I am Giorgio Tsoukalos. You may know me from the show ANCIENT ALIENS. AMA!

Have you seen the Ancient Aliens Debunked documentary by Chris White? If so, what is your response to it?

Yes I have seen it.

And a 3 hour movie cannot debunk 50 years of research.

I welcome the effort, but it has not, in any way, shape, or form, changed my opinion.

How do you respond to those that call you crazy?

That's perfectly fine.

Because I am the first one to admit that what I am talking about is crazy, or can be regarded as crazy, so I am perfectly aware that these thoughts sound out there. BUT this does not prevent me from continuing to ask questions.

Because if - in this day and age - asking questions means that you're crazy? Then I admit, I am the craziest of them all.

What happened to your hair over the years?

It's being slowly abducted.

I'm really having a good time, and this is a first-time experience for me, and I appreciate everyone being so cool.

How does it feel to be a meme ?

I love it.

I think it's a great honor to have been embraced by the interwebz, worldwide. I really think that it just shows that - it doesn't show anything, but it shows that people embrace the show. I think it's wonderful, the fan-base, I have the best fans in the world. This is something I really have to say. Everybody has been tremendous in their outreach, and in embracing not only the ideas, but also the meme, and I think it's a fantastic combination.

Someone asked if I had a favorite movie or TV show about aliens: OH MY GOSH, there are too many! I love the ALIEN franchise. I'm a huge fan of STAR WARS. STARGATE is 100% based ON the Ancient Astronaut theory, so you know... there are many, many science fiction movies and TV shows that are wonderfully embracing the idea of Ancient Astronauts.

I just saw yesterday, or is it today, the second STAR WARS trailer, and I think I'm already going to stand in line for it!

TAKE MY MONEY NOW!

Do you style your hair or does it just naturally look like that?

Oh. It's definitely styled.

I mean, it's lots of hairspray.

What made you choose that sweet hairstyle?

Uh... nothing. It just happened.

Assuming the theory is correct;

What should we as average citizens of the World do about the presence of extraterrestrials on our planet?

That's a great question.

Personally, I think that it's something that we should just keep an open mind about, with the idea that we are not alone - it's basically the idea that we are not alone in the universe, and that to me is a very valid question, because it puts us in a very unique position, and that the universe is shared with others.

And that alone is an incredible thought. It also deals with our origins. It deals with our place in the universe, and the moment that we come to the acceptance that perhaps we are not alone - I think things might change also on planet earth. Because we are all one.

What do you think about the fermi paradox?

The Fermi Paradox is an incredibly important observation. However, we have to understand that providing extraterrestrials exist, and providing that they have been here in the past, and are currently either observing or even still visiting us, their technology is so far beyond what we can even imagine - the idea or the suggestion that, you know, "if they exist, where are they" (which the Fermi Paradox suggests), just because we cannot see them does not mean they are not here - because their technological capabilities would allow them to essentially appear invisible to us.

Since you are basically (in Stargate universe's terms) Dr. Daniel Jackson, who would you want to pick as Colonel Jack O'Neill if you were selected to travel to the planet where the ancient aliens lived (be it by means of a stargate or spaceship or teleportation etc.)?

I think that would have to be either Jason Martell or David Childress.

That would probably make Erich von Däniken the commander of SGC, General Hammond.

Ok, now I'm picturing the cast of Stargate being replaced by the theorists and authors from Ancient Aliens.

That would be amazing, of course. Erich would have to be the general. He's the one who delegates everything.

Giorgio, have you personally ever seen a UFO or experienced something supernatural which could be ascribed to aliens?

Yes, I have. On August 8, 2014, along with 26 other people, with night-vision goggles, in Joshua Tree at the Contact in the Desert Conference around midnight, where we saw stars inside the Big Dipper, which obviously didn't belong there, and after 10 minutes of observing those two stars, they began to move equidistant from each other up into space, or into darkness of the night sky.

So essentially removing themselves, or moving away from the Big Dipper.

