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4 fascinating things we already know about Area 51, and 1 thing we don't.

We don't know everything, but we know more than you might think.

It's pretty much a fact that when you try to hide something, it only makes people a lot more interested in it.

Kind of like this photo of Beyoncé:

Love you, Bey. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.

Which Bey's publicist genuinely tried to hide from the Internet. Yet, on the Internet it remains — where people have photoshopped it into pretty hilarious memes.

Of course, there's pretty much nothing more hidden behind layers of mystery and intrigue than Area 51.

Located in Southern Nevada, the 60-square-mile Air Force facility is one of the most secret and conspiracy-riddled locations on Earth.

Photo from Simon Johansson/Wikimedia Commons.

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton recently brought Area 51 back into the spotlight when she jokingly promised to "get to the bottom" of the various UFO conspiracies surrounding it if elected. Jokes aside, that statement made Clinton one of the few public officials to officially acknowledge the base, jokingly or otherwise, in recent years.

In fact, when President Obama made a joke about Area 51 at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2013, he became the first president to publicly mention it. Ever! Despite the base being around since (roughly) the 1940s. Before that, information on Area 51 was either ignored or redacted.

What many people don't realize, however, is that thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, over the past few years, not only has Area 51 been officially recognized by the United States government,but a lot of information about it has already been revealed.

Without further ado...

1. We do actually know what Area 51 looks like.

That may seem obvious, but information on Area 51, historically, has been so sparse that photos of it have only recently been seen by the public.

Satellite imagery of the base was routinely deleted from government databases. In 1973, astronauts aboard Skylab 4 inadvertently photographed Area 51 and immediately had their pictures censored by the CIA.

Now, in the technologically advanced world of 2016, you can hop on Google Maps and look at Area 51 all you want.

It looks like this:

Photo from NASA/Wikimedia Commons.

See? No aliens.

It's just a bunch of runways and aircraft hangars. I know what you're thinking: "THE ALIENS ARE IN THE HANGARS, DUMMY!"

First of all, stop yelling.

Second of all, yes, I'll admit it'd be cool to see inside those hangars. But ... even if you did, all you'd probably see are a couple classified airplanes and helicopters alongside some government R&D contractors.

Why do I think that? Because...

2. We built the U-2 spy plane there.

Thanks to recently declassified data, we now know that the U-2 spy plane was largely developed and built at Area 51 in the 1950s.

The U-2 spy plane was, of course, built to help our nation more effectively spy on Irish rock band U2.

We're watching you guys. Always. Photo by Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

OK not really.

The U-2 spy plane was an early reconnaissance craft used by the CIA to gather high-altitude data during the Cold War. The U.S. still uses U-2s, though they've been upgraded significantly over the years.

A U-2 spy plane in 1997. Photo by U.S. Air Force/Wikimedia Commons.

The current U-2, named the "U-2S" was used in Iraq and Afghanistan. The "S" at the end of its name also reveals that the CIA apparently gets its upgrade nomenclature from Apple's iPhone. Or maybe it's the other way around? Add that to the conspiracy list.

3. Area 51 is actually where we flew some of the first drones.

Unmanned drones are now ubiquitous in both war zones and the backyards of GoPro hobbyists. But before you could buy one at RadioShack to spy on your neighbors, they were researched, developed, and flown at Area 51 in the early 1960s.

That's right! Drones are as old as nondairy creamer (which is similar to Area 51 itself, in that you really shouldn't ask too many questions about what's in it).

The first drone was called the Lockheed D-21 and had to be launched on the back of another aircraft:


The D-21 mounted on an M-21 launch jet. Photo by U.S. Air Force/Wikimedia Commons.

Like a baby koala! Only deadlier.

Several test launches were necessary to get the drone program off the ground (literally), and recently declassified data reveals that a lot of those early test flights occurred at Area 51.

4. We kept a lot of our stolen stuff at Area 51.

If you steal something from someone, you have to hide it somewhere. Like a shoebox under your bed.

Area 51 was, and probably remains, America's shoebox.

When foreign technology is captured during war time, it's a good idea to hold onto it. That way, you can examine it and figure out its weaknesses or use it to improve your own technology.

