Otis T. Carr
Encyclopedia
Otis T. Carr first emerged into the 1950s flying saucer
scene in Baltimore
, Maryland
, in 1955 when he founded OTC Enterprises, a company which was supposed to advance and apply technology originally suggested by Nikola Tesla
. The claim to be applying some idea of Tesla's was quite common among exploiters of the flying saucer mythology in the 1950s--- for example George Van Tassel
's Integratron
was supposedly based partially on (unspecified) lore from Tesla, partially on lore from friendly Space Brothers from Venus.
Carr patented a flying saucer, and asserted he was working on a full-size version which could fly to the moon and return in less than a day, and which used two counter-rotating metal plates, spinning electromagnets and large capacitors, which when spinning charged and powered by a battery, which became "activated by the energy of space." Carr's scheme resembles slightly earlier proposals by John R. R. Searl
and T. T. Brown. During demonstrations Carr's device, when put into operation, could do little more than sit there and hum, either loudly or softly depending on the care with which it is assembled. In practice, Carr didn't usually manage to demonstrate a hum, or even a vibration. Carr also claimed to have invented "The Gravity Electric Generator," "The Utron Electric battery," "The Carrotto Gravity Motor," and "The Photon Gun."
Ray Palmer
's Fate Magazine gave Carr a great deal of free publicity, not all of it complimentary, throughout the 1950s. Carr and his promoter Norman Evans Colton also frequently appeared during the same period on Long John Nebel
's pioneering radio and TV talk show, and during each appearance, Nebel usually managed to prompt Carr into his usual state of near incoherence. Typical: "Can you describe what you're holding in your hand?" "This is a dimensional object. It was designed with the dimensions of space itself. We say it is truly the geometric form of space, because it is completely round and completely square." (Referring to Carr's "Utron Coil" which was round when viewed from above and square when viewed from the side). Carr also said his great secret could be best expressed mathematically as "minus zero" (or "zero X"). Colton and Carr sold quite a bit of stock in their enterprise, however. Carr also teamed up with obscure contactee Wayne Sulo Aho
, and he and Aho toured the various "flying saucer clubs" that then existed in nearly every major city in the US, touting the wonders of Carr's spacecraft propulsion system.
Although Carr's business affairs were generally considered to be fraudulent, he was granted a patent at the US Patents Office for an "Amusement Device" US Patent #2,912,224 (filed January 22, 1959). In 1958 Carr struck a deal with the owner of an amusement park, Frontier City, in Oklahoma City
, Oklahoma
. Apparently the terms of the deal were that Carr would construct a full-scale (45 ft) mockup of his saucer, OTC X-1, to be converted into a ride for the park. Carr relocated to Oklahoma City, provided the park with a dummy OTC X-1, and claimed to be readying a 6-foot "prototype" of his saucer for a demonstration flight at the fairground. Carr said his demonstration model would rise to about 500 feet. He also said he would follow that triumph on December 7, 1959 by launching a working 45-foot saucer, matching the amusement park mockup, and, with Wayne Sulo Aho
and himself as pilots, would fly from the fairground site to the moon and return in a few hours. The 6-foot saucer was supposed to be launched on April 19, 1959, but it never even made it to the fairground, and neither did Carr who claimed to be feeling "unwell" on the day of his demonstration. Visitors to Carr's factory site during the period did not see any actual working models, or otherwise, of either the 6-foot or 45-foot saucers. Instead they were shown a small and motionless "three dimensional illustration of Carr's ideas" made mainly of wood. Carr had already dropped from sight before the launch date for the 6-foot model, and was not seen for quite some time thereafter.
In January 1961, Carr was convicted of "the crime of selling securities without registering the same" in Oklahoma, and fined $5,000, far less than the sums he had obtained from investors in the area. He was denied an appeal on March 1, 1961. Carr could not pay the fine, and served part
of a 14-year jail term. Colton fled the state and soon resurfaced elsewhere, still selling non-working "free energy" technology. Aho was found to be an innocent dupe. After his sentence ended, Carr lived quietly in Pittsburgh
until his death in 1982.
Flying saucer
A flying saucer is a type of unidentified flying object sometimes believed to be of alien origin with a disc or saucer-shaped body, usually described as silver or metallic, occasionally reported as covered with running lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly either...
scene in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, in 1955 when he founded OTC Enterprises, a company which was supposed to advance and apply technology originally suggested by Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
. The claim to be applying some idea of Tesla's was quite common among exploiters of the flying saucer mythology in the 1950s--- for example George Van Tassel
George Van Tassel
George Van Tassel was an American contactee, ufologist, and paranormal research leader who commenced building the Integratron in 1958 in Landers, California.- History :...
's Integratron
Integratron
The Integratron is a dome-shaped structure constructed out of plywood and fiberglass by George Van Tassel. He built the structure in Landers, California, USA as a "rejuvenation machine" supposedly following instructions provided by...
was supposedly based partially on (unspecified) lore from Tesla, partially on lore from friendly Space Brothers from Venus.
