Area 51

Warning signs outside of Air Force base, Area 51.

Some of the documents inside the government project document, Project Blue Book.

Text from an online encyclopedia about Area 51.

Located in Nevada, United States, Area 51 is a top secret military base used as “testing site for government aerial surveillance” (Mazzei 2019). The base and its surrounding areas are barred from the public. People that work in the mysterious military base often have to sign a series of documents that prevent them for stating any information about what they saw while working there. According to Salem Encyclopedia, there are several warning signs placed around Area 51 that warn that photography is not allowed and that “trespassers will be fined and that the use of deadly force against intruders is authorized”. PROJECT BLUE BOOK, a former classified US document, was a verified Air Force program for Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). A total of 12,618 UFO sightings were described—in which 701 sightings to this day that are categorized as “Unidentified”.

This combined with the public’s common distrust of government, has spawned a number of conspiracy theories—notably that Area 51 is harboring and experimenting on extraterrestrials. This year, 2019, an internet joke called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” gained popularity (Mazzei 2019). The joke spawned in event in which millions of people agreed that they would all charge onto the military base to see answer the mystery of Area 51. News of the supposed event spread so much, that even the Air Force made warning statements to people who were tempted to trespass. While there was an event that took place, no controversial evidence was found, allowing the secret of Area 51 to remain unsolved.

Sources:

Project Blue Book. Washington, D.C.: Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1997. Internet

resource.

Mazzei, Michael. “Area 51.” Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2019. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=100259208&site=eds-live.