The Kuusamo Dishwater Mystery: An Unexplained Light Phenomenon
Early in the morning on January 3, 1971, residents of Saapunki village in Kuusamo, Finland, witnessed a bizarre and captivating display. A bright orb slowly moved across Saapunkijärvi, a local lake, against a harsh southwestern storm and twenty degrees below freezing temperatures. The sighting, which began at the lake’s eastern end around 6:00 AM and ended a quarter-hour later, three kilometers west, prompted discussions and debates that still resonate today.
The orb moved at a walking pace, about 8-10 meters above the icy surface, which allowed for clear observation against the backdrop of the opposite shore’s trees. Despite the heavy snowstorm, the orb illuminated its surroundings up to three kilometers away. As it passed lakeside homes, lights inside flickered and went out momentarily, though local power companies reported no outages or disruptions due to the storm.
After reaching a nook of the lake, the orb descended towards the garden behind Mauno and Martta Talala’s home, stopping less than twenty meters from their house around 6:15 AM. The couple, who were just rising for the day and enjoying morning coffee by their window, were stunned by the sudden appearance of the dazzling light outside. Its brilliance was such that they could only glimpse it indirectly without hurting their eyes.
Mauno Talala, still half-dressed, rushed to put on more clothes to investigate the phenomenon. However, within a minute of its appearance, the light vanished as quickly as it had arrived, accompanied by a brief power cut. Outside, eyewitnesses observed the orb diminish to a small point of light and ascend into the sky. By the time Martta Talala stepped outside, darkness had reclaimed the scene.
In the light of day, their son Timo discovered a peculiar trace on the ground where the orb had been. The mark measured about six meters long and over three meters wide, featuring a pear-shaped area covered with an ice crust, approximately 2 x 3.5 meters in size. This area showed a greenish hue, darker in the middle and fading towards the edges. The surrounding snow, typically 40 centimeters thick, was reduced by about half over this patch but was not completely melted away.
The story first broke in the local Koillissanomat newspaper on January 5th and quickly made national headlines. Initially, Dr. Birger Wiik from the Geological Research Centre suggested that the incident could be explained by a combination of a meteorite impact and naturally frozen water. However, subsequent analysis from samples taken from the site indicated the presence of titanium and decomposing plant cells—elements not typical of the local soil or an accidental spill of dishwater, as later speculated.
Further testing at the laboratories of Oulu Oy in Nuottasaari contradicted the mundane explanation of dishwater accidentally thrown out, showing the titanium to be evenly distributed and the plant cells different from local flora. The “dishwater” theory was further debunked by the absence of household waste bacteria and the fact that any spilled dishwater would have stained deeper layers of snow, not just the surface.
The persistence of the dishwater theory illustrates a disconnect between urban assumptions and rural realities. A household simply could not produce enough dishwater to cover a 7-18 square meter area, nor would it be logically disposed of in such a manner.
Today, the Kuusamo dishwater incident remains a captivating mystery of the Finnish UFO lore, showcasing how natural and otherworldly explanations can sometimes intertwine to form an unresolved enigma.
Source:
https://www.fufora.fi/artikkeleita/tunnetuimpia_suomalaisia_ufotapauksia
