The Phantom Air Raid That Plunged LA into Darkness • Mystery Files

Sensitive topics: Descriptions of bodily injuries
Have you ever found yourself on a Wikipedia deep dive on the weird side of the internet? In this show - weird thing enthusiasts Ryan and Shane take turns presenting their latest fascinations to each other covering everything unusual, unexplained, and unhinged! This week's topic: The Battle of Los Angeles!
Bloopers! Bonus Content!
/ watcher
WATCHER MERCH:
watcherstuff.com/
HOSTED BY
Shane Madej
WITH
Ryan Bergara
DIRECTOR
Annie Jeong
PRODUCER
Brittney Lee
EDITOR
Charlie Clay
MOTION GRAPHICS
Diana Arana
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Jucel Andrin
PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Billy Jett
RESEARCHER
Alaina Rook
WRITER
Alaina Rook
CAMERA OPERATORS
Jay Tran
Jucel Andrin
Mark Celestino
GRIP & ELECTRIC
Jay Tran
SOUND MIXER
Jacob Fuller
SET DRESSER
Darren DeMatteis
CONSTRUCTION COORDINATOR
John Terry
PROP DESIGNER
Violet Rawlings
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Carter Lau
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Brendon Ryu Violet Rawlings
POST PRODUCER
Sam Young
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Hailey Leonard
HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT
Katie LeBlanc
HEAD OF PRODUCTION
Lizzie Lockard
HEAD OF POST PRODUCTION
Sam Young
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara, and Shane Madej
Social
/ wearewatcher
/ wearewatcher
/ watcherentertainment
/ wearewatcher
Business Inquiries:
[e-mail]
Music Provided by Audio Network
SFX by Audioblocks
Watcher Logo Designed by Jennet Liaw
Watcher Logo Sound Design by Yuta Endo (@yuuutaendo)
Watcher. A network from Steven Lim, Ryan Bergara, and Shane Madej.

[@angiegibson6598]

Ryan saving the country on his wedding day by getting naked was not what I was expecting to hear during this episode

[@skcch1796]

but it is what id expect from ryan

[@Bunny-kt6it]

Only 5 minutes in too

[@bigbadsauce92]

he would defend with his dong!

[@jeffonpluto]

SPOILER ALERT

[@rennash2]

not all heroes wear capes... or underwear

[@redblackroses23]

"We're under attack Ryan!" "Oh, I see." - every midwesterner when the tornado alarms start

[@Clockwork-Rat]

"wow, it's Wednesday already?"

[@roxiekooi865]

all the dads: a'ight kids, you heard your ma. down to the basement, grab the radio and the dogs. *wait till everybody else is downstairs, then crack open a beer and wander out to meet the rest of the dads in the middle of the street*

[@bannankev]

@@roxiekooi865I see you live in Texas as well 🤣

[@roxiekooi865]

psht Texans are just misplaced midwesterners.

[@KaiDrawsShit03]

@@bannankev I live in Minnesota and can see my grandpa doing this. Glad to see this is a universal experience lol

[@molycules]

Their name cards should say “Ryan’s friend” and “Shane’s friend” regardless of who’s presenting

[@whythenumber]

Love that for our guys

[@jijitters]

Ben and Adam from Jet Lag vibes

[@yaxofossiad]

Love this. 😂

[@rob2064]

I'll say what we're all thinking: it's always nice to see Carter.

[@CeceGames]

It is always nice to see Carter

[@la_arana_discoteca]

The tangents in the most recent Mystery Files episodes are incredibly funny. Maximum "just two guys chatting in a basement" energy.

[@D44RK_Iced_Yogs]

29:30 literally the best bit ever. The way Shane went caveman and said “airplane go fast” after each sentence to then say “no cause your in plane but plane go real fast” sent me.

[@la_arana_discoteca]

​@@D44RK_Iced_Yogsthey've done the caveman speech bit in stuff before and it always makes me giggle.

[@FredCowgill]

And imagine all that was cut for run time that we will never see.

[@stephanieread5404]

Just two guys in the basement chatting... They have a lot of fun down there 😂

[@CantTellYou]

Maximum movie references & that max cap is only getting higher every week

[@emmamize16]

Shane: "If you hit me you lose points" Ryan: immediately aims for Shane

[@la_arana_discoteca]

Ryan: extremely competitive (unless the alternative to winning is annoying Shane).

