NationStates Jolt Archive

So... what does everyone THINK goes on in Area 51?

I know what you're all going to say. "Another alien nut." Yes, I do believe in aliens, but I don't think the government has any reason to hide them from us. The commonly cited reason that people would panic if they knew about aliens doesn't hold water when it's pointed out that the millions of people who already believe in alien life are not panicking.

My own view of Area 51 is it's a secret lab of WMD's, not unlike the ones George Bush v2.0 accused Saddam Hussein of having. In 1994, several contractors and the widows of others sued the U.S. Government alleging exposure to toxic chemicals, including, among other things, dioxin. The government refused to reveal information that would have helped the plaintiffs' case, and it was dismissed for lack of evidence, even though the reason for the lack of evidence was the fault of the defendant itself! If anyone BUT the government tried to pull such a blatant act of chicanery, they would be jailed for obstruction of justice and sentenced to spend the next few decades in prison with a black weightlifting homosexual rapist named Bubba who has a 16" rod.

But Bill Clinton and his successor, George W. Bush, may he be buggered daily in Hell, continue to annually exempt Area 51 from environmental disclosure laws. Now, what could be in there that's such a threat to the environment? Alien specimens? They would be preserved in formaldehyde or frozen or whatever we're doing now in civilian facilities to preserve specimens. Military aircraft? Who ever heard of an F-16 pilot getting sick from chemicals in the plane? This smacks of chemical warfare to me.

If it is chemical warfare, that would explain the government's extreme secrecy surrounding the base. By treaty, the US is not supposed to have chemical weapons, and it would be grossly hypocritical of the US to invade Iraq for having the same kinds of weapons we do. If the US does have a secret chemical weapons facility, that could cause a major scandal in the government if it were leaked to the public, and the UN would be breathing down our necks. They might even demand that we open Area 51 to UN inspectors. What'll the US do then, veto the resolution? That would show our hand and convince the UN that we indeed have chemical weapons.

Of course, if you actually read this rant, feel free to post your own theory on Area 51.

Nothing.It was decomishioned in the early 1990's.Before that it was just a test site for expermental aircraft.F117;b2;

Hmmm, that kinda makes sense.

I've always got the feeling that the government like the "aliens" thing attached to Area 51, because they could do anything there and it would be instantly dismissed.

Other than a convenient plot device for crappy movies, what the hell is 'Area 51'?! Literally, I don't know; anyone got any reasonably non-hysterical links explaining the variety of theories?

You should really be asking, "What have They done to us that we don't even think about the other 50 Areas? And what's in those Areas?"

And the poll options shouldn't whiff of anti-Semitism. At least pretend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51

Hope that helps. Basically, it's a secret base in the Nevada desert.

An airbase as far as common understanding goes. There's an airbase down in the Nevada desert that's got that moniker attached to it.

without wrapping yourself in knots based on no evidence, it sounds like an R&D airbase. What the nature of the R&D is a different matter, but I don't think it's anything more than humans messing about with human-level things.

Area 51 is a federally owned facility operated by the US Air Force in Nevada. It was used throughout the 1940s and '50s for secret aircraft testing and research into aerodynamics, and a lot of the designs that found their way out to Groom Lake and other, larger testing facilities were originally trialled there. The name comes from a disinformation campaign run from 1946 to 1967, where all major United States military bases were given an "Area Number", and referred to in official communications mainly by that number rather than by name. To maintain secrecy, the names were changed on a regular basis, so that what was Area 16 would become Area 47, that sort of thing.

The infamy of the site comes from a set of documents, probably forgeries, which emerged in the late 1960s. If you read these a certain way (they're heavily censored) you could conclude that the US has a Flying Saucer (or parts therof) and perhaps alien bodies at the site, under the aegis of an organization referred to as "Majestic 12". Conspiracy theorists like to link "Majestic 12" to the Majestic Corporation, a Washington think tank, also from the 1940s.

