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Area 51
"Area 51" is a part of an off-limits military base near Groom Lake in Nevada. Groom lake isn't really a lake but a dry salt flat. UFOers are sure it is used to hide aliens from us. The state of Nevada recently designated a barren 98-mile stretch of Route 375, which runs near Area 51, as the Extraterrestrial Highway. Such a move is no doubt proof of a government attempt to throw us off the track and think there is not a cover-up when there is one. This is a cover-up of the cover-up, typical of government agencies when dealing with sensitive information regarding UFOs and aliens. (Just kidding. The choice of name for the highway is probably somebody's idea of humor or a way of getting attention.)
aerial photograph of area 51
Since you can be shot if you try to trespass on the military base where Area 51 is located, UFO tourists must view the sacred ground from a distant vantage point. Many do this, hoping for a glimpse of a UFO landing. Apparently, our government has a treaty with the aliens that allows them to fly into this area at will, as long as we can experiment on them and try to duplicate their aircraft. You don't really think that any human could have come up with the idea of the Stealth Bomber, do you? (Just kidding, not about the no trespass zone, but about the other stuff.)
Skeptics don't doubt that something secret is going on in Area 51. And what is going on may be more sinister than building secret aircraft or developing new weapons. "Sixty Minutes" did a segment where Leslie Stahl suggested that Area 51 might be an illegal dumping ground for toxic substances. If so, Area 51 might turn out to be hazardous to your health in more ways than one. Several former workers at Area 51 and widows of former workers have filed lawsuits against the government for injuries or death resulting from illegal hazardous waste practices. So far the government has been protected from such suits because of "national security." In fact, at one time the government did not even acknowledge the existence of the base known as Area 51. Such denials, of course, do little more than provide more ammo for those who claim there is a government conspiracy to cover up just about anything it's ever been involved in. In 1997, the existence of Area 51 was declassified, but the area is still off-limits both to civilians and normal military air traffic.*
See also alien abduction, Roswell, and UFOs.
further reading
books and articles
Klass, Philip J. UFOs: the Public Deceived (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1983).
Randi, James. Flim-Flam! (Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books,1982).
Sheaffer, Robert. UFO Sightings: The Evidence (Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1989).
websites
The Klass Files (Archive of Skeptics UFO Newsletter)
Area 51/Groom Lake (UFO Mind)
new Area 51 Revealed in CIA Spy Plane Documents The U.S. Government now admits that Area 51 exists and it reveals what was so secret about the place in a 400-page document it calls "Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and Oxcart Programs, 1954-1974." Whoa! What went on after 1974? Inquiring minds want to know. [/new]
Area 51 veterans dispel rumors about space aliens, UFOs "I was sworn to secrecy for 47 years. I couldn't talk about it," says James Noce. In the 1960s, Area 51 was the test site for the A-12 and its successor, the SR-71 Blackbird, a secret spy plane that broke records that have been unmatched. The CIA says it reached Mach 3.29 (about 2,200 mph) at 90,000 feet.