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© Copyright 1999, Jim Loy
Lenticular clouds are clouds, in the sky, which are
shaped like convex lenses. I don't imagine that anyone with half a brain would
look up into the sky and mistake one for a flying saucer. But photographs of
lenticular clouds have apparently (rarely, I assume) been mistaken for
photographs of flying saucers.
I suppose the reason for this mistake is that they often look too perfect, like a manufactured object. We see them all the time in the sky, but be don't notice them, because we have mentally categorized them as clouds, without much thought. Then we see a photograph of one, and don't remember seeing anything like it.
But, it is amusing to imagine that there are people so ready to believe in UFOs, that they may see such a cloud as a UFO. OK, you would never mistake a cloud for a UFO. But, are you ready to believe almost anything, uncritically.
Of course, this is a lame UFO. I only bring it up because of the trivia question, below.
Trivia question: Does the term "lenticular cloud" come from the word "lens" or the word "lentil?"
Answer: Actually, "lenticular" comes from "lens" which, in turn, comes from "lentil." Lenses were called lenses because they were often shaped somewhat like lentils, especially when grabbed by the hand full.