by the Bell"[br]and "Three's Company." 0:00:42.593,0:00:45.790 My parents, fearing the worst,[br]made a rule when we were little 0:00:45.791,0:00:50.135 that we had to read two books a week[br]before we were allowed to watch TV 0:00:50.136,0:00:53.744 so I became a speed reader[br]so that I could watch "Three's Company." 0:00:53.745,0:00:57.273 When I graduated from college,[br]I realized I wanted to be a writer. 0:00:57.274,0:01:00.249 I locked myself in an apartment[br]in Boston nearby here, 0:01:00.250,0:01:02.200 and I wrote nine novels in a year; 0:01:02.201,0:01:04.513 not something I recommend to any of you. 0:01:04.515,0:01:06.489 I was rejected by everyone in publishing. 0:01:06.490,0:01:09.880 I got 190 rejection slips[br]- had them taped to the walls -; 0:01:09.888,0:01:12.052 I look like a serial killer[br]in my apartment. 0:01:12.053,0:01:14.900 I was even rejected[br]by a janitor at a publishing house 0:01:14.901,0:01:16.210 because I wrote manuscript 0:01:16.211,0:01:18.950 and sent it to an editor[br]who was no longer working there. 0:01:18.951,0:01:20.342 They got thrown in the trash. 0:01:20.343,0:01:22.933 An editor took it out the trash[br]and then rejected me. 0:01:22.934,0:01:25.550 So it seemed unnecessary,[br]but that's what happened. 0:01:25.551,0:01:28.718 I went on and on and on,[br]and eventually, I found my way, 0:01:28.719,0:01:31.802 because I was hanging out in a bar[br]in Boston called "Crossroads" 0:01:31.803,0:01:33.610 - Some of you may know "Crossroads" - 0:01:33.619,0:01:37.100 and there was a group of MIT kids there,[br]and they had tons of money. 0:01:37.101,0:01:39.528 And it was all in 100 dollar bills. 0:01:39.529,0:01:41.969 I didn't know why they had[br]all this money in 100s. 0:01:41.970,0:01:45.549 So I met the main guy; he invited me[br]to his apartment in the South End, 0:01:45.550,0:01:48.194 and in his laundry was 250,000 dollars. 0:01:48.195,0:01:50.949 I said, "Are you a drug dealer?"[br]And he said, "No." 0:01:50.950,0:01:52.646 He said, "Come to Vegas with me." 0:01:52.647,0:01:58.168 I went to Vegas, and that turned out[br]to be the lead of the MIT blackjack team. 0:01:58.171,0:02:01.421 I joined the team, and I wrote a book,[br]and it became the movie "21." 0:02:01.422,0:02:04.017 "21" was about to come out,[br]I was sitting at home, 0:02:04.018,0:02:07.250 and I got a weird little email[br]from a Harvard senior, and it said, 0:02:07.251,0:02:11.160 "My best friend founded Facebook,[br]and no one's ever heard of him." 0:02:11.161,0:02:13.046 Another weird little moment in my life: 0:02:13.047,0:02:15.825 I go out for a drink[br]and in walks Eduardo Saverin; 0:02:15.825,0:02:17.036 - you've seen the movie - 0:02:17.037,0:02:19.813 kinda looks like the guy in the movie,[br]not as good-looking. 0:02:19.814,0:02:23.511 if you watched 21, it was the best looking[br]group of MIT kids you've ever seen. 0:02:23.512,0:02:27.092 "Social Network" was the best looking[br]Harvard kid you've ever seen. 0:02:27.093,0:02:31.794 Anyways, Eduardo walks in, sits down,[br]and says, "Mark Zuckerberg fucked me." 0:02:31.795,0:02:35.527 As a journalist, I had to say,[br]"Tell me more!" 0:02:35.528,0:02:38.966 And that became the movie[br]"The Social Network." 0:02:38.967,0:02:41.346 So that's the kind of things[br]I normally write. 0:02:41.347,0:02:45.318 About a year and half ago,[br]I heard about another story. 0:02:45.334,0:02:47.320 It was about a guy named Chuck Zukowski. 0:02:47.321,0:02:50.601 Chuck was a reserve sheriff's deputy[br]in Colorado. 0:02:50.602,0:02:53.711 Chuck was investigating[br]a cattle mutilation. 0:02:53.712,0:02:57.514 Out here in Massachusetts, we don't know[br]a lot about cattle mutilations, 0:02:57.515,0:02:59.964 but in the West,[br]they are an enormous problem: 0:02:59.965,0:03:05.056 over 10,000 cows and horses[br]have been found lying on their left side, 0:03:05.057,0:03:09.495 missing organs, all of of the cuts[br]are surgical and circular, 0:03:09.496,0:03:12.665 and bodies are[br]completely drained of blood. 