Chilluminati Podcast - Episode 272 - The Betz Sphere

Episode Date: November 3, 2024

A featureless sphere, a quirky family and the government. A tale as old as time. Special thanks to our sponsors this episode - MERCH - http://www.theyetee.com/collections/chilluminati HeroForge - http://www.heroforge.com All you lovely people at Patreon! HTTP://PATREON.COM/CHILLUMINATIPOD Jesse Cox - http://www.youtube.com/jessecox Alex Faciane - http://www.youtube.com/user/superbeardbros Editor - DeanCutty http://www.twitter.com/deancutty Show art by - https://twitter.com/JetpackBraggin Sources - The Bell Witch: An American Haunting                 The Bell Witch in Myth and Memory: From Local Legend to International Folktale

Hello everybody and welcome to the Chewluminati Podcast episode 272. As always I'm one of your hosts Mike Martin, joined today by the Jesse and Dylan Faden of LA. Jesse and Alex. I love, you know what? First off, Alex is definitely the Dylan. I'm literally wearing a shirt covered in cryptids. Yeah.

Yeah. I'm a mysterious character. Nobody really knows me. Okay. So that means you're the Jesse. Oh, hell yeah. I am. Are you kidding me? I'm flying. That's fair. I'm shooting guys. I'm throwing cans with my mind. Oh yeah. He can't believe he has. He's the boss of everything that he's the boss of. I showed up.

Everybody knows who he is. My first day they put me in charge. It was crazy. Yeah. Uh, I wasn't clear. I'm, I'm playing through the control for the first time. I'm almost done with it. Actually. Is it the greatest game you've ever played? It's excellent. And yeah, control is soft disclosure, obviously. I just like that every single thing in there is so readable. It's based on real like new agey stuff all the way to quantum mechanics stuff. It's wild how it's all kind of like It feels like it was written for me. Dude. That's why I'm shocked. You didn't play it already I played a little bit of it and then I put it down I never picked it up around that time. So I'm right now going through the Alan Wake portion of the DLC

Stuff, so I'm very excited. I need to do ironically the Alan Wake game that is out The newest DLC is about Control. Lake House. And the future of that franchise, which is, there's a very cool trailer for the next game and I'm super hyped. What is the next game? Control? Control 2, yeah.

The next game is Control 2, but before that is Control Firebreak. And it takes place in, yeah, in the oldest house. And you play as guys trying to stop all the stuff in there from going nuts. Let's become first place in the world. Come on the three of us have to play this game when that comes out. It looks three player that's perfect. It's literally each of us.

Each of us Daylights as a pro gamer. So we must add to where we all got our starts. I sundown as a pro gamer. I think that's where I'm at now. Yeah, I'm where we all got our starts. I sundown as a pro gamer, I think. That's where I'm at now, yeah. I'm sundowning on it all. Look, it's sunny outside right now. It's beautiful out.

It's 3 p.m. I know that. I can hear birds. It's nice. Understorming for me, baby. But let's be honest. It's like a nighttime show. Oh yeah, we want you to listen to this in the dark.

Yeah. Thinking about us being in a room. I want this after work night. The time that we to this in the dark. Yeah. Thinking about us being in the room with you. I want this after work, at night. The time that we record this in the mood does not reflect what I imagine the majority of people are listening to. Why is it that song? That's how I imagine.

Look, there's at least one person out there who has banged to Chiluminati, and I wanna let you know. Oh, plenty. Thank you. Thank you. Plenty of people have fucked us. For those listening, he raised his hand and I'll be honest, I am appreciative of that. Thank you.

But I want to know how many of our patrons do it with the video version in the background. Hopefully not this one because my camera is all the time. You're going to get a 15 FPS version of me looking at you like, wow, what a nice dog. Look at you, nice boobs. Like Max Hedrum over here. This is why we need your Patreon support so that we can get Jesse a new camera. Dude, Alex is gonna get a new, you know what Alex needs? Alex needs a light because you guys are putting me to shame with the lighting like the lighting is my monitor

Gengar is gone, dude, like he's he is gone. Yeah, Gengar is blown out man. Yeah, he's halfway through the stargate right now He's gone Alex what else can they do over at patreon for us boy? What can't they do over at patreon? Let me tell you this patreon..com slash ChillmanityPod used to just be a place that you go if you're a patron of the arts and you want to support a good podcast of honest dudes trying their best, but it evolved. Now, it's one of the coolest hangout spots in the entire city. And when you go down there, you're not just going down there, you're making a statement.

Patreon.com slash SolinityPod isn't just a Patreon, it's a way of life. Take it from me. I love you. Ironically, your best sellout. Yeah? You love that? And you were doing it as a goof. I loved it.

I would have immediately gone and be like, it is a way of life. There was like three years from like 1997 to 1999 where like I could have written the ad copy for every commercial that was out there. I could have crushed that. Brian Wilson said I'm not made for these times. I was made to be an advertising executive in the late nineties. I should have been there. Anyway, go to that Patreon, keep us going. Boys, today's an exciting episode. We're gonna go right to the main episode before we just delineander into more nonsense. Have either of you heard of the Betz Sphere?

B-E-T-S? B-E-T-Z. No. Is this a new casino in Las Vegas, Nevada? I'm surprised, alright. Alex, I genuinely thought you may have heard of it. Clearly you have not. Jesse, I didn't think you would have.

No. The Bettsphere is today's topic. It's a fascinating topic that I'm curious where you all land by the end of it. See, in 1974, the Betts family discovered something on their property that would change their lives forever. A simple metal sphere found in the ashes of a Florida brush fire that defied the laws of physics, confused scientists, and led a family down a rabbit hole of mystery and conspiracy. The Bet Sphere is our topic today.

