Area 51 has lived rent-free in the minds of conspiracy theorists for decades at this point, and we’re still no closer to getting any definitive answers about what goes on there besides ‘secret military stuff’.
Since its creation in 1955, it’s been a hotbed for basically every paranormal and paramilitary theory that any crackpot has put forth. No matter how ridiculous the idea that the government is running a summer camp for little green men is, you have to admit something strange seems to be going on there.
Let’s blow their cover wide open and investigate some of the little-known facts and surprising secrets that surround this Nevada mystery.
They might tap my phone for this one, but I say we deserve to know the truth. Whether it’s hyper-advanced alien civilization, or just really fast airplanes, the people have a right to know. I want to believe.
1
It’s still growing
Area 51 has expanded a great deal since its creation, and it’s still expanding today. Controversially, much of the land that makes up Area 51 today was taken forcefully from its previous owners without explanation.
2
You can see it on Google Maps
Though you might expect the government to be a little more cagey about such a top-secret facility, they’ve actually allowed Google to capture satellite footage of the base. When you navigate to it on Google Earth, your cursor turns into a little UFO. Cute!
3
Employees claim to have seen alien experiments
Bob Lazar, a famous conspiracy theorist who claimed to have knowledge of aliens and UFOs, was a former employee of Area 51. He claimed he saw the government conducting experiments on aliens there.
4
It was created during the Cold War
Area 51 was originally created as a way to test and develop military aircraft away from the prying eyes of the Iron Curtain.
5
It wasn’t acknowledged for decades
Area 51 wasn’t officially confirmed to exist by the government until 2013. Between 1955 and then, they just pretended it didn’t exist.
6
You could just walk into Area 51
At least physically. There’s no fence or boundary around the border of Area 51, so you could theoretically just wander in. Whether you’d be apprehended or even sniped where you stood is another question, though.
7
The only place you can’t photograph from space
Astronauts at the Skylab space facility accidentally took photos of the facility in 1974. They received a memorandum from the CIA stating it was the only coordinate on the entire planet that had specific instructions not to be photographed.
8
It’s very infrequently officially mentioned
All but two references to Area 51 have been redacted or blacked out in official documents, and these two instances are thought to likely be mistakes.
9
The name is a mystery
Nobody knows for sure why it’s called Area 51. It wasn’t always called that– Cold War era documents refer to it as Groom Lake or Homey Airport. Now even official records refer to it as Area 51, but the origin and meaning of that name, while there are theories, are a mystery.
10
Play ball!
Area 51 has multiple tennis courts and a baseball field on its premises. They’re for employee use… or maybe to teach aliens about Earth sports.
11
Area 51 has its own bar
In addition to recreational sports, Area 51 also has an on-premises bar named Sam’s Place, after the pilot that founded it.
12
Long commute
Many of the employees that work at Area 51 live in Las Vegas and must use charter flights to commute to and from work. I guess it beats sitting in traffic.
13
Workplace hazards
Employees of Area 51 once took the facility to court over concerns of poor working conditions, complaining about exposure to dangerous chemicals and hazardous waste.
14
Some people think it ties into the Roswell incident
Some conspiracy theorists believe that Area 51 was created to research and cover up the 1947 crashing of a spaceship in Roswell, New Mexico. These two locations seem tied together in the public consciousness.
15
Other people think the moon landing was filmed there
Bill Kaysing, author of the book ‘We Never Went to the Moon’, one of the seminal texts for conspiracy theorists who think the moon landing was a hoax, posits that the footage of the lunar landing was filmed and created at Area 51.
16
Hillary Clinton wanted to make its secrets public
During the 2016 electoral race, Hillary Clinton told Jimmy Kimmel she wanted to declassify as much as possible about Area 51. "I would like us to go into those files and hopefully make as much of that public as possible. If there's nothing there, let's tell people there's nothing there," she said. Oh well!
17
It needs a PR team
When the government was trying to convince people to work at Area 51 during its infancy, they were having a hard time, because it was a desert wasteland in the middle of nowhere. They decided to call it ‘Paradise Ranch’ to make it seem more attractive.
18
There was a failed raid
Over a million people RSVPed to a viral Facebook event in 2019 that proposed a mass raid by the public on Area 51. Despite the huge amount of responses and widespread media attention, only about 200 people showed up to the raid. Two arrests were made; one alcohol-related and one for public indecency.