Which, incidentally, indicates one of the major problems with the whole house of cards. The "documents" appear to refer to the "Roswell Incident" in the 1940s, and refer to "Area 51". But the facility WE know as Area 51 received that designation in the number reshuffle of 1965 - and thus is almost certainly not the same facility as the one referred to in the documents!

Area 51 (to my knowledge, it has no other designation) has been mothballed since the early 1990s. My belief is that no major research was actually done there since the early 1970s - the whole place was only kept up so that the conspiracy theorists and wackoes could all be coralled in the one place and kept an eye on instead of bumbling around Nevada and maybe seeing something actually important. Call it weirdo flypaper.

So... what does everyone THINK goes on in Area 51?

I know what you're all going to say. "Another alien nut." Yes, I do believe in aliens, but I don't think the government has any reason to hide them from us. The commonly cited reason that people would panic if they knew about aliens doesn't hold water when it's pointed out that the millions of people who already believe in alien life are not panicking.

The main issue with acknowledging the existence of non-humans who surpass us is that it would upset the worldview of many people. We would no longer be "the Lords Highest Creation" at the "top of the food chain" with glorious destinies. It would raise questions about spiritual issues like the soul (do aliens have souls ? Are they closer to God than we are ? Are THEY Gods true chosen people ? Would not allowing them to keep us as slaves and consume us when feeling the need to snack be equivalent to defying God ?) etc. etc.
I personally think this would be a good thing for humanity; but many don't.

Whatever Area 51 is, they do not research top secret alien technology there. The base is far too well known for that.

Area 51 is a federally owned facility operated by the US Air Force in Nevada. It was used throughout the 1940s and '50s for secret aircraft testing and research into aerodynamics, and a lot of the designs that found their way out to Groom Lake and other, larger testing facilities were originally trialled there. The name comes from a disinformation campaign run from 1946 to 1967, where all major United States military bases were given an "Area Number", and referred to in official communications mainly by that number rather than by name. To maintain secrecy, the names were changed on a regular basis, so that what was Area 16 would become Area 47, that sort of thing.

The infamy of the site comes from a set of documents, probably forgeries, which emerged in the late 1960s. If you read these a certain way (they're heavily censored) you could conclude that the US has a Flying Saucer (or parts therof) and perhaps alien bodies at the site, under the aegis of an organization referred to as "Majestic 12". Conspiracy theorists like to link "Majestic 12" to the Majestic Corporation, a Washington think tank, also from the 1940s.

Which, incidentally, indicates one of the major problems with the whole house of cards. The "documents" appear to refer to the "Roswell Incident" in the 1940s, and refer to "Area 51". But the facility WE know as Area 51 received that designation in the number reshuffle of 1965 - and thus is almost certainly not the same facility as the one referred to in the documents!

Area 51 (to my knowledge, it has no other designation) has been mothballed since the early 1990s. My belief is that no major research was actually done there since the early 1970s - the whole place was only kept up so that the conspiracy theorists and wackoes could all be coralled in the one place and kept an eye on instead of bumbling around Nevada and maybe seeing something actually important. Call it weirdo flypaper.


Good stuff. And so far your theory of "weirdo flypaper" is the tidiest one I've come across so far. The only tiny niggle I might have it that it seems too subtle and too clever for our government, compared to some things they've done. But that doesn't rule it out.

"Weirdo flypaper". I guess I'll be using that phrase a lot in time to come. Copyright to you, of course.

Well, I've heard a lot of bad things about it and I certainly don't trust the goverment enough to dismiss them out of hand. The chemical weapons thing seems pretty plausible.

It's where Dick Cheney hosts his seven day vacation orgies. Next question?

It's a fake to draw our attention away from Area 52. That's where all the juicy stuff is:

Alien strippers with 3 knockers. Psychic midget wrestling. Aerobatic dogfights in UFOs. Bourbon lasers that get you wasted wth one well-placed blast.