We're gonna start. Yeah, you got questions already? Or do you wanna, you know, it's meant to elicit questions and curiosity. Ignore my facial expressions as I try to think, I'm thinking about like, you said there was a fire and they found that, like I'm just mentally gyrating over here trying to like,

keep gyrating. Preplan my area of attack. Now today's main source is- Can I just check in, ask you just a quick question about it, just like yeah just because I'm this is all new to me this family just found a random metal ball in the woods that's what happened you are not wrong like that it's I'm just putting together context case. I'm just guessing. My primary sources for today are a bunch of interviews, newspaper articles and the such

because the family never wrote a book, never made a movie about any of this. When the event came to a close, they freaking just let it go and never spoke about it real Well, they never spoke about it in a way that monetized it very rare ever in there on now now Our story starts back in the early 1970s in a small piece of Florida That's a far cry from the neon glow of Miami or at least what I imagine the neon glow of Miami looks like in 1970s which is kind of very a cyberpunk in my head. You imagine Miami in the 70s was cyberpunk? Yeah, neon pink, you know, like I'm thinking like Vice City kind of colors.

I think we're a little before Vice City. I don't know what 70s Miami is. We are a little before it, but. Yeah, I'm with you though. I see where you're at. I see where you're at I see where you're at. I imagine if we were to google Miami in the 70s it would be like a swamp. Yeah yeah. Imagine you're looking it's gonna be like a few shacks in a swamp. No I bet you it's just like a bunch of white shit like a bunch of white buildings is my guess. Yeah. If I imagine. What do you think Orlando was like in the 70s?

Oh a swamp. Pure swamp. Yeah. Orlando literally wasn't really a major place till they built a Disneyland there. Right. That's why he got it so cheap. That's why I Walt got it on the on the chip is just a world open in Orlando. Nineteen sixty nine. Nineteen seventy. So it exists at this point. I don't know. Yeah. This point. Yeah. Disney World's down. That's all I'm curious. Yeah. Like what around it? Ninety seventy one is when it first at this point. I don't know. It exists at this point. Yeah, Disney World's down there. That's all I'm curious. Yeah, like what around it?

1971 is when it first opened. OK, so it's been open for like a year or two at this point. So I'm saying we're still looking at a swampy swamp Swamperton town. We are not even starting there. We're going to Fort George Island, a quiet, almost forgotten corner near Jacksonville, Florida. Oh, no, that is, that is the bo. Oh, no, that is the boonies.

Yes, it is the boonies. You like salt water, like you started by salt water, ancient oak trees over there. And it's just a small little area. Oh, look at these houses. Yeah, these like rows of like classic houses. Yes, exactly. Samadhi, dude, I agree, shit's wild. He's nuts.

On this island, there was also a grand, if what somewhat weathered looking mansion, a relic of the 1920s that had seen better days, but still held its head high among the moss drapey trees that surround it. Which is also kind of just like a thing you see out in Texas in the humidity, it's just like those mossy

trees. This was the home of the Betts family, a trio that while not exactly reclusive preferred the company of books and kind of stayed to their own and didn't participate in the community stuff all that much. The family consisted of Antoine Betts, who was the father. He was a Marine engineer, a man whose mind was as, uh, who very much involved his mind in the oceanic systems that he studied. He's more like you think neatly trimmed beard, um, basically well put together gentlemen, well fit suit. He was just kind of just a well presented guy. Um,

he had his own little workshop at home and uh, he worked. He even worked at home all the time. His wife, Jerry Betts was a force of nature in her own right. According to the community, she was a successful realtor. She navigated the ebbs and flows of the Jacksonville property market with a savvy that earned her both respect and a fair share of envy. And Jerry had a knack for seeing potential where others saw ruin, a talent that extended beyond real estate and into her nurturing of the family and their home. She very much loved to decorate and kind of redo their home often.

I don't know. Sounds like a witch to me. Oh, which the bell witch ain't here. It's ain't the bell witch. All right. The bell witch is long gone. Too confident for my taste. If you ask me.

Then there was their son, Terry Betts. He was 21 years old at the time of the story. And Terry was a student, a musician and an ex- what? What? What was the what was the mom's name again? Jerry. Jerry. And the son's name is? Terry. OK, I just wanted to make sure that I heard that correctly. You are correct. Yeah, Jerry and Terry. Jerry and Terry. What's the dad's name again? Terry Antoine. Tom. He was Antoine Antoine. Antoine pretty close to Tom and Tom and Jerry. Jerry Terry and Tom and Terry and Terry and Antoine. Weird rule 30 forseven for the son

For son, what are you talking about? Yeah. Yeah, you said Tom and Jerry, but if they're married they have bad the Sun you get Terry That's their rule. Who carried it who carried the kid? Okay. All right. Are you doing this to yourself? Holy cow? All right We're here You're trying to build the lore of these characters you created. You said Antoine's kind of like Tom, Tom and Jerry. They're married, therefore they would have had to have their child, Terry. Tom and Jerry are married and they made Terry. I think we're going to have a cursed image or subreddit by the time this goes on. Always, because of you, yes. The thing is the guy's name is Antoine, it's not even Tom.

All right. All right. No, but you said Tom. All you, yes. The thing is, the guy's name is Antoine, it's not even Tom. All right, all right. No, but you said Tom. All right, anyway. I didn't say Tom. I said Antoine. Or Jesse did, he was like Antoine, like Tom, Tom and Jerry. And then I was like, well, that means they had a kid. So Ted, I'm trying to bring the logic,

I'm trying to connect the dots. There's no logic here, get away. This might be the episode where you can just, you know, you can walk away. All might be the episode where you can just you know You can walk away. All right life on Fort George Island was by most accounts uneventful The pets enjoyed a degree of solitude afforded by their remote location in their giant fucking mansion Their days were filled with the simple pleasures of coastal living being rich aka sailing trips along the Atlantic shoreline Walking the beaches under the canopies of the Spanish moss, and just having long discussions at night.

Apparently they enjoyed speaking philosophy with one another back at their homes. They were the kind of family that hosted gatherings not for social climbing, but for the sheer joy of exchanging ideas over good meals and a glass of wine. They just like to think a lot, alright? For us stupid people, they big think, we small small think did they found the Chiluminati? Is that what you're telling me? Oh? Fuck this is the origin stories is this the origin sure not wouldn't that be crazy Jerry and Terry I'm gone

Antoine and Jerry got married and made Terry who then invented the Chiluminati No, I'm out. You know what? It used to be cool. It's not cool anymore. That'd be nuts. No. The community knew the Betts family. They respected them, but they thought of them as a bit enigmatic. They participated in some local events, but not a ton.

