The Michelin UFOnauts: Extraterrestrials or Tired Ghosts?
Friday, May 28, 2010
I suppose that the pun is unforgivable but some things have an unopposable force to them. I just couldn't face FSR for a few days and rummaged through my latest mailing from home to myself, and there was my Michelin Man file, so what-the-heck? This small pile of cases is just big enough to be intriguing [rather than tossed to the side as idiosyncratic random imagery]. But, fair warning, I have never been able to get any handle on its interpretation. Why would someone report a UFOnaut looking like the Michelin Man made out of white tires? And worse, why would several people do so? The Michelin Man himself had already had a long and somewhat affectionate history in France dating back to the late 1800s. The statue above is of that early era. Known as "Bibendum" ["drinker" of nails, glass, and other tire-rending road debris], he was a friendly folk character in French culture for decades. Then, once UFOs came along, he began to shuffle right out of them and into a different folklore. A weird feature [to me] of the whacky world of UFOlogy, I can only collect my little pile of cases and leave it to you folks to explain it to me. So, here goes.
The earliest date claimed [in my set] for a Bibendum showing is 1950. This report is of a young girl and her father in Vaux-en-Dieulet, France, which was not made public until 1980. The object was a transparent disk within which was a small being looking like Bibendum. It had a round helmet with tubes and air[?] tanks attached. The girl felt paralyzed.
Date two is 1954 from Mauberge or Auberge, France. A husband and wife were driving when they encountered a "fat shell" sitting in the road. Getting out of it was a 4-foot tall Bibendum. The couple just raced by. I have not been able to determine when this case was actually reported.
Date three is 1955 from Dinan, France. Here a single witness on foot outside his home was paralyzed by two Bibenda exiting a large domed disk near his courtyard. They wore boxes on their chests and walked awkwardly. This case seems to have been reported in 1970.
Date four is 1960 from Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. The Bibenda here are the ones represented by the drawing that accompanies this section. Here a motorcyclist saw two beings near the road ahead, one very tall [between 6 and 7 feet] and one nearer normal size. They were colored red and walked as if injured. No craft was seen. This case was reported in 1980.
Date five is 1962 or 1963. It was not reported until 2009. Here in Newbury, Berkshire, UK a single witness saw a very tall Bibendum walking up the slope of a nearby road. No craft was seen.
Date six is 1967. Here a couple was driving to Pierre Buffiere, France, when they saw a 3 foot tall Bibendum standing by the roadside. It waved at them and floated away. No craft was seen. I have not been able to find when this was reported.
Date seven is 1968. I would not be surprised if this is not the actual first reported Bibendum case [reported the same year]. The drawing accompanying this section is from the witness. On La Plaine des Cafres, Isle de Reunion, The witness saw a disk or egg-shaped craft with pedestal like formations on bottom and top, parked in his field. Within the large transparent bay window were two Bibenda about 3 1/2 feet tall. This case was reported to the gendarmerie immediately [which gives it a lot more standing in my eyes]. The site was not inspected until several days later, and showed an increase in radioactivity signature at that time [but mild]. In search of theories about this group of cases one should consider the possibility that this IS the original case, and some of the others are imitative contaminants.
...
Read the rest at this link ... with more drawings and pictures:
The Michelin UFOnauts: Extraterrestrials or Tired Ghosts?
Friday, May 28, 2010
http://thebiggeststudy.blogspot.com/201 ... ls-or.html