Unfortunately, the location of Area 52 is a well-kept secret. :(

Nothing.It was decomishioned in the early 1990's.Before that it was just a test site for expermental aircraft.F117;b2;

Nah, its still very active, and if the government wanted you to belive it was decomissioned in the 1990's then they'd tell you that, proof it still exists...

Area 51 is a Government Testing Ground for various weapons, and experiments "The Skunk Works" are stationed here too i think, Theres some wierd shit going on anyway, I read an account of someone who tried to cross the Boundry after the 1990 "Decomission" they didn't him around, a black huey and several Black Hummers drove up to a hill near by, and several guys dressed in black combat fatigues were watching him through binoculars...

Also when Independence Day (ID4) asked the US Military for advice on the accuracy of their Military in the script, The Military told him to omit every reference to Area 51... he refused under the Freedom of Speech act..

(I apologise for my appauling spelling and grammar, ive been up at work since quater to 4 this morning, and have only just got back in... *yawn*

just a place the U.S government sealed off and spread rumours about for some odd reverse psychology thing ever that or lazy builders couldn't be arsed to make it underground (damm illegal aliens from Mexico/Cuba:p )

also area 51? what he hell happened to area 1-50 or 52+?

Top-Secret Aircraft Research Facility

aircraft tested/developed there (in part):

U-2
SR-71
F-117
? Aurora

there's no reason military e.t. contact couldn't take place at any well guarded, highly secretive military aircraft testing site. which is after all what it is and was. i don't know what that decomissioning mentioned is supposed to consist or have consisted of. area 51 is way out in the middle of nellis airforce bace which takes up most of nye county nevada. as far as i know nellis is still an airforce base on which the general public is distincly not welcomed, or at least not to wander freely without minders and being closely watched. i cartainly haven't heard anything about it being given back to the wester shoshone people from whome its land was stolen.

personaly i don't think ufo's are any big woopie. so what if people who don't look like us have visited us from other worlds. it's still up to us to get our collective acts togather before we'll ever be invited to join any sort of gallactic u.n.

you can see it from civilian mapping satalites and there is still a seriously majorly long landing strip and a bunch of buildings arround/near it.

because it is kept secret people can attribute anything might make a good story to it. thus fodder for tabloids. and of course millitaries can more or less convincingly argue the need for such sites to exist. ghod only knows what really goes on there. which, et's and ufo's or not, is the whole point.

=^^=
.../\...

It's a former testing ground for advanced aircraft, and nothing more. Personally, I feel that if the government had captured alien technology, we'd probably have long since simultaneously invaded Afghanistan, Iran, NK, Iraq, China, and...what the hell...Saudi Arabia.

I think a variety of things go on there. For starters, who here is familiar with the Stealth Blimp?

I'm also pretty sure that it's more of a diversion thing now. There's another site in a neighboring area that's supposed to be where the real things are going on. However, I'm pretty sure even THAT is just a diversion.

... For starters, who here is familiar with the Stealth Blimp?...


What? You mean that thing hanging over my house, monitoring all the weird people coming in and out? Or the one hanging over your house...? Personally, I think there are so many layers of lies spread over this subject, like cow manure on a field, that we're not going to find out the truth anytime soon.

I also don't expect we'll be meeting aliens anytime soon. After all, if aliens are whizzing around this galaxy, they're probably advanced enough to cure mental illness. So, they're sane. They probably can monitor what goes on down here. What sane person would want to come here while we're as irrational and violent as we are? We kill each other at the drop of a hat, because we think the other guy is "different". Aliens coming here would be like smearing yourself all over with gazelle fat and climbing into the lion enclosure at the zoo to sleep there for awhile. I just don't think they're that stupid, if they're there at all.

I don't know if anything is activly going on out there, but if you leave the road in Rachel, you WILL get chased back out. I do remember that the B-2 was (supposedly) tested there and it wouldn't surprise me to find out that they're still developing planes out on the playa.