I would not talk about this event, but because as a whole there were twenty-seven people, we all saw the same, I certainly have no problem in talking about this. Because we know what we saw. We all saw the same thing. And we were all quite sober, so there was nothing weird going on, or anything like that. Those two things most certainly were not meteors, because they were flying up, and not towards the earth, and they weren't satellites, because they disappeared into space.

My high school government teacher claimed to have been your roommate at Ithaca. Is there any validity to this?

That's quite possible. Because yes, I did attend Ithaca College.

Are you a fan of the X-Files?

Yes. A huge fan. And I'm very excited that it is coming back for 6 more episodes with the original cast! Or part of the original cast. Not everybody, but definitely Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.

Of all the theories you've seen, which is the most plausible to be proof of extraterrestrials?

It's not necessarily one piece of the puzzle per se. It is the overall picture.

Because what we are talking about, in the Ancient Astronaut theory, we are talking about circumstantial evidence.

It's the combination of a whole bunch of pieces that can be regarded as circumstantial evidence, and in a court of law, circumstantial evidence allows you to win court cases. There are no crashed UFOs that are on display anywhere, or no extraterrestrial tools have been found, those are all items that so far have not been discovered, there is no one concise piece of evidence that we can say "Look, here is the smoking gun."

So it is a combination of everything.

All the different pieces.

If intelligent extraterrestrials were really here in ancient human history, why do you think they stopped visiting?

Personally, I don't think that they ever stopped visiting, you know... I'm always fascinated by the idea that there is a giant gap between what happened in our ancient past, and then what happened in 1947 with the Roswell crash - the Roswell crash is when the extraterrestrials returned, I don't think that that is the case.

And that they have been at least observing us this entire time. Perhaps not as involved as they were in our remote past, with guiding us, giving us advice, giving us knowledge, but providing that they did this, it is something they are interested to see how it all worked out, or how it's all working out.

So I don't think they've left completely. It's an idea, of course.

This was my first AMA ever.

Hey Giorgio. Just wondering, do you work for the Illuminati?

Not that I know of!

When can I go with you to Nazca???!!!!

Perhaps in 2016, when I'm organizing some adventures tours. So stay tuned for my Facebook or on my Twitter pages, please, please stay tuned.

If aliens were monitoring this Reddit AMA right now, what compelling reason could you give them to reveal their existence to the world?

Given the popularity of ANCIENT ALIENS, I think we're in a really amazing time where people are beginning to explore the idea of whether or not we are alone in the universe. Perhaps we are moving closer to the point where we can become familiar with the idea that we are not alone.

So when you saw the new Star Wars trailer, did you think to yourself, "Wow, that looks like a great documentary film?"

How did you know?

My dad and I really enjoy watching Ancient Aliens whenever it's on. He does entertain some of your theories here and there but can't get over your crazy hair. Is there a chance you get a cameo on the new episodes of X-Files?

If they'll ask me, of course I'll do it, no question.

What would you do if you ever met a alien what would you ask ?

Oh my gosh, I have NO idea. I would just stand there with a giant, giant smile on my face (hoping that they wouldn't shoot from the hip)!

What does Erich von Däniken smell like?

He wears cologne.

When did you realize that you were an official internet meme phenomenon?

I think friends just started to tell me, and I thought it was funny and cool from the beginning.

Every time somebody makes one of these, they put time into it.

So I really think it's awesome that so many fans put time into this.

And I appreciate it.

What's your favorite place in the world that we should all visit?

That is in Bolivia, in the highlands of Bolivia, it's the archeological site of Tiahuanaco. And it's part - where you can visit Puma Punku, and the stones that you find there will absolutely blow your mind.

When do you think humanity will make "first contact"?

Just lots and lots of hairspray.

Update: You edited your question, but previously, it was something along the lines of "how do you achieve your hairstyle." In regards to first contact, I think that it is possible we will make first contact within the next twenty-five to thirty-five years.

What sparked your interest in the topic of aliens?

That was actually my grandmother.