When Soviet MiG planes were captured during the Cold War, we took them to Area 51 to check them out. We also used Area 51 to examine and exploit foreign radar systems.

A soviet MiG-17 airplane. Photo from U.S. Navy/Wikimedia Commons.

These are tactical moves that necessitate secrecy. You don't want your enemies finding out you have their stuff, let alone that you're thoroughly investigating it for weaknesses and loopholes.

Of course, the Russians were doing the same thing to us. It was the Cold War after all.

The nature of Area 51 as America's shoebox of stolen and hidden foreign aircraft is the one fact that does feed into the alien conspiracies more than the other things we know about it. If a UFO really did crash in Roswell, Area 51 is probably where the government would take it.

Although, if they really didn't want anyone to see it, they would've hidden it at a James Franco art show. No one goes to those.

So, yeah, we actually do know a lot about Area 51's history.

As time goes on, more and more information will probably be revealed, declassified, and demystified. If there was a giant alien cover-up in 1947, it won't stay hidden forever. Although, if one day all the information about Area 51 was suddenly released at once, my guess is the reaction would be a unanimous, "Oh, they just built planes there mostly."

That being said, there is one important thing we still don't know about Area 51.

Which brings me to...

5. OK, conspiracy theorists. You win this one. We don't actually know what's going on at Area 51 right now.

What's happening at the base right now in 2016 remains a mystery covered by the highest level of government clearance, which means Area 51 is essentially a huge black hole of American military spending and government secrecy.

America spends more on its military than the next seven countries combined. So you can be sure that the government is probably still developing a lot of stuff at Area 51. Stuff that "we, the people" might not know about until it's already being used in a military conflict or is declassified decades later.

A U.S. Blackhawk Helicopter. Largely believed to have been developed at Area 51. Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images

Some have alleged that the Blackhawk helicopters used in the Osama Bin Laden raid were developed there.

That's good.

Others have asserted that Area 51 was used to dump illegal and extremely dangerous amounts of chemical waste. Which may have led to the death of workers there.

That's not good.

For now, both theories are surrounded in, and in turn protected by, the overwhelming secrecy afforded to the mysterious base in Groom Lake, Nevada.

Though I certainly wish that we lived in a world that didn't necessitate government secrets, the fact is ... we don't. So we're just going to have to wait until all the goings on at Area 51 are slowly-but-surely declassified.

Until then though, ease off the alien stuff.

Unless ... wait a minute ...

WHAT IF THEY'RE BEING KEPT UNDER THE BASE?!

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Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

The French Bulldog’s popularity has grown exponentially over the past decade. They were the #14 most popular breed in 2012, and since then, registrations have gone up 1,000%, bringing them to the top of the breed popularity rankings.

The AKC says that the American Hairless Terrier, Gordon Setter, Italian Greyhound and Anatolian Shepherd Dog also grew in popularity between 2021 and 2022.

The French Bulldog was famous among America’s upper class around the turn of the 20th century but then fell out of favor. Their resurgence is partly based on several celebrities who have gone public with their Frenchie love. Leonardo DiCaprio, Megan Thee Stallion, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Reese Witherspoon and Lady Gaga all own French Bulldogs.

The breed earned a lot of attention as show dogs last year when a Frenchie named Winston took second place at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and first in the National Dog Show.

The breed made national news in early 2021 when Gaga’s dog walker was shot in the chest while walking two of her Frenchies in a dog heist. He recovered from his injuries, and the dogs were later returned.

They’ve also become popular because of their unique look and personalities.

“They’re comical, friendly, loving little dogs,” French Bull Dog Club of America spokesperson Patty Sosa told the AP. She said they are city-friendly with modest grooming needs and “they offer a lot in a small package.”

They are also popular with people who live in apartments. According to the AKC, Frenchies don’t bark much and do not require a lot of outdoor exercise.

