# What are these mysterious Rods flying about?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-mysterious-rods-flying-about/113623>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 12, 2002, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-mysterious-rods-flying-about/113623 "2002-06-12T11:05:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Montezuma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3be4f8/32.png) [@Montezuma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montezuma)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-mysterious-rods-flying-about/113623/1 "2002-06-12T11:05:43Z")

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I’ve just watched ‘Rods’ on Sky 1 and it was quite interesting, do you believe that these Rods exist? Or can they be explained in a different way?

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-mysterious-rods-flying-about/113623/2 "2002-06-12T11:08:28Z")

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More info needed. Plus, since the majority of dopers are US-based, they won’t know what Sky 1 is!

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-mysterious-rods-flying-about/113623/3 "2002-06-12T11:23:03Z")

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Rods don’t exist; they appear on film and video because the frame capture rate/shutter speed is slower than the wingbeat of an ordinary insect flying past the lens; as it flies past, it appears as a blurry streak with a wavy line on either side (which is the path described by the insect’s wings as they beat up and down).

Nobody has ever found the dead body of a ‘rod’, why is this?

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**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-mysterious-rods-flying-about/113623/4 "2002-06-12T11:26:42Z")

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I saw the ads for it on Sky1, but didn’t watch it.

Most people explain them away as hoaxes or artifacts of the camera. They seem to have come into vogue in the mdeia about 5 years ago, and there were a rash of American TV specials on them.

Basically, in most cases they are dismissed as “obvious hoaxes”, although, like crop circles, the hoaxers are not often found nor do they come forward very often.

There is a wealth of information on the Web out there, leaning about 90% believers/10% skeptics. One place to start for the skeptical view is [the Skeptics Dictionary Rods page.](http://skepdic.com/rods.html)

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**Author:** ![SpaceDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spacedog/32/9932_2.png) [@SpaceDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpaceDog)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-mysterious-rods-flying-about/113623/5 "2002-06-12T11:27:47Z")

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If I may just cut’n’paste an e-mail I sent to a friend yesterday on the same subject.

> [@](#):
>
> **Re: Rods…**  
> See : [http://www.randi.org/jr/060702.html](http://www.randi.org/jr/060702.html) someway down.
> 
> Archive is here : [http://www.randi.org/jr/archive.html](http://www.randi.org/jr/archive.html)
> 
> Better stuff half-way down this one : [http://www.randi.org/jr/053102.html](http://www.randi.org/jr/053102.html) which links [http://www.amsky.com/ufos/rods/](http://www.amsky.com/ufos/rods/) and [http://www.opendb.com/sol/bugs.htm](http://www.opendb.com/sol/bugs.htm)

This is probably my laziest post to date.

SD

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2002, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-mysterious-rods-flying-about/113623/6 "2002-06-12T11:27:49Z")

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Also, see [this](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrodhoax.html) staff report.