They donated to charities and were known for their hospitality when they hosted these gatherings. But beyond that, they maintained a certain distance, not out of a like aloofness, but more from a genuine preference for privacy. They just liked to be kind of on their own. Antoine's expertise in marine engineering often proved valuable to local projects from consulting on Harbor developments to offering insights on environmental com conservation efforts. And Jerry's real estate work helped shape the growing landscape of

Jacksonville's outskirts And she was known to mentor up-and-coming agents within the industry And Terry their kid ever the idealist was involved in various student initiatives blending his love for science and the arts in ways that sometimes Confused his elders, but confused is like students, but impressed his elders. They liked how that he would combine music and science I don't know what that means There was no like confused his students, but impressed. Yeah Yeah, like the teachers were always impressed, but the students thought he was weird No, the minute you told me this name his kids name was was

Terry Jerry whatever the hell his name is and his mom exact same name almost a kid was ridiculed The hell is name is in his mom exact same name almost a kid was ridiculed No kids I was a teacher they destroyed that poor kid yeah They're like I feel bad for him he's smart Sorry You know that type of his name rhymes with his mom's name. I'm sorry. Regardless for the Terry's weirdness,

they were in a lot of ways, they kind of embodied the American family ideal, hardworking, thoughtful, successful, well off, and overall unassuming. But anyone who's ever looked into the story of this family knows that they were no in line for their normal lives to be shaken up rather drastically. The story begins with a simple walk across their fire scorched property. There was a brush fire recently around that time that

scorched 80 acres of their property at the time, along with a bunch of other fucking land outside of their property. What percentage of their land was that? That's a very fucking good question. That was never provided in any of the interviews or things I read. It seemed like it was fucking tragic. It didn't ruin the family financially, but it definitely was not, like it was a lot of work. Like I'm looking at a map of this island and like it's it's a sliver like there's not a lot of like 80 acres I feel like that's

That's a lot. I feel like that's bad. That would be that'd be bad I'm also saying that it's close to Tate's Hell State Forest Which is a cool name for a state forest? Tate's Hell State Forest and Apalachicola. I have some details here for the brush fire, in case you were curious. It was in 1974. The brush fire swept through parts of Fort George Island, affecting the Betts family property. The exact cause of the fire is not definitively documented

in historical records or contemporary news reports. We can consider things like they consider like natural causes like lightning strike. maybe did it. Maybe there was an accidental ignition by a human in some way, either discarded cigarette, campfire, machinery, sparks, or just a controlled burn that happens often gone awry and just kind of lost control. But nobody knows the actual reason for it is, uh, that it was. And in the case of the bet's property, there's no specific indication whether the

fire was caused by natural phenomena or human actions, but they lost approximately 88 acres of land. And it's when they were out surveying the property is when the kind of this event begins. Yeah, so they were walking the next day after it all was finally died down. It had swept through their lands. And on a clear afternoon, Terry Betts decided to survey the damage alongside his mother, Jerry, and his father, Antoine. As they walked through the desolate terrain, the crunch of burnt foliage you can imagine kind of underfoot, the smell of that burnt foliage as well, the once vibrant greenery

now reduced to shades of gray and black, the family of that burnt foliage as well. The once vibrant greenery now reduced to shades of gray and black, the family contemplates a long road to recovery for their beloved estate. But amid the devastation, something unusual catches Terry's eye. A glint of light reflecting off of a smooth surface that seems out of place amongst the ashes.

Approaching cautiously, he discovers a shiny metal sphere nestled and probably among the charred remains. It's about the size of a bowling ball, roughly eight inches in diameter. It was flawless with a polished surface that appears untouched by the surrounding fire. What they mean by flawless is there were no seams, at least obvious seams. It wasn't like two like halves of a sphere. Well together.

Right. Okay. Correct. It was just a completely smooth ball. Terry called out to his parents to come take a look at what he's found and Antoine and Jerry made their way over and the three of them stand puzzled around this unexpected find the sphere. Like I said, it's completely seamless, devoid of any markings or inscriptions

except for one thing. A peculiar elongated triangle etched subtly into its surface. Antoine, ever the engineer, picks up the sphere noting its surprising weight. The sphere ended up being about 21 pounds. He examined it closely. How big is this sphere? Eight inches in diameter. So like huge, like really big. Like it's like a bullet

Yeah, bowling ball size 6 would be like just huge. You know, I'm so confused You're confusing the fuck out of me Good buddy. Good. So he the father picked it up. He wanted to examine it, you know And he said he thought it was stainless steel, but he didn't understand why it was out here They began to throw theories out there and he said he thought it was stainless steel, but he didn't understand why it was out here. They began to throw theories out there. Maybe it was a piece of satellite debris that had come through, maybe a lost military device,

they thought, from nearby naval operations. It is Florida, they're Fort George Island, like that might be it. They were within proximity of the naval station Mayport and other military installations. And Jerry suggested that whatever it was, they should just take it home for a closer look, saying, quote, at the very least,

it's an interesting piece of art. So they decided to take it home. Fuck it. Whatever it was, maybe it seemed to lighten the mood after the devastating damage that they were looking at. So they bring the Sphere back to the mansion and the Sphere takes up residence in the living room. The conversation started for visitors

or a curious object for the family to think about and wonder what it is. And initially, all it did was sit quietly on the table, reflecting just like the light within it, because again, it's very polished and seamless. And while they have it for days, nothing happens. And the sphere becomes just another item among the eclectic collection of artifacts

the family had gathered over the many years. But then, subtle oddities began to emerge out of this thing. One evening, as Terry was strumming his guitar, the sphere seemed to resonate with the music. Notes hanging in the air seemed to hang a little longer, and there's an almost imperceptible vibration that Terry said he could feel more than hear. He stopped playing, looked over at the sphere

and it was still just sitting there, still as could be, and he called his parents in. He was asked, can you feel that? And he played the guitar again and they said they didn't notice anything necessarily unusual. They said maybe it was just Terry's instincts, but they didn't feel anything.

A few nights later, the family is startled by the sounds of doors slamming throughout the house. At first, they chalk it up to drafts of the quirks of just like the old mansion, but the occurrences became more frequent and harder to dismiss. But the sphere was motionless, and it still seemed to be kind of weird to Terry.

