Buzz
Area 51 is one of the most elusive and mysterious man-made sites in the world. Depending on where you look on the internet, the conspiracy theories surrounding the secretive military facility range from ‘they’re conducting human experiments there’ to ‘we’re living in a simulation controlled from Area 51’. There's an abundance of information (or what conspiracy theorists call 'information') about this place, though much of it is exaggerated and likely not true, thanks to its immense popularity and conspiracy appeal.
Of course, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll uncover a number of relatively obscure facts about Area 51 that have been buried in the far corners of search results. If we set aside the alien encounters and weather control theories for a moment, we would find that these facts are just as captivating as the wildest conspiracies surrounding the base.
10. It Continues to Expand
The public’s awareness of Area 51 dates back quite a while, even though the C.I.A. didn’t officially confirm its existence until 2013. What started as a fairly ordinary military base to address Cold War concerns evolved into the largest military mystery in the U.S., largely fueled by sensational claims from former employees.
Since its inception, public curiosity about the base has only intensified, and the base itself has grown as well. Most of us think of it as a single isolated location that has remained unchanged since its creation. In truth, though, Area 51 continues to expand, along with – presumably – the scope of whatever research is occurring inside. This expansion has sparked a great deal of controversy, too, as a large portion of the land that now comprises Area 51 was seized by its owners without sufficient explanation. We’re not claiming that this means they’ve discovered more aliens to experiment on over the years, but we will say that it's a possibility.
9. No One Knows Why It’s Called Area 51
Many of us don’t realize that the base wasn’t always known as Area 51, even though the government has referred to it by that name numerous times in recent years. It’s also not its original designation, as the base was once called Homey Airport or Groom Lake in Cold War-era documents. However, for all practical purposes, it’s now officially referred to as Area 51, even in contemporary government records.
This raises an intriguing question: why Area 51? The name suggests there must be Areas 1 through 50, but if they exist, no one has ever been able to locate them. The explanation? We simply don’t know. What we do know is that government diagrams from the 1960s labeled it as such, and that the CIA officially confirmed it in 2013. Beyond that, the mystery remains unsolved.
Some speculate that the name comes from the grid system used by the Atomic Energy Commission, which oversaw the planning of that area. Others suggest that Areas 1 through 50 were initially established but ultimately dismantled after things went awry with those troublesome aliens. As of now, any of these theories could be true.
8. When the Navy Acknowledged UFO Videos as Authentic
While there are certainly many conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51 (and we really mean many; just search online), nearly all of them can be debunked with reason and logic. We’re sure some of them hold a kernel of truth – after all, the military needs secretive facilities to test advanced technology for national security purposes – though certain theories are just too outlandish to be real.
That is, of course, unless you take into account the fact that the U.S. Navy has officially acknowledged one of the UFOs seen on video in the area. The footage shows Navy aircraft interacting with strange flying objects, which were previously believed to be fabricated. While this doesn't mean the Navy confirmed the existence of aliens, they did acknowledge that some unexplained flying phenomena have been occurring near and around Area 51.
7. One of Those UFOs Matches Lazar’s Description
While many may have forgotten how Area 51 became famous, the conspiracy community remembers that it all began with Bob Lazar. A former employee at Area 51, Lazar was the first person to publicly claim he had witnessed the government conducting experiments with extraterrestrial beings there.
If you're skeptical about conspiracy theories, you might think that none of his predictions could possibly be true and dismiss him as just seeking fame. That might be a fair assumption, at least until his description of one of the alien UFOs perfectly matched one of the three confirmed by the Navy. He claimed to have worked on a spacecraft that flies with its bottom facing forward, detailing its shape. If you watch the previously mentioned video, you'll see that one of the objects matches his description exactly.