[@laurasagemini]

extremely on-brand for ryan

[@littlemsterious991]

ryan's been on puppet history, he knows ow much those points matter

[@christina113704]

​@littlemsterious991 welcome to Whose Line is it Anyways, where the points don't matter

[@vict4451]

"Nasty little fucker"😂

[@Andy-rk4iu]

To clarify the bird theory, we currently track bird migration using radar because they travel in such massive groups. They might not have realized at the time that those groups could show up on radar

[@averyabney8772]

I didn't know that about large groups of birds. I think that is a very likely truth about what happened. It would totally make sense.

[@LouseGrouse]

Questions i’d like to ask radar and bird experts on: Would the radar of the time have been sensitive enough to bird migrations? Would bird migrations have been happening at that time, and would migrations of the time have been larger than they are now due to environmental decline (and, if so, would they be more likely to show up on radar?) Are there birds from these areas that would fly in formations similar to planes (like how geese fly in a V formation)? How high would they be flying? Were they alien balloon birds?

[@Andy-rk4iu]

@@LouseGrouse​​⁠​⁠​⁠​​⁠​​⁠​⁠okay so to answer these, as I am in fact a bird expert lmao: 1. It definitely would have been if the balloons with wire attached to them was showing up on the radar lol 2. Bird migration would not have been occurring at the time actually! And I’m not familiar enough with seabirds to speak on their flight patterns at two in the morning lmao. And yes, there would have been substantially more birds then, we’ve had an approximately 30% population decline in all birds since 1980, so like 40ish years on top of that would be even more. There could have been a massive group of pelicans just vibing at two AM that scared the shit out of some radar people lmao 3. I’m basing this answer mostly on the video, which said the radar picked up one aircraft. There are a plethora of birds that travel in tight groups in the winter to help preserve numbers, so it’s possible a flock of seabirds was flushed (these would likely be a scoter species or red-breasted mergansers) that flew close enough together to look like a plane. And I mean, pelicans ARE huge and travel in MASSIVE groups. Can’t speak on height, and they didn’t specify an approximate height for the radar. I think the bird theory is mostly reliant on all plane reports being like. Mass hysteria type stuff and the only bird-related thing being what the radar picked up

[@LouseGrouse]

@@Andy-rk4iu Oh hey, awesome! Thanks so much for answering:) I hope if any birds were involved they remained unscathed. I found an excerpt from a source that has a bunch of interesting info too (youtube comments are sometimes iffy and delete links so for anyone interested google Bird Detection By Radar 315) Always remermber the Birdle of Lers Erngeles 🫡

[@LouseGrouse]

@@Andy-rk4iu Oh I thought I’d left a reply to this before but maybe I forgor to press send, but thanks for these answers

[@LydiaReneeDarling]

“Plane go fast” is the insider knowledge I come to Watcher Entertainment for

[@nevaehbraun4377]

the panic in Shane’s eyes when Ryan told him to read the headline out loud 😭

[@ashleynicole333]

😭😂😂😂

[@geordieghoulette7142]

'oh!!! That's no good' 😭

[@la_arana_discoteca]

​@@YourWifesBoyfriend__it is a slur, actually. It's the first 3 letters of Japanese but it's also a slur.

[@cdw2468]

⁠@@YourWifesBoyfriend__do you understand connotative vs denotative meaning?

[@jenniferb.awesome]

Where did you see that? It didn't even show Shane's face or eyes. He said no I'm not going to do that with his face away from the camera.

[@angiegibson6598]

Ryan has surprisingly good aim when blindfolded lmao

[@whateverwhatever4026]

Almost as if he's looking out of the bottom for some of it.....Almost. 🤔

[@perrysumner1274]

@@whateverwhatever4026a true mystery

[@izziehw]

@@whateverwhatever4026how would that help if he’s sat down he’d just see his own lap and his head wasn’t tilted that dramatically 😂

[@whateverwhatever4026]

@@izziehw I think you're underestimating how easy it is. Go try it. He could see half the room if he just tilted his head slightly up, including a lot of the targets and Shane's feet...