Carr patented a flying saucer, and asserted he was working on a full-size version which could fly to the moon and return in less than a day, and which used two counter-rotating metal plates, spinning electromagnets and large capacitors, which when spinning charged and powered by a battery, which became "activated by the energy of space." Carr's scheme resembles slightly earlier proposals by John R. R. Searl
John Searl
John Roy Robert Searl is the self-styled inventor of the Searle Effect Generator , a supposed open system electrical generator capable of extracting clean and sustainable electrical energy from the environment, based on "magnetic waveforms that generates a continual motion of magnetized rollers...
and T. T. Brown. During demonstrations Carr's device, when put into operation, could do little more than sit there and hum, either loudly or softly depending on the care with which it is assembled. In practice, Carr didn't usually manage to demonstrate a hum, or even a vibration. Carr also claimed to have invented "The Gravity Electric Generator," "The Utron Electric battery," "The Carrotto Gravity Motor," and "The Photon Gun."
Ray Palmer
Raymond A. Palmer
Raymond Arthur Palmer was the influential editor of Amazing Stories from 1938 through 1949, when he left publisher Ziff-Davis to publish and edit Fate Magazine, and eventually many other magazines and books through his own publishing houses, including Amherst Press and Palmer Publications...
's Fate Magazine gave Carr a great deal of free publicity, not all of it complimentary, throughout the 1950s. Carr and his promoter Norman Evans Colton also frequently appeared during the same period on Long John Nebel
Long John Nebel
Long John Nebel was an influential New York City talk radio show host.From the mid 1950s until his death in 1978, Nebel was a hugely popular all-night radio host, with millions of regular listeners and what Donald Bain described as "a fanatically loyal following" to his syndicated program, which...
's pioneering radio and TV talk show, and during each appearance, Nebel usually managed to prompt Carr into his usual state of near incoherence. Typical: "Can you describe what you're holding in your hand?" "This is a dimensional object. It was designed with the dimensions of space itself. We say it is truly the geometric form of space, because it is completely round and completely square." (Referring to Carr's "Utron Coil" which was round when viewed from above and square when viewed from the side). Carr also said his great secret could be best expressed mathematically as "minus zero" (or "zero X"). Colton and Carr sold quite a bit of stock in their enterprise, however. Carr also teamed up with obscure contactee Wayne Sulo Aho
Wayne Sulo Aho
Wayne Sulo Aho was an American contactee who claimed contact with extraterrestrial beings. He was one of the more obscure members of the 1950s wave of contactees who followed George Adamski.-Early life:...
, and he and Aho toured the various "flying saucer clubs" that then existed in nearly every major city in the US, touting the wonders of Carr's spacecraft propulsion system.
Although Carr's business affairs were generally considered to be fraudulent, he was granted a patent at the US Patents Office for an "Amusement Device" US Patent #2,912,224 (filed January 22, 1959). In 1958 Carr struck a deal with the owner of an amusement park, Frontier City, in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. Apparently the terms of the deal were that Carr would construct a full-scale (45 ft) mockup of his saucer, OTC X-1, to be converted into a ride for the park. Carr relocated to Oklahoma City, provided the park with a dummy OTC X-1, and claimed to be readying a 6-foot "prototype" of his saucer for a demonstration flight at the fairground. Carr said his demonstration model would rise to about 500 feet. He also said he would follow that triumph on December 7, 1959 by launching a working 45-foot saucer, matching the amusement park mockup, and, with Wayne Sulo Aho
Wayne Sulo Aho
Wayne Sulo Aho was an American contactee who claimed contact with extraterrestrial beings. He was one of the more obscure members of the 1950s wave of contactees who followed George Adamski.-Early life:...
and himself as pilots, would fly from the fairground site to the moon and return in a few hours. The 6-foot saucer was supposed to be launched on April 19, 1959, but it never even made it to the fairground, and neither did Carr who claimed to be feeling "unwell" on the day of his demonstration. Visitors to Carr's factory site during the period did not see any actual working models, or otherwise, of either the 6-foot or 45-foot saucers. Instead they were shown a small and motionless "three dimensional illustration of Carr's ideas" made mainly of wood. Carr had already dropped from sight before the launch date for the 6-foot model, and was not seen for quite some time thereafter.
In January 1961, Carr was convicted of "the crime of selling securities without registering the same" in Oklahoma, and fined $5,000, far less than the sums he had obtained from investors in the area. He was denied an appeal on March 1, 1961. Carr could not pay the fine, and served part
of a 14-year jail term. Colton fled the state and soon resurfaced elsewhere, still selling non-working "free energy" technology. Aho was found to be an innocent dupe. After his sentence ended, Carr lived quietly in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
until his death in 1982.
External links
- Transcription of part of a Long John Nebel interview with Carr
- Uncritical collection of material on Carr
- Carr's 1961 Oklahoma appeal
- Material on another Carr forerunner and competitor, T. T. Brown
- Aquamarine Dreams: Ralph Ring and Otis T. Carr
- Cincinnati Skeptics newsletter including short biography of Otis T. Carr
- O.T. Carr "Amusement Device" US Patent #2,912,224 (filed January 22, 1959)
- Ralph Ring's website who worked with Carr and flew in the OTC-X1. Includes documentation from his work with Carr, radio interviews, transcripts of interviews and numerous interviews of Ralph Ring discussing his understandings of the principles of Nature involved with these craft.