0:03:12.666,0:03:15.049 This has been going on since the 60s. 0:03:15.050,0:03:17.719 It's such a huge phenomenon,[br]that in the 70s, 0:03:17.720,0:03:19.783 three state governors got together, 0:03:19.784,0:03:22.379 petitioned the Attorney General[br]of the United States 0:03:22.380,0:03:24.528 and demanded an investigation. 0:03:24.529,0:03:29.064 The FBI investigated,[br]involving 100 agents over 10 years, 0:03:29.065,0:03:30.525 and found nothing. 0:03:30.526,0:03:31.996 No one's ever been arrested, 0:03:31.996,0:03:35.113 there's not a single fingerprint,[br]not a single footprint, 0:03:35.114,0:03:38.568 these cows are just found lying there,[br]missing all their organs. 0:03:38.569,0:03:39.918 It's really weird. 0:03:39.919,0:03:42.369 Our sheriff's deputy, Chuck,[br]was investigating this, 0:03:42.370,0:03:44.651 and he starts to think, "UFOs." 0:03:44.652,0:03:47.461 He was immediately fired[br]from the Sheriff's Department. 0:03:47.745,0:03:50.703 This is what normally happens[br]when you say UFOs. 0:03:50.704,0:03:53.723 Anyways, he decided[br]to become a UFO hunter. 0:03:53.724,0:03:56.235 He got an RV, filled it with his family, 0:03:56.236,0:03:59.954 and started going up and down[br]the Midwest looking for UFOs. 0:03:59.955,0:04:03.059 His family didn't believe,[br]his wife is a total skeptic. 0:04:03.060,0:04:06.095 I interviewed her, and I said,[br]"How did you put up with this?" 0:04:06.096,0:04:09.529 And she said, "Well, it could be worse![br]He could be off having affairs. 0:04:09.530,0:04:12.577 He's just in the mountains[br]looking for aliens!" 0:04:12.578,0:04:15.982 So anyways, he starts[br]to make a weird discovery. 0:04:15.983,0:04:19.156 Turns out that the majority[br]of UFO sightings 0:04:19.158,0:04:23.287 occur along the 37th parallel[br]of the United States. 0:04:23.288,0:04:27.737 It also turns out most cattle mutilation[br]are along the 37th parallel. 0:04:27.738,0:04:31.871 It also turns out that almost all[br]of America's underground military bases 0:04:31.872,0:04:34.552 are along the 37th parallel[br]of the United States: 0:04:34.553,0:04:39.522 The Pentagon, Cheyenne Mountain,[br]Fort Knox, all the way over to Area 51. 0:04:39.523,0:04:41.514 Chuck is investigating UFOs. 0:04:41.515,0:04:43.864 He starts to have weird run-ins. 0:04:43.865,0:04:46.582 You would think he's having run-ins[br]with the government 0:04:46.583,0:04:49.625 because the government used to[br]investigate UFOs in this country. 0:04:49.626,0:04:51.928 There was something[br]called Project Blue Book. 0:04:51.929,0:04:54.304 After that, there were[br]two other secret projects, 0:04:54.305,0:04:57.452 but the government[br]no longer investigates UFOs. 0:04:57.453,0:05:01.144 It turns out Chuck was having run-ins[br]with a private corporation. 0:05:01.145,0:05:04.904 This is true, and this is where we are[br]going down the rabbit hole a little bit. 0:05:04.918,0:05:08.038 There's a company run by a billionaire[br]named Robert Bigelow. 0:05:08.039,0:05:11.968 Robert Bigelow made his money[br]from Budget Suites of America. 0:05:11.969,0:05:16.174 He then put most of his fortune[br]into something called Bigelow Aerospace. 0:05:16.175,0:05:17.394 - You might heard of it - 0:05:17.395,0:05:19.927 They have pieces[br]on the International Space Station. 0:05:19.928,0:05:22.460 They make something[br]called the TransHab with NASA 0:05:22.462,0:05:26.361 which is an inflatable gasket[br]that astronauts can live in. 0:05:26.362,0:05:30.205 They are intending one day[br]to build hotels on the Moon. 0:05:30.206,0:05:31.766 - It was their original project. 