[@RegularFlyGuy]

@@perrysumner1274aliens

[@aquaintsound]

George Takei wrote a graphic novel about his experience in a Japanese internment camp as a child if people want to learn more about that. Public libraries have it!

[@wolvie1618]

Good lord I keep forgetting that he's old enough to have lived through that.

[@beachfairy]

Yesss! It's amazing too, so moving, would definitely recommend anyone to give it a read!

[@onbearfeet]

​@@wolvie1618 He gave a TED talk about it too, iirc.

[@gr33ngirlsea]

He also starred/developed a Broadway musical about it!

[@Illusivem8ne]

The only graphic part is him saying “oh my”.

[@allisonlouie1202]

5:35 Shane sounds like a stressed history teacher trying to get the class back on track

[@katelynb2913]

Happy Friday boogaras and shaniacs

[@AugieTbrah]

Not to boogaras actually

[@Graces_version]

You too!

[@SmokeyPenguin999]

You too bro

[@Hollanderarches]

You as well!

[@bebazZz]

You too!

[@iamperpetuallyconfused1916]

It’s Friday, I am tired from teaching, I open KZbin and am reminded that, yes, today is Friday. The ghoul boys have uploaded an episode of mystery files. I smile. Life is good.

[@MsGinRoom13]

Yo #teacherlife

[@gingerninja2487]

Is it not Good Friday where you are?

[@basicbrittani]

@@gingerninja2487we still be working, it’s just a good day

[@saneelat.7684]

Good Friday is not a federal holiday/state holiday so most public schools are most likely open but most Christian private schools and universities do close today to recognize the holiday!

[@caitlynstarrparrish]

Most public schools are out for spring break rn tho.

[@roxiekooi865]

Between "plane go fast" and the jar of peanut butter, Shane has taught me more science and physics in two seasons than I ever got in school.

[@bemble]

plane go fast. how fast? well, imagine a jar of peanut butter-

[@lydiaboll2872]

@@bemble😂

[@ct5625]

I've read about this case several times and every time I come away with the same conclusion - one twitchy finger set off group panic. You see it happen with armed police all the time. One of them fires one bullet and the rest just start wildly shooting too, with no clue what's happening or who they're shooting at. There is no evidence at all of anything being there, but one person shooting at something they imagined, based likely on panic or a searchlight hitting a cloud, and suddenly everyone else is firing too. After the fact people will try to justify the panic, so statements about what they saw cannot be accepted as being unbiased. They didn't want to look foolish or unprofessional, so it was in their interest to invent justification.

[@MainStar10]

Like that recent cop and acorn incident. Maybe it was an acorn that time too/j

[@SebastianV294]

​@@MainStar10 Yeah thats a great example not only the cop that "got shot" but also the partner that emptied their clip then after the gun was empty asked what happened

[@gggthsb]

I agree but I think someone saw something on the radar, probably someone who wasn't very well trained on reading the thing yet, and that person sounded the alarm. Once an alarm is heard everything snowballs and people do what they are trained and drilled to do in case of an alarm. Noone thinks twice. And of course int he end the Army and Government officials lied about it because it was a great embarassement for them. So I agree with theory #2 and/or #3. As to Ryans question about the guy claiming he saw planes: First of all it was completely dark, people ran against awnings and that guy claims he saw planes all the eway up in the sky? Also he was the only one that claimed that. Then we have to consider confirmation bias, he was expecting enemy planes in the sky so every little thing he saw (or thought he saw) would be an enemy plane in his mind. And lastly, in pitch darkness our brains play tricks on us and we think we see things that are not there, combine that with expecting to see something and boom there are your enemy planes. Af terwards he didn't want to look stupid as well so he doubled down.

[@Joey-kd8lj]

Seems like a case of mass hysteria. But dangerous.

[@FukaiKokoro]

@joey-kd8lj all mass hysteria is inherently dangerous

[@SetFireGirl]

Maybe it was awakened by Ryan yelling "booo" repeatedly throughout this ep, but suddenly I can't unsee Ryan and Shane as those two old Muppet dudes that hang out on the sidelines bickering constantly and heckling all the other Muppets whenever they get the chance

[@stephanieread5404]

Statler and Waldorf?? 😂😂

[@realAustenFreeze]

They have an amazing show called Puppet History !!!

