Things you should know before you storm Area 51

by Amanda Push

By now you’ve surely heard of the infamous “Storm Area 51” event on Facebook. If you haven’t or are only loosely aware of the details, let us refresh you.

Earlier this month, an event posted to Facebook outlining a plan to storm Area 51 on September 20 went viral. Area 51, a classified United States Air Force facility in Nevada, has long been the subject of conspiracy theories and rumors of alien activity. The facility is also located near the Extraterrestrial Highway, if that gives you any indication of what people think of that area.

The description of the event on the Facebook page is as follows:

“We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry. If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets. Lets see them aliens.”

To clarify, a Naruto run – based on the popular ninja anime show, “Naruto” – looks a little something like this:

[image:2]

At this point, the page has accrued 1.9 million followers that marked that they’re going and 1.4 million that marked that they’re interested.

Like us, a good chunk of you are into the idea of intergalactic life, or, at the very least, amused by the idea. So, here are a few things to keep in mind if you have even a remote inkling of attending the event.

Even Snooki is on boardFrom Miley Cyrus to Lil Nas, celebrities of all kinds are on board the “Storm Area 51” train. Nicole Polizzi, aka Snooki, confirmed she was going, writing on Twitter, “Ok I’m in the Area 51 raid just to get Max Evans and Michael Guerin.” Kevin Jonas of the Jonas Brothers tweeted that the band’s Happiness Begins tour would be swinging by Area 51 with a post-raid rave. Sounds like a party to us!

Maybe wear a bulletproof vestThe Facebook page dedicated to storming Area 51 is an endless feed of funny alien memes and videos of people doing the Naruto run, but the Air Force is taking the event seriously.

“Any attempt to illegally access the area is highly discouraged,” an Air Force official told NPR.

We’d like to think the military wouldn’t use lethal means against a bunch of unarmed civilians, though history proves otherwise, but just in case, we recommend taking precautions, like wearing a bulletproof bodysuit or holding up some kind of bulletproof shield. You can never be too prepared.

Work on your Naruto runThe Naruto run isn’t as easy as it looks, and it’s going to be even more difficult to do if you’re simultaneously trying to run and avoid bullets. You’ll have to lean forward with your chest and extend your arms straight out behind you. God forbid that you’ll have to do all that on top of balance yourself on rough terrain.

The guards at Area 51 are not niceIf you’re caught trespassing, don’t expect to just get a finger shake and a stern lecture. Security at Area 51 is tight, and they take people ignoring “DO NOT ENTER” signs pretty seriously.

For example, a BBC film crew was arrested after sneaking past the border and, well, it didn’t turn out very well. The crew was arrested and forced to lie on the ground while guards pointed M16 rifles at them, according to the Daily Mail. After the FBI checked out their credentials, each of the 12 crew members was taken to the local sheriff’s office, interrogated about what they were doing on restricted land, and fined.

So, be warned, if you’re caught trespassing, it’s not going to be pleasant.

Remember, this is all a jokeWhile it sounds like it would be great fun to run into Area 51 to “see them aliens,” at the end of the day, the Facebook event is tongue and cheek.

“I just thought it would be a funny idea for the meme page,” Val, the organizer of the event, told NPR. “And it just took off like wildfire. It’s entirely satirical though, and most people seem to understand that.”

So, maybe don’t show up to a heavily-armed military facility thinking you can outrun bullets and whatnot. In fact, we highly advise against it. But, if you do happen to go, send us pics or it didn’t happen.

Amanda Push

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