MARYSVILLE, Ohio, JEROME, Ohio, WHEELERSBURG, OhioOctober 1954

On October 22, 1954, students and teachers at Jerome Elementary School in Marysville, Ohio, saw what they described as a bright, shiny, cigar-shaped object in the afternoon sky. After the object disappeared, white cottony material began falling slowly to the ground over the next forty-five minutes. Teachers Rodney Warrick and Mrs. George Dittmar, along with about sixty children, watched as the substance drifted down across the schoolyard and surrounding area.

The material felt soft and fine. When handled, it could be stretched between the fingers and rolled into a ball, but it would disintegrate quickly. The substance left a green stain on the hands of those who touched it, though the stain washed away easily in water. The material clung to grass, automobiles, and telephone wires. Warrick noted that the stuff resembled asbestos and said it felt tough, though it broke apart easily. The material draped the electrical wires along a three-mile stretch of road near the school.

The file notes that no samples were preserved for analysis. The document suggests the substance was likely spider gossamer, the fine silk threads spiders release to catch wind currents and migrate through the air. The report points out that similar falls occurred in Indiana during the same period, and that October and November are peak months for spider migration. Weather that day was clear and warm, ideal conditions for migrating spiders to become airborne and later release their parachutes as they descended.

The U.S. Air Force's official evaluation of this case was unidentified. The complete case file, comprising 25 scanned pages as held by the National Archives, is reproduced below.