The French Bulldog stands out among other breeds because it looks like a miniature bulldog but has large, expressive bat-like ears that are its trademark feature. However, their popularity isn’t without controversy. “French bulldogs can be a polarizing topic,” veterinarian Dr. Carrie Stefaniak told the AP.

american kennel club, french bulldog, most popular dog

An adorable French Bulldog

via Pixabay

French Bulldogs have been bred to have abnormally large heads, which means that large litters usually need to be delivered by C-section, an expensive procedure that can be dangerous for the mother. They are also prone to multiple health problems, including skin, ear, and eye infections. Their flat face means they often suffer from respiratory problems and heat intolerance.

Frenchies are also more prone to spine deformations and nerve pain as they age.

Here are the AKC’s top ten most popular dog breeds for 2022.

1 French Bulldogs

2 Labrador Retrievers

3 Golden Retrievers

4 German Shepherd Dogs

5 Poodles

6 Bulldogs

7 Rottweilers

8 Beagles

9 Dachshunds

10 German Shorthaired Pointers


This article originally appeared on 03.17.23

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Science

Why this 'imaginary' line separates Asian animals from the species you find in Australia

Nature's dividing line was a mystery for decades.

via Gunna Reis/Wikimedia Commons

The Wallace line divides the entire Malay Archipelago.

A fascinating biological phenomenon occurs between two islands in Indonesia. An invisible line divides the entire Malay Archipelago, and on the western side, the animal life is characteristic of Asia, featuring rhinos, elephants, tigers and woodpeckers.

Contrasting this, the eastern side of the islands presents a completely different ecological cast, boasting marsupials, Komodo dragons, cockatoos and honeyeaters, often associated with Australia.

The stark differences in biodiversity on the islands captured the keen eye of British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace during his 19th-century travels through the East Indies. Even before the discovery of plate tectonics, Wallace postulated that the western islands must have once been interconnected and linked to the Asian mainland.

So, in 1859, he first sketched a line of demarcation between the zones which came to be known as the Wallace line.

The Invisible Barrier Keeping Two Worlds Apart

According to a video by PBS Eons, Wallace was onto something all those years ago. Researchers would later come to believe that the land masses on other sides of the line were once separate continents brought together by tectonic shifts.

“Today, we know them as the paleo continents of Sunda in the west and Sahul in the east, both of which existed during the ice ages when more water was locked up in ice and sea levels were lower. Wallace didn't know it, but while they’re pretty close now, the two partly-sunken continents used to be much, much further apart,” the video says. “So even though the species of each side are neighbors now, they’d been evolving separately for eons, their two worlds only colliding fairly recently in evolutionary terms.”

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Pop Culture

Parents who grew up in the '70s and '80s remember the experiences that blow their kids' minds

Kids were tougher then for a reason.

via Wikimedia Commons

Island School Class, circa 1970s.

Parents, do you think your child would be able to survive if they were transported back to the '70s or '80s? Could they live at a time before the digital revolution put a huge chunk of our lives online?

These days, everyone has a phone in their pocket, but before then, if you were in public and needed to call someone, you used a pay phone. Can you remember the last time you stuck 50 cents into one and grabbed the grubby handset?

According to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, roughly 100,000 pay phones remain in the U.S., down from 2 million in 1999.

Do you think a 10-year-old kid would have any idea how to use a payphone in 2022? Would they be able to use a Thomas Guide map to find out how to get somewhere? If they stepped into a time warp and wound up in 1975, could they throw a Led Zeppelin album on the record player at a party?

Another big difference between now and life in the '70s and '80s has been public attitudes toward smoking cigarettes. In 1965, 42.4% of Americans smoked and now, it’s just 12.5%. This sea change in public opinion about smoking means there are fewer places where smoking is deemed acceptable.

But in the early '80s, you could smoke on a bus, on a plane, in a movie theater, in restaurants, in the classroom and even in hospitals. How would a child of today react if their third grade teacher lit up a heater in the middle of math class?

Dan Wuori, senior director of early learning at the Hunt Institute, tweeted that his high school had a smoking area “for the kids.” He then asked his followers to share “something you experienced as a kid that would blow your children’s minds.”


A lot of folks responded with stories of how ubiquitous smoking was when they were in school. While others explained that life was perilous for a kid, whether it was the school playground equipment or questionable car seats.

