13 Interesting Facts About Area 51

Urban myth has it that Area 51 is a weird place and it has many interesting facts. The deep secrecy surrounding the area has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component to unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore. Are you excited Area 51 is one of those great conspiracy theories that has been going around the internet for years? In fact, for younger readers, Area 51 was a conspiracy theory before the internet even existed. So, let’s look at some of the interesting facts about Area 51. Read on!

Interesting Facts About Area 51

1. The CIA only recently admitted it existed

This is one of my favorite facts about Area 51. Until 2013, the US government completely denied its existence. Understand that by 2012, there was more than enough evidence online, photos of the entire area, often blacked out, on Google. You could literally stand outside Area 51 and be photographed next to the sign saying ‘Area 51’ (okay, there aren’t any, but you get what I mean) and take that photo to the CIA, and they would still deny it existed.

2. The CIA didn’t admit to little Green Men

Sadly, although the CIA admitted the existence of Area 51 in 2013, it didn’t admit the existence of aliens or UFOs. In fact, Area 51 was recognized in the 50s as a base for testing the U-2 spy plane. Unfortunately, there was no mention of the name and like I said, no mention of little green men.

3. The USAF pulled Support for Independence Day

One of the little known facts about Area 51 is that during the early stages of production of Independence Day, the USAF was very happy to lend support, equipment, and logistics to the filmmakers.

Unfortunately, the US government quickly lost its sense of humor when it found out that Area 51 was going to be featured. In fact, the USAF eventually pulled its support after trying and failing, to bully the producers into removing the references to Area 51.

4. There are No fences around Area 51

This is another one of the fun facts about Area 51 that I absolutely love. This is a top-secret base, allegedly containing aliens and their spaceship, and there is no fence.

I think the theory is that if the US government put fences up, then they would be saying that there are aliens in there, but if there isn’t a fence, then there aren’t aliens. Of course, if you cross an invisible line that says you shouldn’t enter, they’ll shoot you, but that’s another story.

5. They’ll shoot you if you enter Area 51

I told you this was another story and here it is. Unbelievably, one of the facts about Area 51 is that if you do enter Area 51 the installation guards are authorized to shoot you dead. This is pretty amazing considering there are no fences. Imagine wandering on to the ‘installation’, minding your own business, and then: Bang! Bang! Ouch.

6. They didn’t shoot the BBC

Okay, although they do have the right to use deadly force, they probably wouldn’t unless you gave them a good reason. When the Beeb decided to enter the base illegally, their reporters and camera crew spent three hours eating dust while security checked them out. So, if you want to invade Area 51, tell them you’re from the BBC; they might not shoot you.

7. Aliens and Area 51

Although Boyd Bushman, who was a senior scientist at Lockheed, claimed he met and interacted with aliens. He even had pictures of the little, bug-eyed aliens. Unfortunately, it was later discovered that the pictures were of plastic aliens anyway, so the whole thing was a bit anticlimactic.

8. The Alien autopsy was really cool

Okay, as facts about Area 51 go, this one is completely irrelevant, but honestly, any post about aliens and UFOs really has to have Alien Autopsy in the list. This was a short video clip sold by Ray Santilli and Gary Schoefield to Fox News in 1995. Sadly, in 2006, Santilli and Schoefield admitted that the entire thing was staged.

9. People still think the video is real

Even though most people by now know that the famous video, ‘Alien Autopsy’ is a complete fake, many people still believe that the short 17-minute video clip is not a fake. That’s even after the two British rascals, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield, admitted on Sky Television that the whole thing was a scam.

10. Don’t try to sue Area 51

As facts about Area 51 go, this one is a good one. Area 51 has been testing all sorts of things in the Nevada Desert for many years. So much so that residents living around Area 51 claim to have been developing health-related problems at a higher rate than normal. Bill Clinton gave Area 51 protection so it doesn’t have to reveal to the public anything it is doing. So, no matter what’s wrong with you, Area 51 is not going to take the blame. Seems fair enough.

11. Area 51 gets its name from a map

Its name comes from an old Nevada Test Site map. The map itself is divided into different ‘areas’ each one with its own number. You won’t be surprised to hear that Area 51 is close to the Nevada Air Base and hence the nickname. Considering the other names it has had, Dreamland, Paradise Ranch, Home Base, and Watertown, Area 51 is certainly the coolest.

12. No one knows what area 51 is for

I know you are probably thinking that since Area 51 is a secret base, it’s not surprising no one has any idea what’s going on, but that’s not really true. Normally, we know what a base does more or less, even if we don’t exactly what it does. With Area 51, everything it does is top secret.

13. The moon landing was filmed at Area 51

Yes, you probably thought that the 1969 moon landing was filmed on the er… moon, but apparently that was ridiculous. In 1974, Bill Kaysing wrote a book called, “We Never Went to the Moon: America’s Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle,” Apparently, the moon rock brought back was fake too.

And there we have it. 13 facts about Area 51 that you may not have known. To be honest, I definitely think we need more top-secret bases if only because we haven’t used Areas 1 – 50 yet.