Intrigued, Terry decided to conduct a simple experiment. He's like, why don't we just roll this thing around, see what happens. So he placed the sphere on the ground and just gave it a gentle push. And instead of rolling in a straight line as expected, the sphere rolls forward, then it changes direction on its own, performing a U-turn, navigating around furniture, and then rolls back toward Terry.

At times, it even returns to the exact same spot from which it returned, defying anything they understood as science. So this thing would just, they'd roll it, this heavy 22 pound ball, and it would just roll back, seemingly avoiding furniture on the way back. Now, Antoine was skeptic. He tried to rationalize a phenomenon. He said there must be an explanation of what, Alex,

what are you laughing about? I'm just, the situation is funny to me, just to imagine visually right now, that's all. Just funny. Fair enough. Yeah, that's all. So, the first thing Antoine did was inspect the floor closely for any inclines and perfection something that would

Have the ball do this repeatedly over and over and the family began to document these events meticulously though to note I could not find any evidence of a journal while and the journal seems to come from interviews from other eyewitnesses and not from the family itself So take anything that's mentioned with the journal with a grain of salt because that doesn't come from the Betts family specifically. It's just in later interviews that I found that. Regardless, they say they began to note the spheres seem to be more active on certain days, especially when it was exposed to sunlight for some reason,

or when Terry plays specific musical notes. And then it appeared to also respond to heat and sound exhibiting behaviors that challenge their understanding of the object. And sometimes if they would hit it really hard, it would vibrate just very violently in place and not actually do anything or go anywhere. They would begin to show their friends this and they began to experiment with what it was able to do. And one of the things they actually did was take their table in the living room and tilt it up at about a 45 degree angle,

place the ball on it and roll it down. And it would roll down and then stop a few inches before hitting the bottom and then roll back up as if avoiding hitting the ground for some reason. They brought their friends in, they got to push it, and other people in town also began to see what the hell this thing was. They started messing with it.

People began to think there was maybe a gyroscope within it or something, maybe it was guiding it back. Visitors from the Betts home witnessed the inexplicable movements and began to throw their own theories from gyroscopes to magnetic anomalies, but that meant kind of nothing, it was very vague. The atmosphere in the Betts household shifted from a casual curiosity to a mix of excitement and unease as other people began seeing it.

This fear, once just a mere oddity, now occupies a central place in this family's lives. Jerry began to worry if this thing might be dangerous. She voices her concerns to her family and Antoine also shares her apprehension, but is also captivated by the potential scientific implications of whatever this thing might be. It's so weird to me that they would keep it, man.

It's so strange that you would have something that almost is acting alive like this and then you just hold onto it. Like I would surrender this to a scientist the moment it rolled backwards up a hill actually the moment it was avoiding the furniture actually you know the moment anything conscious happened yeah what would you do if that you found like seriously what would be your first thing to do if if you had a metal sphere and it was performing weird maneuvers whether robotic or not would you like call the like police or something and If you had the metal sphere and it was performing weird maneuvers,

whether robotic or not, would you like call the police or something? And just hand it over? Would you not keep it for a few days in front of it? I don't know who I would call. You wouldn't fuck with it though? I would fuck with it, I feel like. I would be scared it was a bomb or it was radioactive, but I don't know who I would call. I would call.

There's no indication that it's anything other than a ball and it's not huge It's it's you know, it's not a big like cannonball size thing. It's it's just like a little Perfect orb with a triangle symbol on it and they found it after a fire. So there's no indication it like Came from someplace other than the forest. It could have been there the entire time. No one was looking for it. Right. So I don't, I don't know. I think honestly, if I found it, I'd take it.

I'd show it off to friends just like they're doing. And if it did weird stuff, I would also show it. I mean like guys look at this. What is this though? Because yeah, I don't, none of them are getting sick. It's not affecting them in any way. It's just like a weird orb. Yeah, granted.

It's the 70s, but I would put it on Reddit. Yeah, it would be on Reddit in a heartbeat. Let's go in a little bit more detail of some of like the experiments they did. So they played. They would place a sphere on the floor, give it a gentle nudge. And like I said, instead of rolling in a straight line, it would do things like take a hard left turn, then a right turn, then completes a perfect circle before coming to a stop exactly where it began. Antoine was just like fascinated

by why it was doing this. He would check the floor for imperfections. Like I said, he said nothing that would indicate that it would be this unpredictable. While the surface wasn't perfectly level, it wasn't like, again, I didn't have any foundations to have it pick up momentum and like change direction and that kind of thing. They would try again and the sphere would do a different but improbable journey that would bring it back to its original starting ground. Jerry suggested they take it outside, see how it behaved in the open air. And so they brought it out under the bright Florida sun and

the sphere under the sunlight began to seem more energetic. It would begin rolling uphill as if like mocking physics in a way. At this point, the Betts family is equal parts excited and confused. Is it magnetism? Is it some sort of gyroscopic mechanism inside like their friends had suggested? Antoine received a magnet test is theory, but the sphere did in fact react. First, it was a paperclip and then it didn't seem like anything. I didn't wouldn't attach, but then he brought something a little bit bigger. A kitchen utensil and it stuck to it like a hard magnetic, like, you know, those

like super powerful magnets where it's hard as fuck to pull it off. Not impossible for him to pull it off, but it gave a like a fight. It was an effort to pull it. Small one. Nothing. Yeah. For some reason, the paper clip seemed to not stick to it. And I don't know why the sphere as well didn't like not beyond the magneticism of it. It seemed like the family said it seemed to have moods.

They don't mean that in the actual like it has like a personality. But like on some days it was hyperactive it would roll around and do these crazy maneuvers but on others days it would just remain inert and not do anything at all. They noticed it reacted to heat when they warm it up slightly it became much more lively when it cooled down it would settle. The family in their supposed journal would write things like possible theories as to what it could be. But again, we don't have the journal, even if it's real. But word began to spread. The neighbors now well aware of it.

