Modern Mysteries

50 years on: the strange case of the Betz mystery sphere

By T.K. Randall
February 1, 2024 ·  32 comments

The sphere attracted a lot of media attention. Image Credit: St. Petersburg Times The story began all the way back in 1974 when the Betz family of Fort George Island, Florida, discovered a mysterious metal sphere after investigating the site of a brush fire near their home.

Believing it to be a cannonball from some historic battle, they decided to keep it, but it soon became clear that the object - which was suspiciously pristine - was not what it seemed.

According to reports, the family claimed that the sphere had started to behave peculiarly, reacting to guitar playing by emitting a throbbing noise and changing direction when being rolled across the floor.

They even maintained that the sphere would follow people around the house on its own accord.

Eventually, the US military became involved and managed to get their hands on the sphere. According to one analysis, there were "radio waves coming from it and a magnetic field around it", however initial attempts to X-ray it proved futile due to the metal being too thick to penetrate.

Even UFO researcher J. Allen Hynek got a chance to examine it, but he, along with the military experts, all concluded that the object was most likely man-made.

This didn't stop it being billed as an extraterrestrial device by the media, however.

It was later discovered that the stainless steel sphere happened to be a perfect match for a component kept in stock by a Jacksonville equipment supply company.

Its erratic movements, it was argued, were more likely to be a consequence of the uneven floor at the family's newly rebuilt house than due to any unusual properties of the sphere itself.

Even so, to this day the sphere continues to remain a topic of debate and intrigue.

Source: The Sun | Comments (32)

Tags: Sphere