A UFO declassified by the Pentagon turned out to be a balloon (2 photos + 1 video)
The global community of ufologists and conspiracy theorists has been in ecstasy for weeks. Under direct orders from the White House, the Pentagon has begun a massive download of previously classified archives and video files depicting unidentified anomalous phenomena. 
And among hundreds of boring reports, the public has finally found a gem – a video from a military helicopter's thermal imaging camera showing a strange anthropomorphic silhouette gliding over a national park in California.
An object without wings, engines, or visible sound hovered in the sky, carried by the wind. UFO publics immediately erupted into a nightmare. Conspiracy theorists, in all seriousness, rushed to prove that the footage depicted a "hovering alien in a spacesuit," a "genuine biblical angel," or, at worst, a secret test of American military jetpacks.
However, the triumph of the extraterrestrial life seekers was short-lived. Ordinary social media users, whose critical thinking and knowledge of pop culture are far more developed than those of Pentagon analysts, intervened.
They simply took a still frame from a declassified video, cleaned it of digital thermal noise, and superimposed the silhouette of... an ordinary foil balloon in the shape of an Imperial Stormtrooper from Star Wars. It was a perfect match!
The distinctive shape of the helmet, the contours of the armor, and even the lifeless and sad way the alien's "legs" dangled in the air perfectly matched the Chinese helium-filled toy. Apparently, someone had a blast at a children's birthday party in California, accidentally launching an Imperial Marine into the stratosphere.
As a result, instead of first contact with a highly advanced civilization, the Pentagon once again received a healthy dose of tomato-throwing on social media. The Empire struck back from an unexpected source.
