The name “Area 51” came from a simple grid reference on an atomic energy commission map. It’s also been nicknamed the Paradise Ranch, Watertown, and Dreamland to make it sound more appealing.
It was created in 1955 for a secret project with the code name “Aquatone”, which was the name for the U-2 aircraft created to spy on the Soviet Union.
There are actually no fences around Area 51, just orange posts marking the border, warning signs, and a security cordon.
As the signs say, “use of deadly force authorized.” According to a former security guard, he had been given the “all clear” to “waste” anyone trying to penetrate the borderline.
Early on, the only entertainment at Area 51 consisted of a single cement tennis court and a small bowling alley. There was no television, and radio signals only made it through the surrounding mountains in the evening.
The Area 51 mess hall used to have steak night once a week. It’s unclear if they still maintain the tradition.
Area 51 employees reach the facility by airplane through a restricted terminal called the “Gold Coast” at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
The planes are part of a classified airline called “Janet.” They’re unmarked but do feature a red stripe.
Area 51’s location was originally an abandoned airstrip at the edge of Groom Lake in Nevada, which had been used for nuclear testing. Also, “Groom Lake” was yet another name previously used for Area 51.
In 1989, a man named Bob Lazar told local news station KLAS-TV that he worked at a “secret facility” near Groom Lake (Area 51) where he claimed alien technology was being “reverse engineered.” He also claimed to have read US government briefing documents that describe alien involvement in human affairs over the past 10,000 years.
If you want to dive deep into his allegations, you can watch the documentary ‘Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers’ on Netflix.
A recent poll showed that 57% of Americans believe that UFOs are real. I mean…I’m not sure they’re NOT real.
There’s a conspiracy theory that the moon landings were staged there. Supposedly, space equipment including land rovers and life support systems were tested at adjoining facilities at Area 51.
The CIA publicly acknowledged the existence of the base for the first time in 2013. The 400-page CIA archives released by George Washington University’s National Security Archive stated that Area 51 was a “site developed by the intelligence agency in the 1950s in order to test fly the high-altitude U-2 reconnaissance plane.”
The military heavily monitors all activity on the surrounding public land. They use magnetic sensors on the roads to alert the guards where you’re coming from and how fast, as well as cameras on the hilltops.
And finally, over a million people have RSVP’d to a Facebook event to storm Area 51 and “see them aliens”.
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