tl;dr: Pilot in 1947 sees unidentified objects that fly in a saucer-like fashion, i.e., flew "like a saucer if you skip it across the water", and reporters are

tl;dr: Pilot in 1947 sees unidentified objects that fly in a saucer-like fashion, i.e., flew "like a saucer if you skip it across the water", and reporters are chastised for inventing the term "flying saucer". But if look at the pilot's actual drawing from the article, here: http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/img/posts/2014/06/Arnold_AAF_drawing/32229c832.jpg http://cdn.theatlantic.com/newsroom/img/posts/2014/06/Arnold... What common household object would be a good metaphor for what he saw? a donut a pencil a loaf of bread a teapot a balloon a cigar or, a saucer Looking around my own kitchen and garage, I can't find a better one-word description than saucer. (Maybe Frisbee but did that even exist in 1947?) The reporter(s) saw the saucer-shaped drawing, and the pilot did talk about saucer-like flight, hence "flying saucer". It's crazy to call this "one of the most significant reporter misquotes in history".