When I was - this was, uh, dinner table conversation growing up at my house. When I was a little boy, my grandmother introduced me to the topic of Ancient Astronauts, Atlantis, various topics, as bedtime stories, and so I was exposed to those things at a very early age. And it stuck with me. And it was something where my grandmother was a devout Catholic, but at the same time, she was open-minded enough to realize that "hey, perhaps there's something else out there - or there's more to the story."

And that is something that I carried with me, that opened up my interest already - when I became a teenager, or even earlier, it was something I was interested in for a while.

In Irish folklore its mentioned a race called the fomorians leader balor the one eye would open his eye and disinerate whole armies at once with great laser fire. Do you think the gods specifically of celtic folklore were aliens?

I think that most of the gods described in ANY of the ancient cultures were extraterrestrials.

Whenever our ancestors wrote or referred to "The gods," personally, I always like to refer to those "Gods" as "gods" with a lowercase G. Because personally, I am still a deep believer in God (with a capital G).

However, the gods described in the ancient texts were misunderstood flesh & blood extraterrestrials and our ancestors misinterpret them as being divine in origin, which they never were.

It is a simple question of their technological frame of reference, that they had at their disposal at the time.

What do you like on your pizza?

I'm a big fan of just, you know, cheese pizza. Just cheese. Keep it simple.

What is your opinion about the theories that claim RH negative people being mixed/breed with alien DNA?

Well, according to the Ancient Astronaut theory, all of us already have alien DNA within us. Because the Ancient Astronaut theory suggests that at some point, our human genetic makeup was deliberately changed by a targeted, artificial mutation of our genes.

What are your thoughts of the moon landing conspiracy?

There is no question in my mind that we went to the moon.

Because equipment was left back by the astronauts, and each year, lasers are trained at the moon, toward the equipment that was left behind, and this is done in order to measure the distance between the moon and the earth.

I highly doubt that those pieces of equipment, or that piece of equipment, was brought to the moon by robots.

Also, we have to remind ourselves that the race to the moon happened at the height of the Cold War. We know for a fact that at the time, the U.S. had spies in the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union had spies in the United States. It would've been world-wide news had Russian spies found out that the U.S. never went to the moon.

Therefore, I do not agree with the notion that we did not go to the moon.

What are your most favorite books of any genere?

Wow, okay!

Well, I'm not a big fiction reader. However, if I were to choose one single fiction book that I suggest everyone should read, it is Tiffanie deBartolo's God-Shaped Hole. You will know whether or not you have a soul after reading that book.

As far as non-fiction is concerned, there are many Ancient Astronaut related books. But they can also be found in the literature of archeology, or anthropology, or space-travel, or space-exploration, so there are multiple primers that I think are mandatory in those different topics, or in those different subjects. For example, check out Twilight of the Gods, which is one of Erich von Däniken's latest books. Because we have to remind ourselves that Chariots of the Gods was written over 40 years ago, and there are many other books that he has written in the meantime.

You've visited many sacred and deliciously mysterious places on Earth, which have resonated with you the most?

They all resonate with me differently.

Different places have different people, different atmospheres, and different vibes. So it all depends. There isn't a single place. I'm a citizen of the world. There isn't a single place where I can say "this is it, sure."

There are places that are a bit more special to me than others. But I enjoy the different vibes that different sites have around the world.

Why do you think the aliens came here? I never believed the slaves to mine gold theory.

I also disagree (personally) that we were created as slaves back in the day.

So I think that just like we will visit foreign planets in the distant future, for the sole purpose of exploration, I think it is an intriguing idea to suggest that our planet, too, might have been part of an exploratory program launched by advanced civilizations elsewhere in this galaxy.

Hi! :D

A bit of a silly question: If you were to suggest a food/dish for an alien to eat, what would it be? :)

^{p.s. will you marry me?}

Wienerschnitzel, which is also my favorite dish. And I think it's something they might enjoy.

what degree/studies are best for an aspiring ancient astronaut theorist?

