Area 51 by Jake Ryan

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On September 20, 2019, hundreds of people swarmed to small Nevada towns all with one purpose in mind: "Do aliens exist in Area 51?" This long wondered question was what sprung this event into action, starting with a facebook meme encouraging people to "storm Area 51." According to the New York Times, over two million people signed up to be at the event causing action by the United States Military generals. One spokeswoman said that attempting to storm the base would be "dangerous." Regardless, hundreds of people went and set up tailgates with alien-themed drinks. On the 20th, however, people actually moved towards the gate where armed forces stood guard ready to protect the secrets hidden in the military base. This event brought about the question: "Do aliens really exist?" To see what students at the Sparta High School thought, I did some investigating. When asked if he believes aliens exist, Andy Stefancik, an SHS Sophomore, stated "Yes, they do. There are billions and billions of interstellar bodies, billions of planets and stars. One of them besides ours must contain some form of life." Similarly, SHS Sophomore Paxton Hilgrendorff stated, "I do believe that aliens are real. There are many other planets and solar systems out there that we don't know about. Anything is possible and it would be really cool if aliens did exist." Gabby Elrott also agreed. She answered "Yes. The universe is huge and there's so much we don't know yet." There is a clear general consensus at SHS that aliens do exist, but as of now, we cannot know for sure.

It is crazy to think about how a meme on the internet can so easily blow up and be exposed to millions of people. In the past, without the expansive internet, this would never have been able to happen. Now, anything on the internet could be reached by people all around the world and inspire not only alien enthusiasts to storm area 51 but also anyone with any sort of belief. There is something on the internet for everyone. Unfortunately, we still do not have the answer to the concept of aliens being held captive in Area 51, though clearly students at Sparta High School sure do think there are aliens somewhere in our Universe.



Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 2, 2019 at 11:13 AM

    Maybe we need to define what an alien is. Is it a green extra terrestrial that we see in Hollywood, or do other forms of life look like us? What is the chemical makeup of this other life? Is it carbon based, or does it rely on water?

    Also, do you really think these people gathered to see aliens or just to party? I feel like that if this was really about finding aliens, there would be no festival and partying.

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 3, 2019 at 10:29 AM

      I think it was a joke from the start and that it was just an excuse to have fun and meet new people. Also, I think that if there is life and if we are to find it, it will most likely be microorganisms and not intelligent life. Though in the far future we could discover intelligent life as well!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 2, 2019 at 11:13 AM

    Yeah, it's really crazy to think that a picture of a joke facebook event created this much of a stir and actually happened. I wonder what'll happen to the new storm the vatican meme though...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 3, 2019 at 10:30 AM

      I haven't seen that one yet, but maybe it's just a new party excuse haha!

      Delete
  3. AnonymousOctober 2, 2019 at 5:46 PM

    Honestly, I do think aliens exist, but in the sense that there is life somewhere else. I do not believe there are green martians roaming the universe!! Haha, but yes, I definitely think it is scary how a meme can take over the internet in such little time, and people actually were preparing to storm Area 51.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousOctober 3, 2019 at 10:30 AM

      I agree, there definitely are not little green men haha!

      Delete
  4. AnonymousOctober 2, 2019 at 5:47 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOctober 5, 2019 at 11:50 AM

    I agree, it's crazy how one post can spread all around the country and cause such a dangerous event. I like how you added the survey into your post....honestly I think aliens could exist too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousOctober 7, 2019 at 4:58 PM

    It's crazy the power the internet has. I'm surprised that many people showed up. I heard several even got arrested.

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    Replies
    1. DanielleOctober 7, 2019 at 5:05 PM

      I agree with Laurel that this is all about the power of the internet and the fact that something that is a joke or even insignificant can grow overnight.

      Delete
  7. AnonymousOctober 8, 2019 at 6:41 PM

    It really is crazy how a simple internet joke can start all this. I agree with you in that people probably just used it as an excuse to party.
    Also, your survey reminded me of this concept called the Fermi Paradox, which I personally can't explain easily but you should definitely look into it. It's an interesting perspective.
    If you're interested, here's a cute little animated video on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNhhvQGsMEc (and the part two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fQkVqno-uI).

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousOctober 10, 2019 at 7:44 PM

    I think it's funny how committed the internet is to things like this, especially people in our generation. I'm honestly curious to see what kind of big changes our generation is able to make in the world.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousOctober 13, 2019 at 6:30 PM

    I believe aliens exist too!! I forget if this theory has a name, but it's this idea that tries to explain why we haven't contacted alien life yet (that we know of). So, considering that we haven't been able to find life on other planets yet, there are two schools of belief: either there is something that kills off intelligent life forms once they get to a certain point of evolution, whether that be a mass extinction due to climate or natural disasters, etc. OR the human race is the only intelligent life form to evolve past that event that was stopping others from growing. I hope that made sense. Basically if we can't find aliens in space that could actually be a good thing, because it could mean that we survived a mass extinction, but it also means that we're all alone in this big empty void.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousOctober 19, 2019 at 8:29 AM

    Although we didn't discover if Area 51 has Aliens, we got a lot of new memes and templates! Lol

    The internet can turn almost anything into a joke...

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousOctober 25, 2019 at 7:07 PM

    The internet could be a blessing or a curse...but hey, I'm in it for the memes

    ReplyDelete

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