Area 51: The aliens home on earth

 

Nearly 200K People Have Signed Up to Steal Alien Secrets from Area 51 in Late-Summer Raid 

As this sign outside of Nevada’s infamous Area 51 military base reminds would-be visitors, guards are authorized to respond to trespassers with deadly force. (Image credit: Barry King/Getty Images)

Pack your shades, your sunscreen and your coziest tinfoil hat, because the late-summer event of the season is happening in Nevada's scenic Area 51, and you're invited. According to a tongue-in-cheek Facebook event called "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," a ragtag army of alien hunters will meet up near the top-secret Air Force base in the predawn hours of Sept. 20, coordinate a plan of attack, then raid the grounds in search of captive aliens. Per the event's hosts (a page that posts memes and a guy who streams video games on Twitch), the delicate operation will involve running supernaturally fast — faster than the guards' bullets can fly — but will be worth it to "see them aliens." So far, nearly 200,000 Facebook users have signed up to attend, with another 200,000 "interested" in the affair. [15 Far-Out Facts About Area 51] This event is, of course, a joke (please, do not raid this or any other military base). Area 51 — a massive plot of desert about 80 miles (129 kilometers) northwest of Las Vegas — is a top-secret military installation that is infamously well-guarded by fences, radars and heavily armed "camo dudes" in white trucks. After more than 60 years of operations, the base's primary purpose remains classified and its grounds restricted to the public, fomenting an aura of spooky secrecy that has intrigued all manner of skeptics and conspiracy theorists for decades. This much is known about the base: It's huge, covering a total of 2.9 million acres (1.2 million hectares) and 5,000 square miles (12,950 square km) of restricted airspace. Officially, the base is part of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), which is affiliated with Nellis Air Force Base; according to the Air Force, it is the largest combined air and ground space for peacetime military operations in the free world. Since the Air Force set up shop there in 1955, Area 51 has hosted hundreds of nuclear weapons tests and has served as a training-and-testing ground for all manner of top-secret stealth aircraft, Live Science previously reported. If you believe the most popular conspiracy theory about the base, one of those aircraft may be an alien saucer that crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico, in the late 1940s. The U.S. military claimed that the mysterious object was a weather balloon (a 1994 Air Force report confirmed this to be true — albeit, a souped-up weather balloon designed to detect far-off nuclear fallout). However, conspiracy theorists insisted that the wreck was indeed an alien spacecraft, which had been subsequently transported to Area 51 to be broken apart, studied and put back together again. This theory gained traction in the 1980s, when a man claiming to have worked at Area 51 told the news media that he had actually seen scientists reverse engineer alien saucers there. This man, it turns out, was a liar who never set foot on the base (he also lied about the colleges he went to and other past employment); but his stories gained enough attention that Area 51 had a new, permanent reputation as that eerie place in the desert where scientists might be tinkering with aliens. Subsequent tests of experimental, top-secret aircraft at the base have only strengthened this far-out legacy.  The allure of the mysterious desert base is undeniable. So, what happens if you do attempt to trespass into Area 51 and liberate the juicy alien secrets contained within? For starters, you'll probably be stopped at gunpoint by guards dressed in camo, as two intrepid adventurers experienced in 2016 after trying to sneak a camera through the base's back gate. According to signs posted around the base, these infamous "camo dudes" are permitted to greet trespassers with deadly force — but, if past encounters are any indication, trespassers are more likely to be met with a hefty fine and a court date. When an SUV filled with tourists accidentally crossed into the base's restricted area a few years ago, the driver and four passengers were each cited with a $650 fine and a misdemeanor charge. The unwary passengers eventually got their charges dropped, but the driver had to pay up — and was banned from leading tours in the area for several years. If you happen to join the joke raid proposed for this September, keep that man's story in mind. When it comes to unearthing the truth of Area 51, you may have only one shot. Choose your plan wisely. [press release from History]

