# What is the deal with aliens and anal probing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2002, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618 "2002-12-05T03:44:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/21 "2002-12-05T17:32:17Z")
_“Hmmm… I wonder what this button does.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/22 "2002-12-05T19:14:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*I think it’s a projection of fear regarding the loss of power/control. The vague fear of “will the aliens dominate us?” is turned into the concrete idea that they will use the same methods by which a human could dominate another regardless of sex. Anal penetration is just a step away from the power humping of our chimp friends. \*\* actually, it’s more of a step _toward_… Oh, I see. Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/23 "2002-12-05T19:30:59Z")
I read an article a couple of weeks ago (in a journal/magazine type publication called ‘The Listener’) which was talking about the link between epilepsy and being creative. Can’t remember it all but scientists have uncovered a new form of epilepsy and they believe that people have been misdiagnosed with schizophenia etc, such as Van Gogh and that people who believe they have been abducted by aliens are suffering from this. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/24 "2002-12-05T20:04:57Z")
Really, you’ve got a spaceship, an unstoppable crew and the ability to whisk away anyone in the world on a moment’s notice. What else are you going to do? Free probes for everyone, whee! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/25 "2002-12-05T20:18:40Z")
Maybe it’s where aliens keep their candy. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/26 "2002-12-05T21:34:16Z")
Hmmm…were there any report of ET abduction/ anal probing outside the US, by the way? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/27 "2002-12-05T22:05:06Z")
Can’t believe I’m actually contributing to the anal probing thread, but… Is there any human medical precedent for this? Suppose we discover a new species and only had an hour to examine it. What would we do in that time to find out as much as possible? Would an anal probe tell us anything useful? ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/28 "2002-12-05T22:28:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*Deliverance by James Dickey, perhaps? \*\* LOL! (Never thought of that… Maybe those guys were aliens disguised as humans!) ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/29 "2002-12-05T22:48:08Z")
I agree that the details of what people believe happened to them while abducted probably follows trends. To me, the more important question is, why do people believe they’ve been abducted by aliens? I’ve seen speculation that this is the modern day equivelent of being abducted by fairies, leprecons, and the like. Which really just broadens the question to, why do people believe they’ve been abducted by non-human creatures? I suppose one explanation might be that people really are being abducted by beings beyond their ability to comprehend, who do things they also can’t comprehend. They interpret the experience as best they can. Their minds conjure up familiar (feared, but familiar) images. In one time and place, they think they were kidnapped by woodland fairies; in another, by subterranian gnomes; in another, by aliens in flying saucers. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/30 "2002-12-05T23:19:42Z")
According to Carl Sagan in “The Demon Haunted World” the anal-probing, sperm/egg-gathering aliens are a modern day remake of sprites, pixies, etc. that would replace human babies with changlings, he had other examples and comparisons. There is some deep-seated fear in many people when it comes to our reproductive system and/or sexual nature. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/31 "2002-12-05T23:21:20Z")
What \*\* Hazel\*\* said… I skip one post to get my idea out and which one is it? The one that says what I tried to say, only better. But I did include a source 😉 Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/32 "2002-12-05T23:27:34Z")
Try asking the INS. They should know. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/33 "2002-12-05T23:35:07Z")
Actually, I think their orders were really to probe _Uranus_ and someone just got confused… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@Nenya\_Elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nenya_Elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/34 "2002-12-11T14:19:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KidCharlemagne \* > \*\*I think it’s a projection of fear regarding the loss of power/control. The vague fear of “will the aliens dominate us?” is turned into the concrete idea that they will use the same methods by which a human could dominate another regardless of sex. Anal penetration is just a step away from the power humping of our chimp friends. \*\* I kind of always thought it was a conflation of the idea of a strange, cold, alien environment with the artificial, sterile environment encountered in hospitals. Modern medicine can be at times threatening, especially if it is dealing with very personal bits of you. So, if the aliens are doing medical tests at all, it would stand to reason that you would think of them as doing the most invasive and/or humiliating procedures possible. The power thing, too, as quoted above. ---
**Author:** ![GoldenGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8edcca/32.png) [@GoldenGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoldenGael)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/35 "2002-12-11T21:24:06Z")
Just lie back, relax, and enjoy it like the rest of us. Don’t make any sudden moves, and try not to shriek. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/36 "2002-12-11T21:43:02Z")
I’ve been wearing my tin foil hat, so I remember the OP. The whole anal probe business was started IIRC by [Whitley Stieber](http://clickmehard.net/previous/godfatherof.html) in his book _Communion_ (or was it _Fire in the Sky_?) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/37 "2002-12-11T21:46:37Z")
Sorry **CalMeacham** , didn’t see you’d answered the OP too. Tin foil hat leaking… ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/38 "2002-12-11T22:31:35Z")
I gained some insight into this question from the book _The Professor and the Madman_, about a mentally ill man who was hospitalized for much of his life. Early on, he complained that little children were climbing into his room from the roof and engaging in various sexual activities, including some form of “anal probing”. Many years later, instead of hiding in the rafters, his tormentors were flying in on airplanes, picking him up, and flying him off to be sexually abused. Why the change? When he was first hospitalized, the airplane hadn’t been invented yet. Once it came into general use, it was incorporated into his fantasies. I’m sure that if he had still been alive when the first alien abduction stories were spread in the 1950’s, it would have been the “greys” who were after him. People have always feared sexual abuse, and dealt with their own discomfort about sexuality by attributing it to otherworldly forces. Stories of incubi and succubi eventually became stories of alien abduction and anal probes, helped along by widespread publication and dissemination of alien abduction stories. At this point, who’s going to believe you were abducted by an alien unless you got the probe? ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618/39 "2002-12-11T22:41:36Z")
I figured this was a Southpark thread [Cartman Gets an Anal probe](http://www.geocities.com/d300g/southpark101.html), [script](http://www.planearium.de/scripts-101.htm), [sounds](http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/mitchum/115/ep101.html). Carry on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-deal-with-aliens-and-anal-probing/140618.md?page=1)