Who Was Charles Fort?

Charles Fort visited libraries all over the world collecting data on strange events. His name is most commonly associated with rare phenomena like frogs or fish falling from the sky but he collected reports of all kinds of things that he felt scientists were not looking at honestly.

It is not always obvious when Fort is being serious in his writings but he does seem serious about pointing out that experts in any field are capable of sweeping data that they cannot explain under the carpet. His subject matter included ghosts, psychics and UFOs – subjects that do not lend themselves readily to scientific study but all the same he issued a challenge to science to include these matters in its research.

What makes Fort unusual in the study of unusual phenomena is that he included scientific research under the heading of superstition, asserting that it contained just as much prejudice and lack of critical thinking as any superstitious fancy.

Here is a video showing not only the kind of subjects that Charles Fort loved to study, but also his tongue-in-cheek approach.