0:05:31.767,0:05:33.320 Anyway, this is a real company. 0:05:33.321,0:05:37.778 It turns out for the past 20 years,[br]they have been investigating UFOs. 0:05:37.779,0:05:41.867 They're doing this in conjunction with[br]certain government organizations. 0:05:41.868,0:05:46.738 If you get a copy of an FAA manual[br]that all of our civilian pilots use, 0:05:46.739,0:05:49.116 and you look through it,[br]deep into the writing, 0:05:49.117,0:05:53.153 what a pilot's supposed to do[br]if they see something in the air, 0:05:53.154,0:05:55.177 they don't report it to the FAA; 0:05:55.178,0:05:58.344 they don't report to their airline[br]because then they will be fired; 0:05:58.345,0:06:00.615 they report it to Bigelow. 0:06:00.616,0:06:02.416 Bigelow gets all this information. 0:06:02.417,0:06:08.540 He sends out a well-paid for teams[br]of investigators who investigate UFOs. 0:06:08.541,0:06:11.358 Chuck started having run-ins with them. 0:06:11.359,0:06:13.378 He didn't really know what was going on. 0:06:13.379,0:06:17.260 The story comes to a head at Roswell,[br]as all UFO stories do. 0:06:17.261,0:06:19.884 If you know anything[br]about Roswell, it's very kitschy, 0:06:19.885,0:06:24.050 you can go there now and eat a hamburger[br]in an UFO-shaped restaurant 0:06:24.051,0:06:27.292 or go to the alien ball,[br]dressed as your favorite Wookie. 0:06:27.312,0:06:31.633 But the reality is the story[br]behind Roswell is fascinating. 0:06:31.634,0:06:37.061 In 1947, America's first nuclear base was[br]there: it's called Walker Air Force Base. 0:06:37.062,0:06:39.736 They started to track something[br]coming through a storm 0:06:39.737,0:06:41.819 in the middle of the night in July. 0:06:41.820,0:06:43.372 Whatever that thing was, 0:06:43.373,0:06:47.372 it was hit by lighting[br]and crashed on a ranch in Roswell. 0:06:47.373,0:06:51.731 It's spread metallic debris[br]over 300 yards of this ranch. 0:06:51.732,0:06:55.230 The metallic debris was covered[br]in weird hieroglyphics, 0:06:55.231,0:06:58.187 it was made of the material[br]that people couldn't identify. 0:06:58.188,0:07:02.200 The rancher sees all this crap[br]on his lawn, he calls up the sheriff, 0:07:02.201,0:07:04.082 the sheriff calls the Air Force Space. 0:07:04.083,0:07:05.718 They send out a team. 0:07:05.719,0:07:10.058 The team gathers up the debris[br]and then puts out a press release. 0:07:10.059,0:07:12.934 The press release[br]from the US Air Force says, 0:07:12.935,0:07:15.927 "We now have[br]in our possession a flying saucer." 0:07:15.928,0:07:17.046 This is true. 0:07:17.047,0:07:20.253 Two hours later,[br]they rescind their press release. 0:07:20.254,0:07:22.967 They gather up all the material, 0:07:22.968,0:07:25.244 they go for inch by inch[br]and gather it all up, 0:07:25.245,0:07:28.310 they put it on a plane,[br]first they land in Dallas, 0:07:28.311,0:07:30.216 where they stage a photograph 0:07:30.217,0:07:34.115 with a radar operator sitting amongst[br]the debris of a broken weather balloon. 0:07:34.116,0:07:36.305 Everyone who was involved[br]in that photograph 0:07:36.306,0:07:38.580 has since come forward[br]and said it was fake. 0:07:38.581,0:07:41.698 The person who took the photograph,[br]the person in the photograph, 0:07:41.699,0:07:43.224 and the person who ordered it. 0:07:43.225,0:07:47.835 Anyways, the debris was then carted[br]to Area 51 where it is to this day. 0:07:47.836,0:07:52.999 For whatever reason, the Air Force[br]will not release the files on this crash. 0:07:53.000,0:07:56.626 Hillary Clinton, a few month ago,[br]was on Jimmy Kimmel, 0:07:56.641,0:07:58.714 and she said[br]if she were elected president, 0:07:58.715,0:08:00.512 one of the first things she would do 0:08:00.513,0:08:04.034 was get the Air Force[br]to release the UFO files. 