1.The name "Area 51" came from a simple grid reference on an atomic energy commission map.
2.Other names it has gone by in the past include: Paradise Ranch, Watertown, and Dreamland.
3.It was created in 1955 for a secret project with the code name "Aquatone."
4.There are actually no fences surrounding Area 51.
5.However, if you do cross that borderline, you will be arrested...or potentially worse.
6.Area 51 employees reach the facility by way of airplane through a restricted terminal called the "Gold Coast" at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
7.And the planes are part of a classified airline called, "Janet."
8.Area 51's location was originally an abandoned air strip at the edge of Groom Lake in Nevada, which had been used for nuclear testing.
9.Today, Area 51 is administered by Edwards Air Force Base, which is located in southern California (not Nevada).
10.30 years ago a man named Bob Lazar told local news station KLAS-TV that he worked at a "secret facility" near Groom Lake (Area 51).
11.And here's a look at a drawing he made at the time of spacecrafts he'd been testing.
12.Lazar described the craft that he worked on as flying, not like in films, but with its "belly" or "bottom" forward...
13....which matches the footage of the "Gimbal UFO" a video released by the Pentagon in 2017.
14.The CIA publicly acknowledged the existence of the base for the first time in 2013.
15.However, the released CIA document makes no mention of aliens or UFOs.
16.Area 51 originally had one runway, a few hangars, some trailers for employees to live in, and a mess hall. Today, it's grown to have multiple runways and a lot more infrastructure.
17.Activity on the surrounding public land is heavily monitored by the military.
18.If you check out Area 51 on Google maps, the little street view guy turns into a space ship when you hover over the map.
19.And finally, there's a conspiracy theory that the moon landings were staged there.