HISTORY(R) ANNOUNCES TWO NEW PREMIUM DOCUMENTARIES "SECRETS IN THE SKY: THE UNTOLD STORY OF SKUNK WORKS" AND "GAME CHANGERS: INSIDE THE VIDEO GAME WARS" AIRING JUNE 9 AND JUNE 16 AS A PART OF ITS HISTORY FILMS STRAND Narrated by Golden Globe(R) and Emmy Award(R) Nominee Actor Dennis Quaid "Secrets In The Sky: The Untold Story of Skunk Works" Examines the Mysterious Aerospace Organization that Produced a Fleet of Elite History-Making Aircrafts Directed by Academy Award(R) Winner Daniel Junge "Game Changers: Inside the Video Game Wars" Divulges the Ego-Driven Rivalries Between Major Gaming Companies New York, NY - June 4, 2019 - HISTORY premieres two new two-hour documentaries "Secrets In The Sky: The Untold Story of Skunk Works" on Sunday, June 9 at 9PM ET/PT and "Game Changers: Inside the Video Game Wars" on Sunday, June 16 at 9PM ET/PT as part of its premium documentary strand HISTORY Films, which spotlights significant and gripping historical events deserving to be told. Narrated by Golden Globe(R) and Emmy Award(R) nominee Dennis Quaid and directed by Emmy Award(R) winning director Rory Karpf, "Secrets In The Sky: The Untold Story of Skunk Works" examines the top-secret organization that for decades, starting in the 1940s, clandestinely churned out the world's most advanced technology and designed highly classified aircraft. Utilizing the narration of Skunk Works team leader Kelly Johnson as inspired by his personal logbooks and meticulous diaries, viewers will be immersed in the secret Skunk Works story of the last 75 years. Directed by Academy Award(R) winner Daniel Junge, "Game Changers: Inside the Video Game Wars" looks at the multibillion-dollar gaming industry, its success and failures and the battle for control from all of the players including Atari, Nintendo, Sega and Sony. Behind the scenes and lawsuits, viewers will learn the true untold story of some of their favorite video games and the masterminds who brought them to life. SECRETS IN THE SKY: THE UNTOLD STORY OF SKUNK WORKS Premieres Sunday, June 9 at 9PM ET/PT For the first time in its 75-year history, Lockheed Martin is opening their hangar doors and pulling back the veil on "Skunk Works," the secret program and subdivision long hidden from the public. Founder and leader Kelly Johnson, as voiced by actor Dennis Quaid, congregated a team comprised of innovators, rule benders and chance takers to partake in the aerospace organization responsible for creating the most innovative machines in modern history - the U-2, the SR-71 Blackbird and the first Stealth bomber to name a few. From the mysterious Area 51 test facility to the latest "spy" plane, this documentary goes deep into a world that is still shrouded in secrecy - a world where wars are won not on a battlefield but at a design table of men drafting aviation blueprints and working with their hands to create modern marvels from the ground up. "Secrets In The Sky: The Untold Story of Skunk Works" is produced by First Row Films in association with A+E Originals. Rory Karpf serves as director. Steve Ascher, Kristy Sabat and Jessica Conway serve as executive producers for A+E Originals. Jeff Cvitkovic is co-executive producer. Zachary Behr serves as executive producer for HISTORY. GAME CHANGERS: INSIDE THE VIDEO GAME WARS Premieres Sunday, June 16 at 9PM ET/PT Premieres Sunday, June 16 at 9PM ET/PT This is the untold story of the personal battles that gave rise to the multibillion-dollar video game industry. Brought to life by Academy Award(R) winning director Daniel Junge, this documentary is a tale of brilliant innovations, colossal failures, and ego-driven rivalries on a massive scale. It is a 50-year-long, multi-generation epic featuring corporate coups, industrial espionage and the promise of unimaginable riches being just one cartridge away. Told in chronological order and featuring the sons of the brilliant inventor of the first video game console, Ralph Baer, the co-founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell, and many more experts in the gaming industry, this documentary highlights the programmers, engineers, management and business practices they followed to compete against each other and become the gaming tycoons we know today. "Game Changers: Inside the Video Game Wars" is produced for HISTORY by Efran Films and Stone Cottage Media. Daniel Junge serves as director. Shawn Efran, Morgan Hertzan, Jordan J. Mallari and Megan Harding are executive producers. Zachary Behr serves as executive producer for HISTORY. A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for both films. About HISTORY(R) HISTORY, a division of A+E Networks, is the premier destination for historical storytelling. From best-in-class documentary events, to a signature slate of industry leading nonfiction series and premium fact-based scripted programming, HISTORY serves as the most trustworthy source of informational entertainment in media. HISTORY has been named the #1 U.S. TV network in buzz for seven consecutive years by YouGov BrandIndex, and a top favorite TV network by Beta Research Corporation. For a deeper dive, visit history.com or follow @history on Instagram, Twitterand Facebook.