Geophysical variables and behavior: XC. What people consider strange: change in proportions of reports of Fortean phenomena over time

The proportions of 3,667 reports classified as unusual or odd events within eight major categories for four contiguous blocks of time between 1770 and 1970 were compared for disconcordance. The major source of the disconcordance (phi = .52) of reports between the major categories and time was due to the decrease in the numbers of reports of falls of ice, rocks, and animals but increased numbers of reports of odd luminosities, labelled as unidentified flying objects, after the mid 1930s. One hypothesis to explain this result is that cultural changes in attributions for causes of natural phenomena may affect their designation as strange rather than mundane.