Of course, 92% of Nevada is federally owned and you can hide just about anything out in the Great Basin. I love my home, but there really is nothing out there.

My view of Area 51, aka Dreamland, aka Groom Lake, is that it is the ultimate top-secret government/military lab. Aliens? No. WMDs? No. Super-advanced military gadgetry? Yes.

At Area 51, there are probably laser weapons and particle beams in development. They may have aircraft you can control with your mind (borrowed from Dale Brown's Flight of the Cheetah), advanced nanotechnology, and ion drives. And then there's stuff that we have no clue about.

Oh, and probably the only things aboveground at Area 51 are the SAMs, airstrips, helipads, etc. The juicy stuff happens deep underground. Whether it is the military lab I have outlined earlier or the home of alien gadgetry the conspiracy buffs make it out to be, it can probably sustain a nuclear strike.

I thought it was a game of average gameplay, semi-interesting story/premise and above average graphics. The voice work was fine, although a little too dead pan for my tastes. The extras were quite good and added to the story alot. Overall: 6/10

...Oh, wait, you meant the actual base?

Nah, its still very active, and if the government wanted you to belive it was decomissioned in the 1990's then they'd tell you that, proof it still exists...

Area 51 is a Government Testing Ground for various weapons, and experiments "The Skunk Works" are stationed here too i think, Theres some wierd shit going on anyway, I read an account of someone who tried to cross the Boundry after the 1990 "Decomission" they didn't him around, a black huey and several Black Hummers drove up to a hill near by, and several guys dressed in black combat fatigues were watching him through binoculars...


I can confirm that the Groom Lake facility has been operational more recently, largely because my father's undertaken work there in the last decade.

Which is a long way from my claiming any knowledge of what sort of work is undertaken there, since my father didn't say other than joking about visiting it in the first place.

In case you're curious, he's a non-US citizen civilian risk systems analyst / safety inspector for nuclear power facilities. Which presumably doesn't tell you anything about the base you probably wouldn't have assumed anyway.

In case you're curious, he's a non-US citizen civilian risk systems analyst / safety inspector for nuclear power facilities. Which presumably doesn't tell you anything about the base you probably wouldn't have assumed anyway.

That it runs on nuclear power and has a plant all on it's own? Only thing I would be wondering is where the thermal exhaust vents go then. Unless it's one of the 3rd generation types or a fully closed loop system used in subs.

While I find it likely that aliens of some sort do exist in a universe this vast, I don't think they're actually buzzing the planet, taking photo-ops with backwoods nuts, getting high and doodling in our grain fields or molesting our livestock.

In order for an alien species to reach Earth, they would need faster than light travel, huge colony ships that have been traversing the cosmos of millenia upon millenia, or have lifespans that are exponentially longer than ours.

None of which is entirely impossible (except maybe for the faster than light thing,) but I find it highly unlikely, especially without good evidence.

That it runs on nuclear power and has a plant all on it's own? Only thing I would be wondering is where the thermal exhaust vents go then. Unless it's one of the 3rd generation types or a fully closed loop system used in subs.

Perhaps not. He also once consulted on a Space Shuttle mission (once again, I understandably don't know any of the specifics), and I don't think anyone's seriously suggested the Shuttle has ever been nuclear powered. I only meant to suggest that there was something nuclear at Groom Lake - which presumably wouldn't surprise anyone - not that it had its own plant.

He did once make a comment to me about the US airforce being on a fools errand to build a nuclear-powered aircraft at some unspecified point in the past since the navy had nuclear-powered ships, and the USAF wanted shiny new nuclear-powered toys too, but there's nothing to suggest that comment was in any way related to his trip to Groom Lake, it's hardly a breach of national security, and once again it probably doesn't tell you anything you couldn't already have guessed for yourselves.

I think it's an aircraft testing sight.

