Sky rods [modern cryptid]
Sky rods (or air rods, or sky fish) are a great example of a modern-day folklore creature, or a cryptid. Supposedly, these creatures are mysterious elongate animals that are occasionally captured on film but cannot be seen by the naked eye. They move at incredible speeds and live in the higher layers of the atmosphere. These creatures are supposedly between 10 and 90 cm long. The rods appear on old film footage, both home-made films and actual movies, but the actors and other people who were present always denied seeing them. Cryptozoologists immediately theorized that the bodies of these creatures are made from an unknown biological substance that is not visible to human eyes, but can be caught on camera.
In reality, they are an optical phenomenon produced when a flying insect (usually a moth) moves at high speed when filmed, giving the impression that a rod-shaped creature with propeller-like extensions (the wing tips of the insect) is moving around. These extensions are often described as undulating fins.
In 2005, the existence of the rods was disproved by the Tonghua Zhenguo Pharmaceutical Company in China: the researchers confirmed the presence of the rods with camera footage and capturing them with very fine nets. No aliens or supernatural jellyfish could be found in the nets, but they caught plenty of flying insects.
The third image shows the sky rods as they appear in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean. I really love it when authors give us a pseudo-biological explanation of fictional creatures and cryptids like this. The rods inspired a number of fictional creatures like these ones, including Castlevania enemies for example.
Regardless, there are still conspiracy theorists who claim that the rods are real animals, some even claim that they come from outer space or that they are native to the sun. There are also theories that they are not biological at all, but tiny spaceships. Others claim that SOME of the rods were obviously flying insects caught on camera, but others were genuine sky rods. It’s all nonsense of course, but it’s fun to think about.
Sources:
https://non-aliencreatures.fandom.com/wiki/Flying_Rod https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_(optical_phenomenon) https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Air_Rods
(image source 1: cryptidz.fandom.com) (image source 2: Chr-ali3 on Deviantart) (image source 3: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean)
Yes, this post is technically a Jojo reference.
