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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Mysterious sphere believed to be extra terrestrial. A steel sphere
with a diameter of about twenty centimeters was discovered in
a Florida family's yard in nineteen seventy four, capable of
rolling and changing direction on its own. After a fire.
In March nineteen seventy four, the Betts family on Fort

(00:20):
George Island, Florida found the strange metal sphere in their yard. Initially,
they believed it to be a Spanish cannonball from the Renaissance. However,
the sphere was clean, unblemished, and shiny, while weapons from
that era were typically made of iron or stone, not
stainless steel or silver plated. Another peculiar detail was that

(00:41):
when they brought the sphere inside, it began to operate
on its own, rolling, making noise, and even vibrating. The U. S.
Navy analyzed the sphere at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
A spokesperson for the Navy told the Saint Petersburg Times
that their initial extra attempt failed because their machine couldn't

(01:02):
penetrate the steel sphere, but two subsequent tests revealed its
internal contents. I don't know who created it, but it
comes from Earth. We know it is not explosive and
poses no danger, the spokesperson said. The Betts family then
sent the sphere to renowned astronomer and UFO researcher J.
Allen Heineck for examination. Heineck also concluded that the object

(01:26):
was human made. After the Navy's analysis determined the sphere
was made of steel. It was compared to a stainless
steel sphere from the Bell and Howell Equipment Company in Jacksonville.
When hearing news about the mysterious Betts sphere, the company
president Robert Edwards showed reporters a twenty centimeter stainless steel
sphere weighing over nine point five kilograms, almost identical in size.

(01:49):
I'm not saying this didn't come from outer space, because
I have never seen it. All I'm saying is that
its physical description matches the type of sphere we have.
Edwards shared. Regards ving the sphere's strange behaviors, experts suggest
that it might simply roll on an uneven floor. I
believe the sphere moves due to the construction of the house.

(02:09):
It is old and the stone floor is not level.
The sphere is almost perfectly balanced, and even a small
dent could cause it to move or change direction. The
Navy spokesperson noted. Moreover, it would be challenging for aliens
with advanced technology to use Earth's four hundred thirty one
steel alloy typically used in aircraft pins and bolts. It

(02:31):
would likely not remain intact during a fiery descent to Earth.
Even a solid steel sphere would not escape damage. It
is understandable that an ordinary family in Florida might attribute
some unbelievable characteristics to a strange object in their yard.
In the absence of clear scientific data, the story could
easily gain traction. The nineteen seventies were also a golden

(02:55):
age of belief in phenomena like UFOs. However, the Bett's
mystery speH is likely just a misplaced ordinary object. While
playing guitar, Terry, the son of Antoine and Jerry Betts,
noticed the sphere reacted to the sound of the guitar,
producing thumping noises that frightened their dog. Things became even
stranger when they sat on the floor and rolled the

(03:17):
sphere to each other. When rolled, it would change direction
mid roll and return to the person who rolled it.
When the family dog approached the sphere, it began whimpering
and covered its ears with its paws, something I had
never seen before, Jerry Betts said in an interview with
the Saint Petersburg Times in April nineteen seventy four. The

(03:37):
Betts family also speculated that sunlight might affect the sphere,
causing it to move vigorously in bright sunlight. The sphere,
about twenty centimeters in diameter and weighing around ten kilograms,
is now known as the BET's Mystery Sphere. When a
specialist from a research company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, examined it,

(03:58):
he found radio waves emanating from and a magnetic field
surrounding it. Jerry Betts said these strange details about the
sphere have led many to speculate about its extraterrestrial origins.