As to aliens - I believe that there is intelligent life "out there", I just question why they would want to visit here. I do think that the government doesn't discourage this whole UFO nonsense because if we're thinking about Roswell and area 51, we may not be thinking about other, more important things - like, is there really a moral difference between Democrats and Republicans?.

this is for the people who are 2 lazy 2 take the link::headbang:


Its secretive nature and undoubted connection to classified aircraft research, together with reports of unusual phenomena, have led Area 51 to become a centerpiece of modern UFO and conspiracy theory folklore. Some of the unconventional activities claimed to be underway at Area 51 include:

the storage, examination, and reverse engineering of crashed alien spacecraft (including material supposedly recovered at Roswell), the study of their occupants (living and dead), and the manufacture of aircraft based on alien technology.
meetings or joint undertakings with extraterrestrials.
the development of exotic energy weapons (for SDI applications or otherwise) or means of weather control.
activities related to a supposed shadowy world government.
Many of theories concern underground facilities at Groom or at nearby Papoose Lake, and include claims of a transcontinental underground railroad system, a disappearing airstrip (nicknamed the "Cheshire Airstrip", after Lewis Carroll's Cheshire cat) which briefly appears when water is sprayed onto its camouflaged asphalt ([1]), and engineering based on alien technology. In 1989 Bob Lazar claimed that he had worked at a facility at Papoose Lake (which he called S-4) on such a U.S. Government flying saucer.

Others, however, claim that during the mid 1990s the most secret work previously done at Groom was quietly moved to other facilities, including Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and that the continued secrecy around Groom is largely a successful attempt at misdirection.

Perhaps not. He also once consulted on a Space Shuttle mission (once again, I understandably don't know any of the specifics), and I don't think anyone's seriously suggested the Shuttle has ever been nuclear powered. I only meant to suggest that there was something nuclear at Groom Lake - which presumably wouldn't surprise anyone - not that it had its own plant.

He did once make a comment to me about the US airforce being on a fools errand to build a nuclear-powered aircraft at some unspecified point in the past since the navy had nuclear-powered ships, and the USAF wanted shiny new nuclear-powered toys too, but there's nothing to suggest that comment was in any way related to his trip to Groom Lake, it's hardly a breach of national security, and once again it probably doesn't tell you anything you couldn't already have guessed for yourselves.

A nuclear-powered aircraft? Who was the crazy ass person who came up with that?

I only meant to suggest that there was something nuclear at Groom Lake - which presumably wouldn't surprise anyone - not that it had its own plant.

Well, given his area of expertise, presumably it has to do with at least some form of fission based power generation.


He did once make a comment to me about the US airforce being on a fools errand to build a nuclear-powered aircraft at some unspecified point in the past since the navy had nuclear-powered ships, and the USAF wanted shiny new nuclear-powered toys too

The USAF already did build a nuclear powered bomber way back in the 50s. They dumped the idea later on because for one, it didn't produce more power than standard jet fuel on a weight comparison and for another, they had to cut so much shielding for weight issues, the section behind the pilots compartment was running hot whenever the reactor did. Made it a maintanence nightmare to the techs. I mean, having to put on hazard suits everytime you did an inspection or routine check on a bomber? And then there's storage issues.

Long story short, it wasn't practical. Unless they can come up with some sort of fission/fusion based plasma pusher.

Perhaps not. He also once consulted on a Space Shuttle mission (once again, I understandably don't know any of the specifics), and I don't think anyone's seriously suggested the Shuttle has ever been nuclear powered. I only meant to suggest that there was something nuclear at Groom Lake - which presumably wouldn't surprise anyone - not that it had its own plant.

He did once make a comment to me about the US airforce being on a fools errand to build a nuclear-powered aircraft at some unspecified point in the past since the navy had nuclear-powered ships, and the USAF wanted shiny new nuclear-powered toys too, but there's nothing to suggest that comment was in any way related to his trip to Groom Lake, it's hardly a breach of national security, and once again it probably doesn't tell you anything you couldn't already have guessed for yourselves.


