Joe Simonton Pancake Encounter

At approximately 11 a.m. on April 18, 1961, 54- or 60-year-old Joe Simonton of Eagle River, Wisconsin, was eating breakfast when he heard a sound like 'knobby tires on wet pavement.' Looking out, he observed a bright, chrome-like, disc-shaped object about 30 feet in diameter and 12 feet high descend vertically and hover a foot above his driveway. A hatch opened and three dark-skinned, human-looking men about 5 feet tall, wearing black two-piece suits with turtleneck tops, became visible. One appeared to be cooking pancakes on a square, flameless griddle. Simonton fetched a pail of water and gestured toward the food. One of the men handed him four hot, perforated pancakes. The interior was described as dull black like wrought iron with instrument panels. The hatch closed, the object rose with the same tire-like sound, and departed to the south. Simonton ate one pancake, describing it as tasting like cardboard. He gave others to a local judge, J. Allen Hynek (investigating for the Air Force), and NICAP. Laboratory analysis found ordinary ingredients (flour, sugar, etc.). The Air Force carried the case in its files as unexplained after rigorous assessment. The story received nationwide press coverage.