[@mynameishuman4965]

In the 1950s a flock of birds triggered an early warning system and were mistaken for Soviet bomber attack, so I would definitely lean towards it being birds here too

[@toonacyedits8521]

11:58 Their commitment to noting how nice it is to see Carter is my favorite running gag

[@watchmedo635]

I gotta say, it’s always nice to see Carter

[@pissbaby8136]

and his toxic blobs

[@joshuayarrington9684]

can you please do episodes on the following: -Where is Canadian Clubs hidden whiskey? -Where are the hidden Gems of the Book "The Secret"? -The Kentucky Alien invasion in the 1950's -The mysterious birds of Audubon's "Birds of America" book -The Montana Hyena -The mysterious abandonment of Portlock Alaska -The theories of what is behind the Missing 411 cases in the US. -Kasperov vs Deep Blue computer -What hit Officer Val Johnsons Car? -Why are there Piranhas in Americas Waterways? -Dalnegorsk Spaceship remnants. -What did Captain Mantell encounter over FT. Knox? -Who were the Sea People that collapsed the Bronze Age Civilizations? -The strange encounter between Woodrow Derenburger & Indrid Cold. -Did Patience Worth write poetry from beyond the grave? -The Green Children of Woolpit -What flew over Washington DC in July of 1952? -Shag Harbor incident -Flight 2501 & the Michigan Triangle -Meat Rain of Coach farm -The Clairvoyance of Lady Wonder -Americas First bank heist with Pat Lyons -The blue people of Kentucky -What guards the treasure of the Superstition Mountains? -What scared the Herrman family in 1958? -Ted Serios' "Thoughtographs". -What causes the "Third Man Effect"? -Where is the City of El Dorado? -Where is the Gold of the Cara Nevada? -Could Charles Hatfield make it rain? -How did Alfred Hobbs pick the Bramah lock? -What caused the sinking of the M/S Estonia? -What was the substance that inspired "The Blob". -What caused the "La Pain Maudit" incident? -Who was the Real Shakespeare? -The Beast of Bladenboro (I especially want Shane to do this one).

[@LemonSte]

Boost this!!!!! Especially Shakespeare, that would be a good ep

[@raine-time]

This list could set up the entirety of Mystery Files lol

[@apeiceofgarbage9848]

I would love it if they talked about Canadian Club. I didn't know there was a mystery there how exciting

[@jenk4545]

At least a third of these are solved, a third are known hoaxes, and all of them have been done to death by every other paranormal/mystery show in the world.

[@lustforlimerence]

@@jenk4545 i see your point, however, this show isn’t about doing only unsolved mysteries. whoever isn’t presenting is supposed to make a guess as to whether this is solved or unsolved at the end and if it’s solved, who/what was responsible. also, i don’t think they’re too concerned with doing something that’s already covered extensively on other channels. for example, the max headroom case and the chupacabra case(s) are arguably pretty popular - i’ve known about chupacabras since i was 5 - but they covered them last season because it’s 1. interesting to them personally and 2. offers a lot of opportunity for banter between them which is half the fun of this show anyways :)

[@greentea4235]

i love how the cold opens are just getting more and more chaotic

[@furonguy42]

I think the steering wheel woman was the _driving_ force of the whole operation. Convincing the panicked public to _turn_ against one another. Or perhaps it was the police officer who smashed the shop window; he seems like he'd get a real _kick_ out of orchestrating something like this.

[@AKindOfDog]

Badum ch

[@TheCatie]

“Twitter would have been crazy during Pearl Harbor” made me laugh and it also made me want to retire from existence. Thank you bits.

[@rosaliesavard]

I love this very random bit we've been having this season of shane just standing behind the screen

[@la_arana_discoteca]

Ryan did it too in the last episode! I absolutely love it. It's so silly.

[@stalemix8422]

Happy easter holiday ❌️ Happy Mystery files friday ✅

[@janem7594]

Why not both?