The nuclear-powered aircraft-thingy was cancelled, to heavy to take off...Discovery ch. = teh shit...

edit: Also, a nuclear-airplane getting shot down or crash = what? :rolleyes:

...
meetings or joint undertakings with extraterrestrials. ...


I can't even take this seriously. It's a measure of our species' megalomania to think this is likely currently. I agree with Thought transference and Cameroi: aliens who would be able to come here are likely to find us too primitive, too stupid and too nasty to be interesting.

And Vetalia has sized up the practicalities that arise from this:

... Personally, I feel that if the government had captured alien technology, we'd probably have long since simultaneously invaded Afghanistan, Iran, NK, Iraq, China, and...what the hell...Saudi Arabia.

He forgot Cuba and France though.

"Meetings"? Let's see, when's the last time I had a "meeting" with my pet cat? That would be when I was about 11 and I realized I was too old to pretend we could have a useful discussion about anything. "Joint undertakings"? What would be the point? Aliens capable of coming here are likely to look around, size us up and say, "Well, if we ever decide to reverse our evolution and take stupid lessons, we could probably come here." Then they'd do whatever they do to travel as far from here as possible, as fast as possible.

The only way we could have any joint undertakings with aliens is if we managed to interest them in pot-smoking...
;)

I can't even take this seriously. It's a measure of our species' megalomania to think this is likely currently. I agree with Thought transference and Cameroi: aliens who would be able to come here are likely to find us too primitive, too stupid and too nasty to be interesting.


;)

I disagree. Aliens would love us. Assuming they have a sense of humour I imagine we'd be their equivalent of watching Jackass or Dirty Sanchez.

It's bush's evil headquarters.

I disagree. Aliens would love us. Assuming they have a sense of humour I imagine we'd be their equivalent of watching Jackass or Dirty Sanchez.

Yes. But actually, we probably feature on the equivalent of Discovery channel titled as "Them whacky humans".

I can't even take this seriously. It's a measure of our species' megalomania to think this is likely currently. I agree with Thought transference and Cameroi: aliens who would be able to come here are likely to find us too primitive, too stupid and too nasty to be interesting.

You mean we're not even tasty :( ?

-snip-

Area 51 is a Government Testing Ground for various weapons, and experiments "The Skunk Works" are stationed here too i think, Theres some wierd shit going on anyway, I read an account of someone who tried to cross the Boundry after the 1990 "Decomission" they didn't him around, a black huey and several Black Hummers drove up to a hill near by, and several guys dressed in black combat fatigues were watching him through binoculars...

-snip-

I pass the Skunk Works twice a day, going to and from work, and it is in Palmdale, CA. My bus drive right by, and sometimes the hangar doors are open, but I can't see anything interesting inside.

And my wife sees interesting aircraft all the time, hanging almost motionless in the sky. We live south/southwest of Edwards AFB, which is also home to NASA's Dryden Lake facility, and lots of stealth and other aircraft fly over us, causing many sonic booms.

Area 51 is just another advanced research testing facility. I bet there's a lot of stuff those of us interested in aeronautics would love to look at, but probably no WMD development.

I suspect there is more there than aircraft. Nothing sinister, just super-advanced technology the US won't let the rest of the world in on. Not alien technology, some of those things could probably be found in science fiction.

The guy who said he worked on flying saucers MIGHT be telling the truth. The Air Force once tried to develop saucer-shaped aircraft. They might even be working on it today!

I've just found the answer!

The real use for Area 51! (http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/conspiracies/51179)

And it makes more sense to me than UFOs... unless you change what the F stands for.

:D
:D
:D

It's a military aircraft testing site.

I've just found the answer!

The real use for Area 51! (http://www.weeklyworldnews.com/conspiracies/51179)

And it makes more sense to me than UFOs... unless you change what the F stands for.

:D
:D
:D

ROFL -- brilliant! I'm just imagining the sight of a bunch of naked generals. It really would be too much for anyone to bear (forgive the pun). Yes indeed, protect the US public and the world against that!