Today marks the 67th edition of an odd 'holiday' which boasts an even stranger origin story: 'World Contact Day.'
It all started during the nascent days of UFO research, back in 1953, when a group known as the 'International Flying Saucer Bureau' decided to attempt contact with the presumed occupants of these craft.
Led by one of the more colorful characters in UFO history, Albert Bender, the IFSB proceeded to pen a message to the 'space brothers' which read:
Calling occupants of interplanetary craft! Calling occupants of interplanetary craft that have been observing our planet Earth. We of IFSB wish to make contact with you. We are your friends, and would like you to make an appearance here on Earth.
Your presence before us will be welcomed with the utmost friendship. We will do all in our power to promote mutual understanding between your people and the people of EARTH. Please come in peace and help us in our EARTHLY problems.
Give us some sign that you have received our message. Be responsible for creating a miracle here on our planet to wake up the ignorant ones to reality. Let us hear from you. We are your friends.
The plan put forward by the IFSB was to send this message to the flying saucer occupants via telepathy and, by harnessing the power of their hundreds of members, hopefully produce a powerful signal, of sorts.
Clearly, the communication either did not reach those aboard the flying saucers or it was deliberately ignored, since we're still waiting for the elusive moment when the planet is actually contacted by beings from another world.
And, sadly, Bender himself did not participate in many more 'World Contact Days' as he infamously fled the UFO research field a few years later following an alleged encounter with the Men in Black.
Nonetheless, the IFSB's message wound up spreading farther than even the group, themselves, probably expected when psychedelic pop group Klaatu produced a song inspired by the event.
The tune, titled "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft,' was subsequently covered by the Carpenters and resulted in a truly mind-bending music video from the 1970's.
Although World Contact Day failed to create a connection with flying saucer occupants, the 'holiday' is still celebrated today by UFO groups both for its optimistic message as well as its historical significance.
For those keeping score at home, it joins Extraterrestrial Culture Day (February 2), Alien Abduction Day (March 20), and World UFO Day (June 24 / July 2) on the calendar of flying saucer-themed holidays each year.