the buzz log

What you thought was a nice place to see kangaroos and the Outback is actually the site of the coming alien invasion. Well, maybe.

The blog I09 recounts a spate of reports that Australians in Sydney have been abducted, taken to a medical facility in the Blue Mountains, and, um, medically examined.

The victims claim to be sort of asleep, conveniently next to an open window, when they levitate over the city and onto an operating table inside an Unidentified Flying Object. This is where they face the inevitable "dental or baking instrument" used as a probe. (If anyone has been abducted by aliens and not faced the probe, please come forward now.)

Extraterrestrial enthusiasts are probing for UFOs online. Interest in "ufo evidence" has mysteriously increased 125% in the last seven days, along with "real aliens," "ufo photos," and "ufo sightings." Then there's the ominous "aliens will probably invade."

Self-proclaimed UFO expert Michael Cohen, who has studied the abduction reports, can't explain the alien interest in Aussies. But the details do tell him certain things: Since the reports come from single men, these aliens appear not to like witnesses (or marriage. But we digress). Aliens can't make people float through walls (they do seem to choose places with open windows).

Sure, all that makes sense to us. But will someone please explain the deal with the probe?

Filed under: Aliens

NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell doesn't just want to believe. He knows. The sixth man to walk on the moon says aliens have been among us "many times" and the government is well aware of the fact.

The Apollo 14 pilot has made statements like this before, but a recent interview set off a flurry of new buzz. Even The New York Times jumped into the fray, offering up a blog post titled "When an astronaut believes in aliens." It includes links to past video clips of the scientist expostulating on the intergalactic visitors.

Many searchers, it seems, want to believe, too. Interest in "edgar mitchell" jumped more than 490% yesterday, while queries spiked for "ufos," "aliens," and—our favorite—"real aliens." None of the cheap plastic kind for us.

What do the space-travelers look like? According to Dr.Mitchell, they are "short, (with a) slight frame, large eyes, and large head." So keep an eye out.

Filed under: UFOs, Aliens

Call it the change in season or the chill in the air. Call it the time of year when the human mind turns to unexplained phenomena. Whatever the reason, demand for mysterious "sightings" has stolen upwards in Buzz. In the past week, fearless searchers scanned the Web for evidence of extraterrestrial visitors, otherworldly callers, and one American Idol. Here's how the queries lined up in popularity...

Some notes...

–The truth is out there—and it's shaped like a saucer. UFOs dominate the "sightings" galaxy. Other unidentified flying queries whooshing through Search this week include "haitian ufo sightings," "ufo sightings 2007," "latest ufo sightings," and "recent ufo sightings."

–Why "moonsighting" at #7 and not "moon sightings"? Rather than seeking general glimpses of the Moon, this popular query  tracks one specific destination—moonsighting.com. The web site helps Muslims to determine the "start of Islamic months based on possibility of crescent sighting."

–Dermot Mulroney (#13) and Taylor Hicks (#14)? We have no idea how this unlikely pair vaulted into a list of supernatural phenomena and mythical creatures. But we congratulate them for outranking demons, angels, and the Man of Steel.

–No Nessie? Though "real loch ness monster sightings" did surge recently, the Scottish beastie still doesn't draw enough search interest to appear in our top 20 list. Sorry, sea serpent...

Filed under: Ghosts, UFOs, Aliens