US Armed Forces Listened for Messages from Mars

Yep, you read that right! Check out the story at IO9! I was reading down and there it was! What am I talking about? Well, from the article:

• In 1924, ... US Naval and Army stations scanned the skies for extraterrestrial transmissions.

From where? Mars! Why? Well a couple of reasons.... The best reason, was that August 22, 1924, Earth and Mars were only 35 million miles from Mars during what is called in astronomical terms, opposition. This was considered by the military ideal conditions in which to receive radio communications from Martians wanting to get to know us better.... But this is only where the kookiness begins. It seems Amherst College professor David Todd persuaded both the US Army and Navy to listen for messages from Mars, and they agreed!
From the article:

• Edward W. Eberle, the Chief of US Naval Operations, informed Naval stations of the possibility of Martian communications, and instructs them to report any unusual phenomena...

Check out the original telegram sent by Eberle here