The natural answer would be archeology and/or anthropology. However, what's so great about the Ancient Astronaut theory, is that it combines so many different topics of science into one. You can be an astronomer, and be interested in the Ancient Astronaut theory, as much as being an archeologist, or even an engineer, because an engineer, too, would be as useful, because you can apply that knowledge to ancient structures, and explore the theory through the eyes of an engineer, for example! You don't necessarily need to be an archeologist or anthropologist, because all different branches of science are interesting for Ancient Astronaut theory. Also, for example, a geneticist - a geneticist delves into the world of Ancient Astronaut theory. Historians can help advance the study. And Linguists as well, to compare the different word origins, and to see if there's a common denominator in things like that, and to see if those common denominators can be found all over the world or just one region, so it's very exciting...

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The elongated skulls.

The elongated skulls, especially the ones at Juan Navarro's museum in Paracas, Perus, where during the production of In Search of Aliens, I had the great privilege of personally handling some of those skulls, and while I had seen some of them behind glass, it was an incredible treat to be able to see and handle them directly.

You know... they are truly something else.

Which ancient alien theorists have you looked up to and have had the biggest influence on you through your life?

Erich von Däniken. I have known him for over twenty-five years, and he has been a tremendous mentor. In fact, I just saw him a few days ago, at his eightieth birthday celebration / conference, in Stuttgart, Germany, which was attended by almost 3,000 people, and with lectures by Robert Bauval, Graham Hancock, the astronaut Ed Mitchell, and Robert Salas. And also, by the astrobiologist Dr. Chandra Wickramasinghe, who gave an incredible lecture about the necessity (!) that life on earth originated elsewhere. And in his lecture, he wasn't necessarily referring to human life, but life in general, and backed it up with incredible lectures. He is a proponent of the Panspermia Theory. In fact, you can look that up on Google, if that is something we can refer, or suggest people to check out, and "Directed Panspermia Theory" as well. He's a proponent of both.

Hi G! Welcome to reddit! My question(s) is about "Cargo effect" you talked about on one of your lectures, and I was wondering

• is this "effect" widely accepted among the theorists and scientists and

• what happened to the tribe? ( I couldn't find any info )

Thanks for doing this AMA!

I think the phenomenon of a "Cargo Cult" is something that - in essence - encapsulates the Ancient Astronauts theory. Because a "Cargo Cult" suggests that if a technologically advanced society comes in contact with a technologically less-advanced society, then over time, the technologically less-advanced society begins to worship the technologically-advanced society.

Now, notice what I said - technologically-advanced. I didn't say "intellectually advanced."

There is a big difference in that.

The idea is very simple. Thousands of years ago, advanced space-faring extraterrestrials visit earth and encounter our ancestors, who were as intelligent as we are today, however, their technological frame of reference was less-advanced. Therefore, the visits of the extraterrestrials was regarded as a "divine" event, which it never was.

But our ancestors didn't recognize it as such. Not because they were intellectually primitive, but technologically primitive.

This is a BIG difference.

And it happened worldwide. On every continent around the world. Not just only in Africa, or South America. Including in Europe, and the rest of the world.

How do you feel about the movie Prometheus in relation to the AA theory?

It was great entertainment. And I really thought they did an interesting job in incorporating the idea. And I think it's an incredible testament to how the Ancient Astronaut theory has established itself in today's science fiction movies. PROMETHEUS wasn't necessarily my favorite of the ALIEN franchise, and so I'm currently looking forward to Neill Blomkamp's production of ALIENS with Sigourney Weaver.

Why not do a study or show on the largest pyramid in the world located in in the state of Missouri USA? Thank you for educating the masses . My wife's valves your hair . I love your studies shows books & magazines. Thank you

Well, thanks for the suggestion. I will make sure to pass it along.

Just out of curiosity, how does your bachelor's degree in sports information and communication, or your experience as a bodybuilding promoter, qualify you to make definitive statements regarding archeology?

I've never claimed to have a degree in archeology,.

The search for knowledge transcends any degree, and I have spent almost 30 years exploring this idea. And it is a fallacy to suggest that just because somebody doesn't have a degree in a particular topic that this automatically disqualifies their ability to reason, or their quest to study.