[@mars_mayday]

33:12 "I don't believe aliens have really visited us. Except for those little Mexican ones--" for a split second I was VERY taken aback lol

[@thatoneperson8154]

Now im wondering if its one of those Disney frozen conspiracies, so when you search mexican aliens this shows up instead lol

[@sensitive_salamander1091]

right like my heart dropped i thought shane was about to commit a hate crime or something 😭

[@davehernandez7151]

I love how they had to add a news clip to clarify what Shane meant 😂

[@stephanieread5404]

He would never do that

[@annabellelee4535]

Those are adorable little aliens and the claim is that they are 30% unknown DNA

[@D44RK_Iced_Yogs]

Shane “Airplane Go Fast” Madej did the best bit ever on this show. 29:31

[@cherryblossomgirlxox]

23:59 not Shane roasting a dudes hair part while he’s rocking the exact same hair part placement 😂

[@MrMeow-dk2tx]

I recently found this series through a chance recommendation and I've been binging ever since, this new release has truly made my day

[@Cove_Blue]

Check out the rest of their content too! Everything is great!

[@MrMeow-dk2tx]

@@Cove_Blue ive watched an episode or two of puppet history, absolutely wonderful

[@jordaninktv6538]

@@MrMeow-dk2tx Then a JELLY BEAN and HISTORY POINT for you!!!

[@choerrymotion_]

​@MrMeow-dk2tx we love the professor 🫶

[@Cove_Blue]

@@MrMeow-dk2tx Ghost Files is also a banger. These fellas can entertain for sure.

[@uninvincibleete]

firing anti-artillery weapons at a gd balloon feels an awful lot like the old timey version of that cop shooting at an acorn

[@hypotheticalforest]

The what now 😂

[@mrmason2342]

Those are flak guns and are anti-air guns not... Anti artillery because that doesn't exist, they fire proximity shells which explodes sending shrapnels in a circle once the proximity sensor detects something.

[@JON-qm5ft]

That Cuba Gooding Jr outro aged immediately

[@BriMonies]

Absolutely did. Lol

[@zjmgxclips5633]

You hit every great mystery, reincarnation of shaggy and scooby

[@liightningst0rm601]

w-which ones which ???

[@zjmgxclips5633]

@@liightningst0rm601 Ryan’s scooby for sure

[@LeviSquadReject]

Shane saying “we get wet in the basement” and immediately cutting to a slide saying “the crime” is beautiful editing 😂

[@frostyenderman13]

Holy shit the blind gunner simulation was the funniest most chaotic sequence ever filmed for this show i swear 😂😂😂

[@QuimbyMouse]

"Nothing but respect for Cuba Gooding Jr." Ooof. That's not going to age well 😆

[@Theo-oh3jk]

Why?

[@Vexas345]

​@@Theo-oh3jk He loved partying with P Diddler.

[@CthulhusBFF2]

Please don’t leave KZbin

[@recreatio]

update: they listened

[@KillerWriting]

Might wanna cut out that "nothing but respect for Cuba Gooding Jr." Not only did he plead guilty to sex offenses against multiple women, he was just named as a defendant in the Diddy trafficking case. FYI.

[@bwmd_]

Yeah, that remark aged very badly very fast :\

[@fourleafclover2064]

nothing but disrespect for cuba gooding jr

[@mattsaracen7]

Yeah I was looking to see if someone pointed this out. I wish there was an emoji of someone nervously pulling on their shirt collar to convey how uncomfortable that Cuba remark made me feel 😅

[@juniperbeaty6226]

They clearly didn't know

[@KillerWriting]

@@juniperbeaty6226 Why is why I clearly explained why it's a bad idea, yep. I do not think the Ghoul Bois are regular supporters of sex predators.

[@vivica9227]

...kinda reminds me of the song 99 Luftballons/99 Red Balloons that's about the military firing on balloons thinking they're enemy craft. Now I've got that song stuck in my head...😅

[@Tak-lw6hv]

Sing the Folgers coffee jingle and it takes care of chasing away the lingering song in your head.

[@MultiNotAnti]

12:39-12:50 The pure, devious glee and insane smile and laugh Ryan gets when he's shooting at Shane- I mean the targets lmao

[@Atemlvr9295]

got some awful news at work this week and totally forgot today was mystery files day. Opening youtube just now and seeing this with “posted 11 mins ago” changed my whole week. Im so happy! 🥰🥳

[@taraobrien6629]

Oh I'm so sorry! Glad you found something that brought you joy 😊

[@sammyw7301]

Hope this next week is much better!!

