Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (SITU)
Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained (SITU)
An organization founded by naturalist Ivan T. Sanderson in 1965, "… for the acquisition, investigation and dissemination of information on reports of all tangible items in the fields of chemistry, astronomy, geology, biology and anthropology, that are not readily explained." For a generation it was the leading organization pursuing research on anomalous phenomena of the kind usually associated with Charles Fort. It encouraged fieldwork and on-the-spot investigation by offering advice, helping to raise funds, and arranging contacts for members who planned field trips and expeditions. Fieldwork and research were reviewed by a panel of 20 scientists.
The society disseminated information on findings through a quarterly journal, Pursuit, and through papers and reports. Investigations by society members included such areas as claims of ancient Egyptian television, ringing rocks, entombed toads, and poltergeist manifestations. The society maintained information files of original material, a map collection, and a specialized library. It was disbanded in the 1980s.