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eShirl

(20,089 posts)
Sun Jan 11, 2026, 10:51 AM 13 hrs ago

Erich von Daniken, Swiss writer who spawned alien archaeology, dies at 90 [View all]

Source: Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose bestselling books about the extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilizations brought him fame among paranormal enthusiasts and scorn from the scientific community, has died. He was 90.

Von Däniken’s representatives announced on his website on Sunday that he had died the previous day in a hospital in central Switzerland.

Von Däniken rose to prominence in 1968 with the publication of his first book “Chariots of the Gods,” in which he claimed that the Mayans and ancient Egyptians were visited by alien astronauts and instructed in advanced technology that allowed them to build giant pyramids.

The book fueled a growing interest in unexplained phenomena at a time when thanks to conventional science man was about to take its first steps on the Moon.


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/switzerland-obit-erich-von-daeniken-57a8a84b8976475791eee82461d53138

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Erich... Clouds Passing 12 hrs ago #1
RIP to an explorer of possibilities. JustinBulletin 12 hrs ago #2
Alternative "facts" wolfie001 11 hrs ago #11
He won't be missed. A fabulist who continued selling crap, even after he'd been exposed muriel_volestrangler 12 hrs ago #3
+1000 paleotn 12 hrs ago #5
Basically the whole premise of the Joe Rogaine Show wolfie001 11 hrs ago #10
Fascinating OC375 12 hrs ago #4
Lazy science? Oh! You mean science based on actual evidence. paleotn 12 hrs ago #6
THIS wolfie001 11 hrs ago #9
Nope OC375 10 hrs ago #17
I read that book many years ago Bayard 11 hrs ago #7
Pseudoarcheology with probably white supremacist views wolfie001 11 hrs ago #8
"Pseudoarcheology with probably white supremacist views" LudwigPastorius 7 hrs ago #22
They always fantasize about a lily-white society wolfie001 4 hrs ago #24
All UFO stuff is so k00ky. But it was fun to watch TV shows when I was teenager. n/t Jacson6 11 hrs ago #12
I've yet to see anything convincing in regards to aliens wolfie001 11 hrs ago #13
Loved Dniken's stuff as a kid, but then I grew up ... TomWilm 11 hrs ago #14
"Brown people are dumb" dalton99a 11 hrs ago #15
Yep nt wolfie001 4 hrs ago #25
Chariots of the Gods was a total crock. Any scholar who had studied Aztec, Mayan, Indian, or Egyptian mythology and Martin68 11 hrs ago #16
Same assholes that went to Turkey looking for Noah's Ark wolfie001 4 hrs ago #26
Racist grifter. IrishAfricanAmerican 8 hrs ago #18
... trusty elf 8 hrs ago #19
Smokin' a Newport and teaching whitey how to Rock & Roll wolfie001 4 hrs ago #27
Science Fiction bmichaelh 8 hrs ago #20
Dude was a con man his whole life. LudwigPastorius 8 hrs ago #21
I was into 'Heavy Metal', the magazine wolfie001 4 hrs ago #28
Jailed for stealing from the Swiss Boy Scouts.... Mustellus 6 hrs ago #23
My god wolfie001 4 hrs ago #29
May he rest in piss sakabatou 4 hrs ago #30
This kind of thing tends to give street cred to conspiracy theories.. ananda 3 hrs ago #31
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