0:08:04.035,0:08:06.767 Sadly, that is not to be. 0:08:06.768,0:08:08.657 (Laughter) 0:08:08.658,0:08:11.673 I don't know if she was trying to go[br]for the UFO vote with that. 0:08:11.793,0:08:15.202 I don't think there was enough UFO people[br]to get over her over the edge. 0:08:15.203,0:08:20.816 Every president we've had,[br]with the possible exception of Obama, 0:08:20.817,0:08:24.789 has believed in UFOs and has tried[br]to get these files released. 0:08:24.790,0:08:27.747 Jimmy Carter believed,[br]Ronald Reagan believed, 0:08:27.748,0:08:30.944 Bill Clinton tried twice to get[br]these files released and couldn't. 0:08:30.945,0:08:34.470 Hillary wanted to do it, we don't know[br]whether Trump will or not. 0:08:34.471,0:08:36.220 These files do exist. 0:08:36.221,0:08:40.774 For whatever reason, the government[br]will not show us what was at Roswell. 0:08:40.775,0:08:46.247 I've seen documents which say it's still,[br]to this day, an unidentified debris. 0:08:46.248,0:08:49.272 That's very strange.[br]This was a long, long time ago. 0:08:49.273,0:08:53.124 So anyways, I dove into this story[br]about the 37th parallel, 0:08:53.125,0:08:56.574 and I have come to believe[br]that there is a very good chance 0:08:56.575,0:09:00.450 that whatever crashed at Roswell[br]was not from here. 0:09:00.451,0:09:02.806 As I said, my parents hate me saying that, 0:09:02.807,0:09:07.198 because the reality is when you talk[br]about UFOs, there's a giggle factor. 0:09:07.199,0:09:08.849 Everyone assumes you are nuts. 0:09:08.850,0:09:13.347 A respected sheriff[br]can't look at a crash site 0:09:13.348,0:09:16.032 and say it's an UFO without getting fired. 0:09:16.033,0:09:17.968 A journalist can't talk about UFOs 0:09:17.969,0:09:20.713 without hearing X-Files music[br]in the background. 0:09:20.714,0:09:23.107 And no scientist can look into it 0:09:23.108,0:09:26.506 with the possible exception of the people[br]that Robert Bigelow has hired. 0:09:26.507,0:09:29.687 But we don't know what they are doing[br]with the materials they find. 0:09:29.688,0:09:31.784 So I want to leave you with this: 0:09:31.785,0:09:36.571 the impediments to believing[br]someone has come here from another planet, 0:09:36.572,0:09:38.234 have actually disappeared. 0:09:38.235,0:09:41.315 We used to think[br]there wasn't life out there, right? 0:09:41.316,0:09:43.915 Now we are all pretty sure[br]there probably is. 0:09:43.916,0:09:46.510 We find an Earth-like planet[br]almost every day. 0:09:46.511,0:09:49.998 We used to think these planets[br]are too far away, right? 0:09:49.999,0:09:51.666 But we now know that's not true, 0:09:51.667,0:09:53.917 Proxima Centauri, which is[br]one of these planets 0:09:53.944,0:09:57.794 is reachable by current[br]technology in 40 years. 0:09:57.795,0:09:59.591 That's not that long. 0:09:59.592,0:10:03.005 So, those two reasons[br]aren't around anymore. 0:10:03.006,0:10:06.903 The Catholic Church recently[br]put out a weird little edict 0:10:06.904,0:10:10.754 where they said, "If we do[br]discover life on other planets, 0:10:10.755,0:10:13.154 it will not affect Catholic doctrine." 0:10:13.155,0:10:14.998 (Laughter) 0:10:14.999,0:10:17.772 I think they're covering[br]their basis, right? 0:10:17.773,0:10:22.310 But I think that there's a sea change[br]going on in the opinions 0:10:22.311,0:10:24.655 of whether or not there's[br]life on other planets 0:10:24.656,0:10:26.573 and whether or not[br]they could come here. 0:10:26.574,0:10:29.881 And to be honest, looking at the news[br]that we are seeing every day, 0:10:29.882,0:10:32.306 if a UFO landed[br]on the White House lawn tomorrow, 0:10:32.307,0:10:34.599 it wouldn't even be[br]the top five strange things 0:10:34.600,0:10:36.063 in the newspaper today. 0:10:36.064,0:10:38.888 Anyways, thank you very much.[br]I appreciated it. Thank you. 0:10:38.889,0:10:40.319 (Applause)