The friends now well aware of it. It was only a matter of time before the media would be well aware of it. Before they knew it, the Betts family is now fielding calls from reporters, scientists, and a fair share of conspiracy ufologists as well. Of course, this thing made the newspapers. scientists and a fair share of conspiracy ufologists as well. Of course, this thing made the newspapers. People got curious and involved. One evening after another round of inexplicable sphere shenanigans, the family sat down

to discuss their next steps and they wanted to know what to do with it. And this is where Jerry like vocalized that she was worried that it might be dangerous. So they made, who should we give it to? The university, the military, and they said, why not do both? They decided to reach out to several institutions,

casting a wide net in hopes that somebody would come over, test this thing and provide an answer. They contacted the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, given its proximity and the resources, it was real close. They also reached out to academic experts, metallurgists, physicists, anyone who might shed light on their increasingly bizarre item. In the meantime, the sphere continued to defy explanation. It would now begin to emit odd noises at random intervals, a low frequency hum that was felt more than heard, but now you could

kind of hear a low hum under it all. They said sometimes household objects would vibrate in sympathy with it as if the sphere was causing vibration and the items near it. Like, Hey, you like that word? Well, like it implies consciousness, doesn't it? No, I don't mean it like that. I mean, just like in simpatico, like with it in the same, like it was resonating something within the Vibe like hurts right if it was vibrating at 50 Hertz it caused every things around it to buy you know like if you have a glass of

Next to a speaker and it starts vibrating the with every beat of the song that but just a consistent one Yeah, the notion is that the Emotions I'm not implying emotions. Haunting is not where we're going with this. We're not going into the haunting world. Okay, but what you're saying is that the sphere was seen to be causing this in the other appliances, right? Yes, yes, correct.

The sphere was the thing causing the humming. But there's no sign of intelligence or life within the sphere. It's just a thing that does stuff. Very much so. There's no, yeah, there's no implication that it's alive. They don't even, the family itself doesn't think it's alive again. The mom more worries that it could be a weapon

like that they have in their house and they don't know. Like it could be a dud explosive. She is worried about that kind of thing. And that's where they start reaching out. So as they, but as they wait for their response, they're like, what the fuck do we do with this thing? So they just keep running experiments with this thing basically the entire time. They're the science family is what you're saying.

They're the ones who are like, well, we should check it out. Yeah. They were like, what the hell is it? Let's fucking mess around with it. So now with the media around, an article hits the presses with a headline that caught everybody's eye. Mystery Sphere baffles family. Is it from outer space? The public now was wildly captivated. Immediately imply aliens, especially in the seventies.

It was just immediately took fervor amongst the people. This was a time rife with curiosity about the UFOs and the unknown fueled by space exploration, still being recent and a burgeoning interest in the UFO Phenomena from the 40s and as the media descended upon the pets residents the family's once private life became as it always does with people who get mixed into this world of Flurry of interviews people hanging out around their house wanting to get a look at it You know strangers knocking on their door asking, asking to see the sphere in action. Their lives were now upended and public.

Antoine, Jerry and Terry showed reporters how the sphere moved on its own, how it seemed to defy gravity and logic. Cameras rolled as the sphere navigated the floor of their home, changing direction without any apparent cause. And the story quickly went national. News outlets across the country picked it up and the Betts fear became a household topic. People were fascinated by the idea of an object that could potentially be of extraterrestrial origin sitting in a family living room in a normal home out in Florida. With

all the media attention it wasn't long before the scientific community and the military did take notice. The Betts family received a call from the US Navy expressing interest in examining the sphere. And given their proximity to the Naval Station Mayport, it made sense. The family agreed, hoping that the Navy's resources could actually provide the much needed answers that they had hoped they would have.

They just made them make one promise. Give us a sphere back when you're done. That's it, that's all the family wanted. Run all the tests you want, just, I want, we want it back. That's it. That's all the family wanted. Run all the tests you want, just I want, we want it back. That's all. And so at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, the Sphere underwent a series of rigorous tests. The Navy's top metallurgists and engineers were on the case and they were very excited to start messing with this thing. First, they performed X-ray examinations and the results of the X-rays were perplexing. The sphere

appeared to have three internal concentric spheres in the center with a small hollow spot in the center. Like babushka style? Yeah, yes, yeah, yeah. I think you take the words out of my mouth. Moreover, there were strange halo-like markings inside that they couldn't readily explain the metal itself. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yeah. What do you mean? Halo like markings like just rings within like halo rings within the empty thing. I think you can even bring up.

Let me see if I can find them. I mean, I think you can even bring up, let me see if I can find them. I think you can find them. So it's multiple spheres in a sphere, but then inside that is rings? Oh yeah, I got them right here. I'm not crazy. Link me please. Like I said, this was all documented, this was done by the military. They're a lot bigger than I thought within the sphere. Yeah, noticeable in the x-ray.

What photo am I looking at here? Scroll pretty far down and you'll see like pretty much everything that you want to see. But like color wise, which one, I mean there's plenty of photos, which one? Like towards the bottom, like at the very bottom there's like three together and you can see the different densities of the different rings, like three rings like. You see three white circles, that, see three white circles, those three white circles exist in a hollow point. The thing that kinda looks like a rib cage?

It's to the left of the rib cage and then to the left of that. Okay, all right, it's not the best picture in the world, but okay. It's an X-ray, it's just an X-ray, like, yeah. Yeah, I mean, you can see those same X-rays above, but they're just not marked on. Sure, okay.

There it is, okay, so obviously, moreover, there were the halo-like markings on the inside that those same x-rays above, but they're just not marked on. Sure. Okay. There it is. Okay. So obviously, moreover, there were the halo-like markings on the inside that they couldn't readily explain. Doesn't mean there wasn't an explanation. It doesn't have one immediately. And the metal itself was identified as a high-grade stainless steel alloy, specifically Type 431,

which was known for its resistance to corrosion and high strength. This wasn't a common material for everyday objects, essentially, which raised further questions about its origins to the Navy. So this thing was made of like very, very powerful shit. They also then tested the sphere's magnetic properties. It exhibited irregular magnetic behaviors with multiple magnetic poles instead of the usual north and south. Compasses behaved erratically around it and sensitive equipment picked up anomalies that didn't fit any known patterns, which might explain why it was

not sticking with the paperclip but stuck the kitchen utensil like it had more than one pole on this thing. And despite their extensive training the Navy couldn't determine the sphere's purpose or origin. It didn't match any of their equipment and there were no records of lost or missing devices that resembled it. After thorough examination, they did as promised and returned the sphere to the Betts family which left the family more confused and curious than anything else.

