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Google’s Wi-Fi balloons get mistaken for UFOs in Kentucky

Published May 29th, 2014 2:36PM EDT
Google Project Loon Balloons

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If you see an unidentified flying object with a Google logo on it, don’t worry too much — the company isn’t planning to abduct you and subject you to invasive probes, especially since its own algorithms are capable of probing you more thoroughly than any aliens ever could. Space.com reports that two years ago, some residents in Pike County, Kentucky reported seeing what they thought were UFOs from outer space but that turned out to be some of Google’s balloons that the company plans to use to bring Wi-Fi connectivity to rural parts of the world that lack Internet service.

Apparently, it took Google a year to claim responsibility for producing the UFO, which the local government was helpless to explain. Apparently the balloon flew all the way over from California, where Google officials said that they lost track of it after its controls malfunctioned. Space.com says that this still isn’t enough to convince diehard UFO believers, who insist that the pictures they’ve taken of the UFO over Kentucky look nothing like any Google balloon they’ve ever seen. Google says that the ballon that flew over Kentucky was an early prototype that featured a more elongated body than later versions of the balloons.

That said, if there was one company out there we could see being involved in a UFO coverup conspiracy, it’s definitely Google. This is the same company, after all, that has done extensive research into teleportation and space elevators, so it’s definitely not a stranger to science fiction.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.