The Calvine UFO made a comeback in 2022. It is, according to UK academic David Clarke, "the best image of an unidentified flying object ever taken" - an unsurprising opinion from the man who tracked down the photo 32 years after it was taken.

Before he became a part of the story he was investigating, Clarke found no good evidence the craft was real (alien or otherwise) and preferred the conclusion that it was a hoax.

Now he promotes the mystery of the photograph as a high-tech black project craft hovering over the Scottish moors in full view of two hapless hikers (but no one else) taking a break from their menial hotel jobs. He hasn't explained why his previous analysis was wrong. And he not only ridicules skeptical theories but misrepresents them.

The way Clarke has been dishonestly reporting on one aspect of this story in particular, for no apparent reason other than to mislead, leads me to conclude that he believes the photo is a hoax - specifically, that it is a 3D star ornament, a theory first proposed by Wim van Utrecht.

His accomplice in this deception is Andrew Robinson, the photography expert who analyzed the Calvine UFO. Robinson has softened his stance to include the possibility of a hoax, but can't come right out and say it's a model without undermining his "expert" analysis.

​In 1952, Shell R. Alpert, US Coast Guard photographer, shot this formation of four bright lights through the window of his photo lab in Salem MA, in the middle of the 2-week “Washington flap”.

It’s hailed as a classic UFO photo. It was in all the papers!

Was it a genuine UFO? A misunderstanding? Or a hoax?

Sleep paralysis has been offered as an explanation for some alien abduction experiences (I first read about it from Carl Sagan but I'm sure he wasn't the first), and the evidence shows the explanation is a good one. ​

For the three main cases covered on this site, I've added links to my relevant Twitter threads that cover aspects of each case in summary form.

The tweets are linked as bulleted lists from the main page for each case:

• Travis Walton
• The Hills
• Anjali

My pinned tweet lists a few additional threads, including for these cases:

• Ariel schoolchildren
• Skinny Bob:
  • Film overlays and puppetry
  • Possible involvement of a creature creator

In May someone on Twitter told me about an alien abduction case where two guys on different continents woke up wearing each other’s shirts. Then he mentioned Travis Walton, who I'd never heard of, and I read some stuff and made this site.

Since then I've looked into a handful of cases that interested me, bitten the heads off a few people who think they know better than me what I should be interested in, and written some Twitter threads. This is a retrospective from my point of view of the past 8 months, itemizing some things I've learned.

I get emails. Sometimes they are sent by people in an RPG who appear to believe I am in the same RPG. It's pretty funny.

Three-Dollar Kit aims to collect evidence for popular UFO sightings and alien abductions, starting with the Travis Walton case from 1975 which inspired the website's name. You'll see why.

Before you yell at me, remember: I don't care how many witnesses there are, or how "nice" the players are. Gimme the evidence.

If you still want to yell at me, write to me [email protected]. If my blood sugar level is high I may write back with wit. If my blood alcohol level is high I may write back with sarcasm.

​Or I may ignore you. I may even quote you here, although without attribution unless you're (in)famous.

Comment on the blog to engage with other like-minded folk. (Don't blame me if they don't like your particular mind.)

Let's do this thing!!