A rather new entry in the field of Cryptozoology, rods are creatures said to flit about in the air at such a high speed as to not be seen by the naked eye. Almost all sightings of rods are based on video evidence.

Rods gain their name from their rodlike shape. However, they have also been called "skyfish" and "solar entities". They appear to be anywhere from 5 inches to 3 feet in length (about 15 to 90 cm), and to have a thin membrane across their axis that is used for propulsion through the air. Their behavior as captured on film leads studiers of the phenomenon to posit they are a kind of "air-fish", moving in a similar fashion to fish in water, and having a body like that of a jellyfish.

Rods are not taken seriously even by most cryptozoologists, who tend to look on them as forteana. All evidence points to the conclusion that they are mere tricks of light that affect the camera eye. In particular, the fast passage before the camera of an insect flapping its wings has been shown to produce rod-like effects, due to motion blur.

Their recent popularity seems to be a result of media exposure in television tabloids. Jose Escamilla, who runs the website RoswellRods.com, has appeared in numerous interviews and television "investigations". Interestingly, his website has some prominent links to Escamilla's "Music Works" company.

External links

• A very thorough debunking
• Straight Dope report