A giant diamond unearthed in Botswana, a missing plane from 1965 seemingly found, and a Congressman who says that UFOs are probably ET are among the strange, unusual, and enlightening stories to cross our desk this week.
In a testament to how the public perception of UFOs has changed in recent years, a United States Congressman mused this week that, if these mysterious craft are real, then they likely come from "out of this galaxy." Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee made the surprising endorsement of the extraterrestrial hypothesis after dismissing the possibility that UAPs are Russian in nature, which he called a "ridiculous" idea. The Congressman went on to assert that the Roswell crash was covered up by the government and lamented that the 'powers that be' refuse to reveal the truth to the American people.
This past week saw a pair of unexpected stories centered around, of all things, diamonds. First, in South Africa, a veritable 'diamond rush' erupted in a village where some mysterious crystal-like stones were discovered. Convinced that the unearthed objects are diamonds, thousands of treasure hunters descended upon the community in the hopes of recovering some of the curious rocks. Meanwhile, in Botswana, a mining company unearthed a jaw-dropping 1,098-carat diamond that is believed to be the third-largest such gem ever discovered.
A longstanding California mystery may nearly be solved as it was revealed this week that a downed aircraft that had been missing for decades might have finally been found. The plane in question vanished following a mid-air incident over Folsom Dam near Sacramento on New Year's Day back in 1965. Despite multiple searches over the years, the airliner was never located. However, an underwater surveying company recently tested some new equipment at the adjoining Folsom Lake and were stunned when they spotted a sonar return showing an airplane, believed to be from the 1965 crash, in the water.
For more strange and unusual stories from the past week, check out the Coast to Coast AM website.