George Adamski and the Man from Venus
The account
Adamski claimed he spoke in the desert with a blond Venusian who warned against nuclear weapons.
What investigators found
Venus is uninhabitable, and the photos of his spacecraft are considered fakes built from ordinary objects.
The story
In November 1952, George Adamski claimed that in the California desert he had met a humanoid being from Venus who communicated through gestures and telepathy and was worried about atomic bombs. He published books, lectured around the world, and released photos of bell-shaped craft that became the classic template for the flying saucer.
Adamski was the first great "contactee," and he paved the way for dozens more. Space probes later showed that Venus has a scorching surface and a crushing atmosphere, with no chance of life as he described it. Analysts note that the craft in his photos were small assembled objects shot up close. Most researchers, ufologists included, consider the case a hoax.