[@ilonacoote3161]

I think the wheel at about 7:48 is a control for the spotlight, and there's a connecting bar that isn't easily seen because of the contrast in the photo

[@ilonacoote3161]

This isn't identical, but you can see he controls the spotlight from a wheel set a little way away from the light kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaKnlGSDfrChg9Esi=l2NUukd_SWM8MkZS&t=53

[@davidmatheny1993]

I honestly learned something new today about this incident when it comes to that newspaper picture being edited. Any previous discussion of this incident on shows did not bring up the photo being altered.

[@eowalton]

They mentioned a dozen movies of disasters in Los Angeles but not "1941", the Steven Speilberg directed movie about the Battle of Los Angeles starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Toshiro Mifune, and Christopher Lee.

[@Mistabluntman420]

Not gonna mention John candy? Rough 😣

[@Mia-tz9hc]

Imagine being a group of birds just flying and doing their thang when a whole bunch of anti-raid artillery rounds start shooting at them. They were probably freaking the hell out

[@anicawillow936]

Faster than my notifications, so excited to watch the video!!!

[@nathanparker6869]

No ur not

[@TeamOneDirection831]

never realized I needed the wilhelm scream in a piece of watcher media until now

[@jenniferseth2454]

Loved this video! About radar and birds: I am a meteorologist, and one of the things we learned about in class is that radar CAN and DOES sometimes pick up wildlife if there’s a large enough group of them. There have been instances of bats, birds, and huge groups of insects picked up on radar in the past. It would not surprise me if some large group of creatures are what was picked up on radar that night.

[@tewks4458]

I dunno how these guys find a banger of a topic to cover every single week.

[@lucienmoolman8017]

"The Phantom Air Raid" sounds like a Sabaton song

[@KaiDrawsShit03]

It totally does lmao

[@b.duggan3232]

You know...... it's always nice to see Carter.

[@SpookyDeerArt]

watching this during a blackout at 2 am really adds to the story telling tbh

[@justarandomperson331]

YAY MORE MYSTERY FILES!! ALWAYS A GOOD DAY WHEN THERES A NEW EPISODE OUT.

[@UnDonnaiolo]

Damn just thought about how we all have grown up with Shane and Ryan since the last 8 to 10 years. Damn

[@carolinesconcertvids860]

I haven't grown up with them, I was into adulthood which makes me realise how old I am now lol

[@clairvaux8459]

@@carolinesconcertvids860Same (kinda) 😂 I think I was like 19-20 when I started consuming their content on buzzfeed. They’re amongst the few youtubers I’ve stuck with for more than a couple of years. Crazy to think how long I’ve been watching them…

[@alison5009]

@@carolinesconcertvids860lol same. I’ve been watching them since buzzfeed and now I feel a tad ancient😂

[@charliesomething]

my grandpa worked with radar during ww2! i remember him talking a few times about how new the technology was. but he was stationed in either france or england and part of the invasion of normandy. if i'm remembering right they attempted to use radar to help with drop zones but the bad weather caused issues

[@owensks]

Well your grandpa was definitely stationed in the UK as if he was station in France pre June 6th 1944 he was in enemy territory 💀

[@charliesomething]

@@owensks oh my god i meant to say ireland or england lmao obviously not france 🤡 whoops

[@XLightChanX]

found the spy haha

[@spuriouslathos2518]

"We gotta put a stop to Florida!" Hysterical. Truer words have never been spoken.

[@whyjustkidding]

I love those interactive little pranks and game in tbr middle. Really makes this show even more fun

[@anelafarrar-ivey5295]

I'm a little sad they aren't doing debrief for this season. But I'm glad they're able to still make content on their own

[@Kiara28735]

Exactly. Is It known why arent they doing it this season?