They had answers about technicality and its makeup, but what the things on the inside of the sphere were and what it was doing and why it was doing what it was, they didn't have any answers from the military. So that's with the sphere back in hand. We're still seeking answers. So they reached out to NASA. If anyone could solve the puzzle, they thought surely it's the nation's leading experts in aerospace and advanced materials.

And at NASA, Dr. J.R. Smith, a metallurgist with significant experience, took charge of the investigation. He confirmed the Navy's findings regarding the sphere's material composition and internal structures. The seamless nature of the sphere's construction fascinated him as well. Which I forgot to put in the part with the military. They also confirmed that it is seamless. There is no seam where this thing was welded together

in any way. Yeah, this is crazy. And honestly, these images here, they're from the Astonishing Legends podcast. I guess they got exclusive images from the Betts family. That's where we're looking at these X-rays. Like provided by the family to the show. It's amazing.

That's cool, shit. These are fascinating. See, this is why, like, it's one of those topics I had heard way back in the day, kind of forgot about, recently came across again a couple months ago, I was like, oh yeah, we gotta do an episode on the fucking

Bettsphere. So it's a one-off. The reason that these x-rays look so weird is because it is seamless for the most part. It's just as there is no welding. They like that's another weird part for it. Yeah. So the seamless nature of the sphere fascinated this guy as

well creating a hollow sphere without any visible joints or seams as an engineering feat even by today's standards. You have to understand like to create a hollow pocket in there seamlessly is like fucking how the hell do you do that? I know there's ways. It's not impossible, but it says it's just like it's difficult. Dr. Smith considered the possibility that the sphere might be a piece of space debris, perhaps an old satellite component that survived reentry. However, this theory didn't hold up under the scrutiny. The sphere showed no signs of heat damage whatsoever that would be consistent with passing

through Earth's atmosphere. That doesn't look like a machine component in any way. Yeah, and moreover, there were no records of any lost satellites or spacecraft that matched this thing's description. After exhaustive testing, Dr. Smith admitted that while the sphere was indeed unusual, he could not provide a definitive explanation and he still remained kind of an enigma. So independent scientific analysis started stepping in.

Other scientists and researchers showed interest as well. A man by the name of Dr. Carl Wilson, a physicist specializing in electromagnetism, his own tests, he noted that the sphere's magnetic field wasn't constant. It fluctuated over time, which is atypical for inner metal objects. This could suggest some internal mechanism, whatever those things on the inside or materials were, that react to environmental conditions. Then there was Dr. James Albert Harder,

who was an engineering professor from the University of California, who was an engineering professor from the University of California, Berkeley, and a consultant for the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization, APRO. He examined the sphere and advised caution. He warned that drilling into or tampering with the sphere could be dangerous, speculating that it might contain pressurized gases or metals or materials that could react violently if they're disturbed.

Because you don't understand like that hollow sphere it could be under immense pressure in there, whatever it is. And letting that out could just fucking explode. Now this is unconfirmable, however it shows up in a couple of stories that are much later. But there are some that say they were able to figure out

that the material on the inside was element 144. Now we've only been able to keep a stable element up to element 118 which is the number of you think of Protons that are like attached to a nucleus before it disintegrates either way There there might be people out there who say oh what about element 144? I dug as deep as I could that is not verifiable There is no testing they couldn't even get inside of it So I don't even know where that even rumor even started, but there is none of that.

So if you ever come across that element 144 even be, I have, I had an answer to that. I did not write that down. Hang on, hang on, hang on. I can find it. I have my notes in my other fucking program here because you can't, you know, it seems like they're just like, yeah, it's only 144. Don't question it. I go on.

I don't know what it is. So it's just a hypothetical element that would be some say a symbol UQQ. But what, but like what hypothetically, what is it? It would, since this falls beyond the range of experimentally known elements, its existence and properties remain speculative. They don't know what the properties would be with some predictions suggesting it may have isotopes with very short half lives, often than less than a second. Theoretical models propose that if it exists, it might belong to

a new G block quote unquote on an expanded periodic table, which could include elements beyond the actinides and transactinides. Highly speculative. There's really nothing else to know current the currently the heaviest confirmed element is element 118 Oganess on I'm sorry what oh ganas on oh ganas on oh G a n e s s o n Damn, okay, this on is that a Pokemon things you learn? Oh ganas on yeah, so again There's no way that that's I think that's just like some, someone made that up

somewhere along the way and it gained traction. So the doctor James Albert said, don't drill into it could be dangerous. And as news as the spheres, inexplicable nature continued to spread. So did speculation. The public became enthralled and theories were abound. Some believe the sphere was a piece of alien tech, a probe or communication device sent by an advanced civilization. They pointed to its unusual properties and the inability of experts to even explain it as evidence supporting the theory. As a lot of ufologists do. If they say if it can't be explained, they immediately throw it into,

well, then it must be alien, which is what they were doing with this. Others thought it might be a secret military device, perhaps from another country. The Cold War was in full swing and the idea of foreign tech landing on American soil wasn't far-fetched for a terrible many people. Skeptics suggested more mundane explanations. One theory was that the sphere was an industrial component, a ball valve used in large pipelines or machinery. These valves can be made of high-grade stainless steel and might appear seamless and mysterious if found out of context. The problem with that theory is those are usually only six pounds. Like there's very like defining them there in 22 pounds is they don't exist. An artist by the name of James Dirling Jones came forward claiming that the sphere might be

one of several. He had acquired a scrap metal for his sculptures. He suggests that it could have fallen from his vehicle while transporting materials. However, his fears when looked at were of a different material entirely and didn't match the unique property of the Betts' fears. They tried. They checked. They're like, oh maybe it is. Oh fuck this could be it. No, not even close to the same thing. And throughout all this whirlwind the Betts family found themselves just navigating now uncharted territory. They were somewhat ordinary people, if not a little quirky and rich, now thrust into

bizarre circumstances. They remained consistent with their accounts forever, emphasizing that their primary goal was to understand what the sphere was and where it came from. They entertained scientists and reporters alike, allowing tests and demonstrations all in the hope that someone would provide answers. However, the constant attention began to wear thin on them. Their home had become a spectacle, their privacy eroded by the endless stream of visitors and calls. There was also a growing sense of frustration as each expert, no matter how qualified, continued to fail to unravel this bizarre mystery.