6. The Original Purpose of Area 51
Among all the talk about aliens and conspiracy theories, it's hard to pin down the real purpose of Area 51. Many theorists believe this is irrefutable evidence that their theories are correct, as they assume that if it wasn’t built for something else, it must have been to house captured aliens. While that might be true – as many unrelated individuals have reported seeing strange things around the base – Area 51 was originally constructed for a legitimate reason.
You see, when the Cold War began, the entire Eastern Bloc was suddenly enveloped by what we now call the Iron Curtain. As a result, the U.S. needed a secure way to gather intelligence. Area 51 was initially intended to conduct research on America's top-secret high-altitude U-2 reconnaissance planes. The secrecy surrounding the base could simply be explained by the fact that the U.S. military didn’t want Soviet Russia to know about it, as that would completely undermine the purpose.
5. There’s No Actual Fence Around Area 51
For a facility so tightly secured by the U.S. military, you'd expect Area 51 to have some kind of physical boundary to keep people out. After all, if you could simply stroll in by walking past the guards, it wouldn't seem like much of a secure military site, would it?
In reality, that’s exactly how it works. Area 51 doesn’t have a fence at all, and we mean not even a single one. While certain internal areas are protected by perimeters, the entire base lacks a physical boundary. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to wander in, though – there are magnetic sensors in many areas, along with guard towers that would likely open fire if you attempted to trespass.
4. The Secret Daily Commute to Work
Many of you may have wondered about the daily lives of those working at Area 51. After all, they wouldn’t build housing for all the employees, as that would make it the ultimate military job. Who wouldn’t want to work for the world’s most powerful military with free accommodation and no danger of combat?
While it’s possible that some Area 51 personnel have their own living spaces (though we can't be sure), most of them don’t. Instead, they take part in one of the most unusual and secretive commutes to work imaginable – by air. There’s a dedicated hangar at the base with a restricted terminal at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas on the other side. Even more intriguing, the planes used for these commutes operate under a secret call sign: Janet. This isn't a registered airline, but rather a name assigned to these flights when they’re in civilian airspace.
3. The Real Conspiracy at Area 51
We’ve been exposed to so many conspiracy theories surrounding Area 51 that we often overlook the real issues taking place there. It's difficult to focus on, for instance, allegations of workplace sexual harassment at Area 51 when we're constantly bombarded with tales of exoskeletons made from alien skin.
Like most governments, the true conspiracies around Area 51 are more about corporate wrongdoing (Lockheed Martin built the U-2 plane) and neglecting worker safety than extraterrestrials. Several lawsuits have been filed claiming that Area 51 employees were exposed to hazardous chemicals that weren’t properly disposed of, and at least two individuals may have died as a result. The situation is further complicated by the government's refusal to disclose exactly what chemicals were involved, as the facility's secrets are heavily guarded.
2. The U.S. Military’s Most Secure Secret
Aside from conspiracy theorists and those aiming to debunk them, you’d assume Area 51 is just another highly classified U.S. military base. After all, conspiracy theories sprout up around any major secret military installation. Most of the stories surrounding Area 51 can be traced back to the original claim made by Bob Lazar, and it’s likely that it would have remained just another military base if not for his revelation.
In truth, it's not just conspiracy theorists who are drawn to Area 51. When astronauts at the Skylab space station accidentally captured images of the base, the CIA sent them a special memo stating that it was the only location on Earth with explicit instructions not to photograph it. Essentially, the government acknowledges Area 51 as the most securely guarded secret of the U.S. military. What does that mean? Well, your guess is as good as ours.
1. You Can View It on Google Maps
While the general public may remain clueless about what lies inside Area 51, one company knows its layout—at least from a satellite's view. Google Maps is likely one of the few private companies authorized to map the facility, and you can even explore it in high resolution today. They even published a high-resolution time-lapse showing the base’s growth over the years, which is surprising given the government's usual secrecy.
Google Maps also has a hidden surprise for Area 51. If you input its coordinates, 37.24804, -115.800155, you’ll notice that the little Google Street View figure turns into a tiny spaceship.