[@hellothereeewasntavailable]

​@@Kiara28735as far as people know, hey never said anything, but my running theory is that they didn't want another divorce that would lead to Steven getting cut in half

[@anelafarrar-ivey5295]

Plot twist. They aren't doing it because they know too much

[@aviezer_who_drinks_seltzer371]

Ryan got sick of the hotdaga

[@anelafarrar-ivey5295]

@@aviezer_who_drinks_seltzer371 what does that have to do with the debrief? They haven't touched that series in years since they've started the new company. I don't expect them to carry on with the hotdaga

[@masasedej3503]

I love how every series watcher comes out with, featuring shane and ryan together, gets infused with their goofy personalities over time haha

[@foofmonger]

Looked it up: between the .50 cal machine guns and 12.8lb anti-aircraft shells, they were firing sporadically over about an hour! That must have been wild for the people living there

[@katekursive1370]

Watching this during a non phantom very real air raid in Ukraine because I fear nothing by this point

[@noblenansa]

Praying for your safety ❤

[@katekursive1370]

Thank you 🥺🌿

[@weirdhousewivesclub]

I hope you stay safe ❤

[@kellymay8208]

❤

[@angrypeanut7205]

🇺🇦 🙏 🕊️ ❤

[@patrickjunio8664]

"Great trailer, bad film" :D I am so glad we all collectively had that same experience

[@e.lectric9990]

Apologies for a small pedant moment, the attack on Pearl Harbor was not a kamikaze attack. “Kamikaze airstrikes” refers strictly to attacks involving striking or trying to strike an enemy with the aircraft one is flying instead of with weapons the aircraft is armed with. This only became a specific tactic instead of something done on an improvisational basis by aircraft already effectively shot down towards the end of the war, when Japan was nearly defeated - think near around 1944 and 1945, not 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor was “just” a standard carrier airstrike with the advantage of surprise. Enjoying the episode otherwise so far! Just heard that and had to make a note. Please take this in the spirit it is intended, of genuine enjoyment!

[@alison5009]

I appreciate that. My tired brain made me a tad confused at that part, but couldn’t put my finger on why.

[@thesalvadorian]

35:38 Y'all are gonna regret clarifying which Cuba you were shouting out haha

[@Vanessa-uo6lt]

2:42 that's how the hot daga started

[@NataliaLidia_06]

The hot daga was the absolute goat

[@uninvincibleete]

as a native angelino, i'mma need to see stats from the usual number of traffic accidents per night because i doubt this was even any more than usual. like i'm sure the lights made things harder but the base average in regular circumstances probably wasn't zero right haha

[@ssbperidot5574]

"Nothing but respect for Cuba Gooding Jr." so uh, about that

[@jessicasmith4431]

Came looking for this

[@chelseah6110]

It did not age well

[@intanayu8674]

what happened?

[@chelseah6110]

@@intanayu8674 he was with p diddy when he was having his parties

[@TribianiJR]

Shane getting shot by Ryan and calling him a “nasty little fucker” was top tier 13:15

[@gingerninja2487]

I've missed Carter. Always nice to see him

[@joepspoelder1207]

great job guys. This show just keeps getting better!!!!!

[@pjvelociraptor1931]

I'm a radar meteorologist. Birds often show up on radar. Bats too! If you watch the radar data around an area with a large bat colony, you might get to see them take off in the evening. You can also see monarch butterfly migrations. It's pretty dope. Anyway it was aliens birds flying some planes with balloons.

[@m.h.7364]

Honestly between OSP and Mystery Files and the end of the week, Friday truly is the best day

[@ellielynch8543]

Shane looks rad as hell in this thumbnail, good for him

[@josephivenegas]

This is the *most* Puppet History this show has gotten. Kinda sad there wasn't as song at the end!

[@TheMoist0ne]

Big oof on the Cuba Gooding Jr comment at the end in light of what all is coming out of the “P. Diddler” case.

[@Tak-lw6hv]

True that

[@SoninjaX]

“DEMONS PLUNGE US INTO DARKNESS” is all I heard this whole episode lmfao

[@geegeezlouis86]

I truly still expect them to say unsolved at the end of every mystery

[@a_sentient_blob]

Small correction about Pearl Harbor - that attack was carried out mainly by regular bombers, not kamikaze. Some bombers sustained too much damage to make the return trip so pilots opted to crash into targets to cause more destruction, but it wasn’t organized as a deliberate kamikaze attack as would be seen later on in the war.

[@adambump5297]

Ryan: "I'm an expert on probing." Me: "As in getting or doing!?"

