Declassified CIA documents show that there really is an Area 51, a mythical test site that has fueled conspiracy theories for decades. Some have suggested that it’s where the government keeps proof of the existence of extraterrestrial life, but the documents say nothing about aliens.
According to Time, George Washington University’s National Security Archive released the documents which prove that all the romantic ideas that Area 51 is the home of Alien testing were all just myths. It was just a testing site for the Lockheed reconnaissance plane, which was built to take high-resolution photographs.
Area 51, which employees nicknamed Paradise Ranch, was first built in WWII for a landing strip, but then the military decided to use the site to test the Lockheed, which is no longer in use because of drones.
Jeffrey Richelson, a senior fellow at the National Security Archive, told The Associated Press that it’s not the first time the government has referred to Area 51, since former President Bill Clinton did mention a “location near Groom Lake” once. It was also mentioned in documents in the ‘60s.
Well, that's a bummer, but it probably won't stop conspiracy theorists from thinking that this is just another smokescreen from the government.
image: Wikimedia Commons
