An indication that the perception of aliens is guided by our own psychological and sociological background, rather than by visitations from exotic external intelligences, is provided by the ‘Bibendum’ phenomenon.
The Bibendum was created in 1894 by French cartoonist Marius Rossillon, known as O’Galop, for a Munich brewery. The illustration of a large figure with a drink in his hand was rejected by the brewery, but four years later André Michelin suggested white tyres should be incorporated as the body of the figure. This became a poster where the figure is giving a toast with a glass full of traffic hazards, with the slogan