So as the Betts family stood on the cusp of potential revelation but never achieving it, their journey with the mysterious fear took another unexpected turn. See, in the mid-1970s, the National Enquirer, in collaboration with the National UFO Conference, announced a $50,000 award for a definitive proof of extraterrestrial life or unexplained phenomena. The Betts family, out of ideas, thought maybe this could be it. Maybe this is what it is. So the Betts family, hopeful that the competition's resources and exposure could shed light on

the sphere's origin, decided to participate. So they packed up this enigmatic metal orb and prepared to present their case to the panel of judges that included scientists, UFO researchers, and experts in various fields. And among them was none other than Dr. J. Alan Hynek, our UFO boy. Get the fuck out of here.

The man, yes he was, yeah, this is our project blue-coat man. The National Enquirer? Yeah, yeah, looking to pay someone 50 fifty thousand if they could prove that something of a new Every year like you know what I mean like the Los Angeles Times should do this every year not the fucking National Enquirer I'll do it personally like I would host this if I could prove to me. I'll hire scientists I'll bring in experts if you think you got proof of alien life to me I'll hire scientists I'll bring in experts if you think you got proof of alien life I'll you know that's that would be that would be dream to do that let's go I would love to poo poo that too so what if it what if it shuts you up immediately though what if it's like oh

shit I would be thrilled uh yeah I would be like whoa but I don't expect to be fair fair upon arrival the Betts family uh particularly Antoine was when they went Showcase their sphere and in front of the judges recounted its inexplicable behaviors They showed it roll up on a plexiglass like a slab that they had it roll uphill on as part of the tests They provided documentation of the tests that were conducted by the navy nasa Private investigators and so on and emphasizing the fear's unique properties and the inability of experts to determine its origin. And in the midst of all this, after the presentation

and the competition was still going, Antoine received an urgent call from family back home. The nature of the summons was his wife was really sick and they needed him to come back immediately. So he decided that he had to go home, his wife, he needed to go back for his wife. However, in the kerfuffle of it all, and he leaving so quickly, he forgot the sphere with them.

And when he went home, he found that his wife was not sick and she was confused why he was even here and said, you need to get back there immediately because he realized he'd forgotten the sphere there. And when he went back for it, just as he expected, or as we might expect rather, the sphere was gone. Disturbed by the development, the family saw answers. They contacted the event organizers who provided little information, claiming that the matter

was out of their hands. And determined to reclaim the property, the family reached out to various government agencies navigating his labyrinth of bureaucracy essentially and people deflecting them constantly. Weeks turned into a protracted battle. The family's inquiries were met with vague responses and at times, outright silence. The once cooperative channels of communication had seemingly closed, leaving the Betts family in a state of frustration and confusion until eventually they did get an answer.

Apparently, J. Allen Hynek had taken the sphere for himself and took it back with him to the government, where they were going to run more tests on this thing and they were going to... J. Allen Hynek just took the fucking ball? Yup. Told no one? What's even interesting... Well, we'll get to it. I don't want to say that. I don't want to spoil... That's the end. What? That's the one. Well, we'll get to it. I don't want to say that. I don't want to say that.

That's the end. That's the spoiler. What? Yeah. This should be a movie. This is crazy. This should be a Cone Brothers movie. Yeah.

So they were frustrated, pissed. They were confused. If this thing was nothing. Oh, they also, I should have, I kind of skipped over that part. My apologies. They also told the family that they didn't win. It was of manmade origin and there was nothing. There was nothing here for it.

They literally just said, you know, so, yeah, he just tried to straight up jack that. It's exactly how it seemed. Yes. It seems like he tried to just jack the fucking sphere to run tests on it. Yeah. So they declined at that point, looking for this thing. They immediately shut down all interviews. They declined further interviews. They ceased participation in public events related to the sphere.

The media sensing their withdrawal gradually turned its attention elsewhere, and they privately fought for this thing as best they could. They found out where it had been brought to another Navy base, and when they finally found out where it was, Antoine in particular did not stop bothering them.

Phone call after phone call, argument after argument, demanding the sphere, demanding to give the sphere back to him. And eventually after two weeks of arguing with them, they were returned the sphere. And they were told that there was nothing special about the sphere, that they had run all their tests, and it was nothing more than one of the ball bearings

that I had mentioned earlier. One of the ones that were only supposedly six pounds. When he took it back home, when he took it back home, they noticed immediately this thing was not active at all. It spent days inert, no humming, they'd roll it and it would just roll. Nothing about the ball that they had just been given was doing the things it had once done. And so they took the ball to another metallurgist that they had worked with earlier and they found

that this one had a very tiny seam running along the entire thing. They gave him back a fucking fake? Are you serious? And then when that was the answer they got, that's when the Betts family said, fuck it, we're done. And dropped it from that point on. They don't know what happened to it? They were just, they, they, they don't know. They never got, they never got any more answers. So the implication here, hold on. The implication here is the government operative went to what basically he shouldn't have been. He shouldn't have been at that point. He was done with it at that point. But anyway, sure, sure, sure, sure.

A government operative went to a national inquirer. Alien scientists and stuff, but yes. Sure, sure, sure. Yeah, but I'm willing to go full conspiracy on this. So they were saying, hey, we have this weird orb. And everyone was like, wow, what a weird orb. Then the national inquirer is like, hey, we're doing a contest for alien stuff if you want money.

And they were like, sure, let's give it a go. So they brought the orb to the national inquirer where a government operative was working, who then stole it from them. After he called, he got a home and was like, or no, after he called him saying, you know, and by he, I mean someone called him and was like, your wife is sick, go home. So he leaves. Then the wife's like, I'm fine. Nothing's going on here. And he's like, Oh damn, they're stealing the orb. So they go back in this famous man before he's famous steals the orb, goes back to the government. Everyone hides it from them until they finally

discover where, but they keep moving the orb. And eventually when they get it back, it is not the orb they had before, but in fact fact a fabrication that was given to them to get them to go away Yep Even when they did an x-ray dependent there was nothing there there was it was completely hollow entirely and After they said like I said after they got this they said fuck it. They're done fighting. They don't care There was no they didn't write done fighting. They don't care. There was no, they didn't write any books.