Here are a few responses that’ll show today’s kids just how crazy life used to be in the '70s and '80s.

First of all, let’s talk about smoking.

Want to call someone? Need to get picked up from baseball practice? You can’t text mom or dad, you’ll have to grab a quarter and use a pay phone.

People had little regard for their kids’ safety or health.

You could buy a soda in school.

Things were a lot different before the internet.

Remember pen pals?

A lot of people bemoan the fact that the children of today aren’t as tough as they were a few decades back. But that’s probably because the parents of today are better attuned to their kids’ needs so they don't have to cheat death to make it through the day.

But just imagine how easy parenting would be if all you had to do was throw your kids a bag of Doritos and a Coke for lunch and you never worried about strapping them into a car seat?


This article originally appeared on 06.08.22

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Internet

Dental student's revealing videos are changing the way people think about flossing

Most of us have been flossing incorrectly our whole lives.

Representative Image From Canva
Waterpiks can be a great alternative to flossing.

Going to the dentist is not always fun. Even when there aren't any cavities to fill or root canals to be had, something about laying back on the table under a bright light while someone scrapes just below your gum line can be a bit much. Then there's the inevitable reprimand for not flossing enough for those who either have a hard time remembering or were never properly taught.

Unfortunately, not every hygienist is kind about this conversation, which can leave people feeling scolded and dreading their next appointment. In fact, it sometimes seems to be expected that the person laying in the dental chair has been given a class on proper dental hygiene. Oftentimes, that's not the case.

People learn their hygiene habits by the people who raised them, so unless you were raised by a dentist or someone in that field, you've likely picked up some not so great habits. Dental student Madina Malik has made it a personal mission to properly teach good dental hygiene in a kind and nonjudgemental way on social media.

In one of her more recent videos, someone asked her to show proper flossing techniques. People's minds were blown after seeing exactly how far up they're actually supposed to be flossing their teeth and learning the proper technique. It would seem common knowledge but it's not and Malik has no issue helping those who may have picked up a bad habit or two.

In the video posted to her TikTok page, Smiles Pending, Malik not only demonstrates on her own teeth, she explains why flossing is so important in really simple terms.

"I completely understand that a lot of times during dental appointments a dentist or hygienist may not have the time to fully explain exactly how the proper technique looks," she admits.

Malik explains that the thicker floss tends to get more things from between your teeth before moving on to reveal that at all times you'll have a "dirty" finger and a "clean" finger. That's new information for some people, but she explains in another video that spooling the floss around the "dirty" finger keeps you from adding bacteria to the next tooth you floss. Essentially, each tooth needs a new section of floss to rid the teeth of bacteria and gunk that collects between your teeth.

She then talks about the importance of flossing the back teeth due to its hard to reach positioning. Waterpiks and floss sticks do not do the same job as regular floss, because it's not just about removing debris but the cavity and gingivitis causing bacteria, says Malik in a follow up video.

As for why it's important to floss outside of avoiding the scolding in the dental chair at your six month check up? Well, according to the dental student, people should "floss the teeth that you want to keep." Now that's a statement that may need to be on a t-shirt worn by dental hygienists across the globe.

@smilespending Replying to @ashley always open go more oral hygiene questions!! #oralhealth #oralhealtheducation #flossingtechnique #flossing #oralhygiene #oralhygienetips #oralhygieneroutine #oralhealthtips ♬ original sound - Madina | D3 in nyc

People not only asked follow up questions that led to more educational videos, but they thanked her from breaking it down in an easy to understand way.

"Omg, thank you for this video. I thought something was wrong with my gums that I could go that deep. I thought that was bad," one person writes.

"I've been doing this wrong my whole life. The way I've done it...it's like I've never flossed at this point," another says.

"This was super helpful. I've never flossed my teeth cuz I honestly didn't know the proper procedure. Thank you," someone reveals.

"You're right, I have been flossing wrong my whole life. I had no idea you had to go that high into your gums! Thanks for sharing," another shares.