[@ignaciodiaz919]

7:14 Shane being dissapointed about the giant lights been from the Scientology church and Ryannbeing terrified of it is hilarious

[@delionmoon]

tbh the birds theory shouldn't be as easily disregarded as there were done studies showing that large flocks of birds would indeed register as one big object on the old wartime military radars, and it wouldn't be the first time the birds were registered as ufos bc of the impreciseness of the military tech of that time. i think the study was done fairly recently so i understand the panic that would erupt after an enemy submarine just shot at your beach

[@Average_Grilledcheese_fan]

I always wanted yall to cover this case since buzzfeed unsolve! Glad today is the day lol

[@jenellenelson4447]

"Oh.... that's no good. That's bad." 😂 They never fail to make me laugh!

[@ciancat]

I still can't get over how awesome the intro music is. Gets me every time!

[@jjdracula]

"That must be so embarrassing. You know when you, like, go out for a night of drinking, and then the next morning you're like, ah, what the fuck did I say, or do? Like you're just, like, kind of like in a state of just, like, embarrassment. This has gotta be the worst version of that." I thought the worst version of that would be filming an entire production based around the concept of embarrassing yourself while drunk, broadcasting it to a very extensive worldwide audience, putting the embarrassing quotes on merch, and having the embarrassing behaviours turned into gifs to be spread across tumblr where they will stay for an eternity. But Ryan wouldn't know anything about that...

[@aviezer_who_drinks_seltzer371]

Listen listen listen....

[@CantStayAway]

"Alright ready?" "Yeah." *Ryan immediately shoots Shane first* Well, we saw that coming...:P:P:P

[@meganmeacham7443]

On the topic of weather balloon sizes: I worked in a ballooning research lab for a couple years when I was an undergrad, and we would usually require at least two people physically holding the balloon and payload when we’d go to launch (we would have more people if we had more than one payload). And when they got up to our target altitude (around 25 km) the balloons had stretched so much that they would be the size of a small house and we could see them from the ground (although it was hard to spot and we’d use our tracking equipment to find where to look). I don’t really have any info to add in the case of this event, but weather balloons can be pretty big!

[@shesaphony8644]

I'm so happy Shan and Ryan finally found a perfect formula. I stopped getting these guys in my feed, but they're back with a vengance.

[@ChknPotPythagoras]

“Pearl Harbor: That would have been a trending topic on Twitter” - Watcher This is the hard hitting journalism I’m here for!

[@sabbytheslothcat6663]

“God it would be fuckin’ metal to get killed by an alien, preferably in front of my family!” Ryan says gleefully. 34:32 😂

[@kai_winchester_66]

I love how Shane laughed when Ryan said 'David Blaine' after rhyming it with plane 😂

[@elledevine4374]

just got out of the hospital to a new mystery files episode, hell yeah! i get to focus on something other than how much my stitches hurt lol

[@Tak-lw6hv]

Heal quickly❤

[@skitzcunt2351]

Nice I hope they gave you some good meds

[@GoDLiKeKakashi]

To be absolutely fair to the photograph. While it may be frowned upon by today's editors, it was standard practice in those days to improve the quality of photos.

[@TheRealRitheGuardian]

Love how Shane is ripping on the guy who has the same hair part as him LOL

[@redinthehead6843]

I love these shows guys. Keep them coming! I’ve been watching you both for around 6-7 years, when I watched your show on buzzfeed. You both can always make me laugh and I continue to be intrigued by the mysteries you investigate. :)

[@generichuman2044]

This might be my favourite episode of the series. Perfect topic for this show and the humour was great

[@kristy8246]

Shane: “We’re under attack, Ryan” Ryan: “Oh I see” 🙄

[@spacebees86]

When you said people died my immediate thought was "I bet heart attacks from the stress, and car crashes and shit like tripping down your stairs in a panic hurry" I'd heard the story about how they shot at Venus for a while or something but didn't know the details. Are you guys hiring? I'm good at this!

[@christina113704]

3:32 😂 Shane reacted to Ryan's request like he would back up from slimy gel

[@saint-theo]

i'm pretty sure the answer to this one is boring - an episode of mass hysteria exprienced by a city that was already on edge shooting at shadows and clouds

[@smoxthybweh]

And probably birds

[@skitzcunt2351]

and 5 dumb asses died over it