They didn't make any movies. They threw the whole thing away. They still talk about it when people would ask them about it, but they never bothered with it ever again. And after J. Allen Hynek died, his son said that in J. Allen Hynek's possessions, his personal possessions at his house was a mysterious fear that appeared there when

he was a kid and he doesn't know where it came from. That seems to fit the description of this thing. So whether Jalen Hynek, yeah, he apparently took it home after and that's where the, the best sphere story comes to an end. The narrative, the sphere being taken and tampered with, all of this weird secrecy, the testing from multiple government agencies, all to amount to a giant puddle of, huh, and that's it. We don't know what that thing was.

We don't know why it acted the way it did. And it disappeared before their very fucking eyes at a national choir turn, competition where they both didn't win the competition and lost their fucking weird sphere that they found in the middle of their brush fire that also had no explanation for it. My conspiracy brain wants to say this thing came crashing in and no this thing is real. This thing is real. This is a real anomaly.

This is the realest thing that's ever been on the show. Really? You think it's the weirdest anomaly. This is the realest thing that's ever been on the show. Really? You think it's the weirdest thing? This is the realest thing we've ever had on the show. This and the god stairs. Oh, realest. Something said the weirdest. This one and the god stairs are the two realest anomalies

that have ever been on the show. So I'm curious, boys, what you think the Betzphere was. I'm blown away that of all the things you said, none of them were. It was forest, right? That this fire took place in is there is a brush fire. It was like a brush fire. But like fields and shit.

But this is this is 80 acres. I promise you that this family wasn't out there all the time. So like, why couldn't it have been there always? It's also possible, I suppose. Like, there's never like all the people were saying, you know It fell from a satellite or its alien or this but it seems like recent like it fell from the sky You know, but like I like the idea that's been there for thousands of years And it was from like an who knows what is from like to be full of times. I think that's much more fascinating

Yeah, I think that whatever was more fascinating. I think I love that too. Yeah. I think whatever it was was interesting enough for them to fucking hijack and take it for themselves for some reason. Very take it. How could they know? Like that's you know, to play devil's advocate and to play devil. I can my own opinion of being like it's alien.

Even if it was enemy weird tech that I feel like they would act the same way right like if it was something from China whatever Heinecke you wouldn't be able to keep tech it's fair true true it isn't how you know yeah being Heineck's own personal possession afterwards is interesting but yeah is anybody does he have does he have descendants yeah the son he said he's the son's one that said it yeah the son said hey, I saw weird orb when I was a kid Yeah, he said he says look something like that in his dad's personal position That's all we have of any evidence that it's there We don't know where it went now the government insists Of course the government insists they didn't take it and that the orb they gave them was the orb that they received and that they're just

It was a big hoax and it was man-made But that discounts the tests that were done by NASA and the Navy and reporters and the x-ray It goes against everything that we know to be true prior to that and it being a ball bearing It's again It's if it was a ball bearing it was like fucking three times heavier than most of them were For what their purpose was so what the fuck it? Why it was moving like that? We'll never know. And I think that's what's so fucking weird about it is that there is no answer for this

and the family didn't go off to try and get like book deals and movies and almost probably because they were already well off in and of themselves I imagine. This was something that was just genuine curiosity it seemed like. So like I don't know maybe I mean there's I don't know I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. What do you, what do you think it was out? It feels like, it feels like the, it feels like the sphere crashed and caused the fire. That's what it feels like to me. I'm just now what I'm basing is that's also not a theory that was ever put out there. Yeah. It seems like the implication is that, because they said like, yeah, what if the sphere fell from the sky and caused the fire?

Cause he said it had no evidence. So then they did the test to see if it was satellite debris and there was no evidence of scorching or burning marks on this thing that would be that they were entering the Earth's atmosphere again. Like there was no marks that had been burned at all. It was completely seamless and smooth and shiny as shit. And it was not jagged as well. Like I don't know.

But that's what I mean, I don't know. Did you know that Heineck's son invented the Predator camo from the movies? He's won Oscars for special effects. That's, okay, I did not know that. That's like, he's taking his dad's alien tech and just going to be a movie maker. Soft disclosure.

Soft disclosure. Dude, Heineck died of a brain tumor too. Yeah. Maybe he was around a lot of radioactive shit. Maybe he had a fucking sphere in his house that radiated him, dude. I feel like he would have tested for radioactive shit and that. But either way, that's where the story of the Bet Sphere ends. And one of the more weird- We gotta track that down.

I would love to find it, but yeah, what are we gonna do? Reach out to the Hynicks? It's family, it's a family pass me down, right? Yeah, I guess, I don't know what happened to it. It was pretty close. It's that one offhanded comment. I could jump on the freeway. It's a cool story because it's real,

we don't know what it is, and now it's gone. And that's it, that's the end of the Bet Sphere Mystery Boys. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Joel, if you're out there, Joel Hynick, if you're out there, please. Oh, I was like, that's the end of the Bet Sphere mystery, boys. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Joel, if you're out there, Joel Hynek, if you're out there, please. Oh, I was like, who's Joel? Send us your father's sphere. Send us your father's sphere, Joel.

Send us your father's sphere. We're off to go do a mini soda over at patreon.com slash IlluminatiPod. Thank you guys so much for supporting us. We appreciate you, we love you. Goodbye. Bye. Anyway, me and my wife were sitting outside indulging on our porch one night enjoying

ourselves. I needed to go to the bathroom so I stepped back inside and after a few moments I hear my wife go, holy shit get out here. So I quickly dash back outside, she's looking up at the sky in awe. I look up too and there's a perfect line of dozen lights traveling across the sky. I'm gonna be a star, I'm gonna be a star I'm gonna be a star, I'm gonna be a star I'm gonna be a star, I'm gonna be a star I'm gonna be a star, I'm gonna be a star I'm gonna be a star, I'm gonna be a star Thanks for watching! Anyway, me and my wife were sitting outside indulging on our porch one night enjoying ourselves.

I needed to go to the bathroom so I stepped back inside and after a few moments I hear my wife go, holy shit get out of here. So I quickly dash back outside, she's looking up at the sky in awe. I look up too, and there's a perfect line of dozen lights traveling across the sky. So Thanks for watching!