This series is not only helpful for people who regularly go to the dentist, it's also helpful for those who can't afford dental care. Malik's videos are chock full of information including where to get affordable dental care if you're without proper dental insurance. Judging by the comments, people are thankful for her service.

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Family

'Why women leave’: Wife who 'does everything' shares why she left her husband who did nothing

This is a common story in many households.

via Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels

A woman is upset with her husband and wants to leave him.

There are a few big reasons why 70% of divorces in the United States among heterosexual couples are filed by women. Women have more economic opportunities than in decades past and are better positioned to care for themselves and their children without a husband’s income.

Another big reason is that even though the world has become much more egalitarian than in the past, women still bear the brunt of most of the emotional labor in the home. Gilza Fort-Martinez, a Florida, US-based licensed couples’ therapist, told the BBC that men are socialized to have lower emotional intelligence than women, leaving their wives to do most of the emotional labor.

Secondly, studies show that women still do most of the domestic work in the home, so many are pulling double duty for their households.

A TikTokker with two children (@thesoontobeexwife) shared why she decided to leave her husband of two decades and her story recounts a common theme: She did all the work and her husband did little but complain.

The video, entitled “Why women leave,” has received over 2 million views.

@thesoontobeexwife

Y’all I laughed when I realized he truly does treat me better now then when he was trying to be in a marriage with me. How is this better?? How did I ever think before was ok?? #toxicrelationship #divorce #mentalloadofmotherhood #divorcetok #divorceisanoption #chooseyou #mentalhealth #mentalload #fyp #mentalload #emotionallabor

“So for the men out there who watch this, which frankly I kind of hope there aren’t any, you have an idea maybe what not to do,” she starts the video. “Yesterday, I go to work all day, go pick up one kid from school, go grocery shopping, go pick up the other kid from school, come home. Kids need a snack–make the snack. Kids want to play outside – we play outside.”

Her husband then comes home after attending a volunteer program, which she didn’t want him to join, and the self-centeredness begins. “So he gets home, he eats the entire carton of blueberries I just purchased for the children’s lunch and asks me what’s for dinner. I tell him I don’t know because the kids had a late snack and they’re not hungry yet,” she says in the video.

She then explains how the last time he cooked, which was a rare event, he nearly punched a hole in the wall because he forgot an ingredient. Their previous home had multiple holes in the walls. Dr. Gail Saltz, a psychiatrist and host of the Power of Different podcast, says that when punch walls it’s a sign that they haven’t “learned to deal with anger in a reasonable way.”

“Anyway, finally one kid is hungry,” the TikTokker continues. “So I offered to make pancakes because they’re quick and easy and it’s late. He sees the pancake batter and sees that there’s wheat flour in it and starts complaining. Says he won’t eat them. Now I am a grown adult making pancakes for my children who I am trying to feed nutritionally balanced meals. So yes, there’s wheat flour in the pancake mix.”

Then her husband says he’s not doing the dishes because he didn’t eat any pancakes. “Friends, the only thing this man does around this house is dishes occasionally. If I cook, he usually does the dishes. I cook most nights. But here’s the thing. That’s all he does. I do everything else. Everything. Everything.”

She then listed all of the household duties she handles.

“I cook, I clean the bathrooms, I make the lunches, I make the breakfasts, I mow the lawn, I do kids’ bedtime. I literally do everything and he does dishes once a day, maybe,” she says.

@thesoontobeexwife

I HAVE OFFICIALLY FILED FOR DIVORCE 🎉 #divorce #divorcetok #toxicrelationship #divorceisanoption #fyp #mentalhealth #chooseyou #iamenough #iwillnotbeafraid #mentalloadofmotherhood #emotionallabor

The video received over 8700 comments and most of them were words of support for the TikTokker who would go on to file for divorce from her husband.

"The amount of women I’ve heard say that their male partners are only teaching how to be completely independent of them, theirs going to be so many lonely men out there," Gwen wrote. "I was married to someone just like this for over 35 years. You will be so happy when you get away from him," BeckyButters wrote.

"The way you will no longer be walking on eggshells in your own home is an amazing feeling. You got this!" Barf Simpson added.


This article originally appeared on 5.21.23

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