China spy balloons: Why the increasing number of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) found above the US might not be as concerning as it sounds

It is quite possibly the most bizarre twist in a story that is already among the oddest of 2023 so far – and it has stiff competition.

On Monday, a senior US military commander admitted he could not rule out the mystery objects shot down over his country in recent days were potentially of extra-terrestrial origin.

Commander General Glen VanHerck said the three “very, very small objects” could not be classified as balloons – unlike the first flying object to be taken down from US skies on February 4. Their use – and why they were at high altitude over the US – remains a mystery.

"I will let the intel community and the counter-intelligence community figure that out," General VanHerck said in response to a direct question as to whether the objects could be related to aliens or extra-terrestrials. "I haven't ruled out anything at this point."

General Glen VanHerck, Commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, arrives for a closed-door briefing for senators.

US president Joe Biden’s decision to shoot down the objects comes as he continues his wrangle with Beijing over the first balloon. China has now claimed the US has sent up to ten of its own balloons into Chinese airspace over the past year.

Meanwhile, Westminster has spoken up on the issue, even though there has been no suggestion so far – outside of hypothetical mumblings from transport minister Richard Holden – that any similar espionage vehicles have ever been released over Britain. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reassured the nation that British fighter jets are on standby, should any bizarre objects be found floating above our heads.

Aliens or not, the discovery of unidentified flying objects is somewhat concerning.

Yet, one Government official has come up with perhaps the most – or arguably least – reassuring explanation so far. He told The Washington Post after the first balloon, US authorities “opened the filters” and began looking harder in the skies, "like a car buyer unchecking boxes on a website to broaden the parameters of what can be searched”.

Which means it may not be that new objects are suddenly appearing, but they have been there for some time, we just didn’t notice them. I told you – reassuring.

It would never have happened under Wonka’s watch

Also in the US, in a tale that sounds like it has come straight from the plot of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, two workers had to be rescued after they fell into a vat of melted chocolate.

A hole was cut into the bottom of the tank to rescue the contract workers at the Mars Wrigley factory in Pennsylvania, from a tank that mixed ingredients for Dove chocolate – the brand sold as Galaxy in the UK. The company was fined £12,000 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the incident, which occurred in June last year, after the regulator said the workers had not been provided with proper safety training.

In this case, the workers appear to have escaped serious harm.

Yet, overall in the US, industrial accident rates are high. Last year, 5,190 people were killed at work – 3.61 per 100,000 workers. The equivalent UK figure is just 0.61 per 100,000.

A country so conscious of health and safety that it outlaws haggis as too risky for its citizens should be able to crack down on accidents like this.