In July, a 21-year-old college student created a joking Facebook event inviting people to help him storm Area 51 to "see them aliens."
His logic was that if enough people stormed the Air Force base at once, authorities wouldn't be able to stop them all.
The event went viral, with over two million people RSVP'ing to help raid the infamous base in Rachel, Nevada.
Worried about the dangers of innocent people trying to storm a heavily-guarded base, authorities quickly discouraged anyone from actually arriving on the day of the event, September 20. The student who planned the "event" would go on to cancel the original plan and instead hold a festival called "Alien Stock" the night prior.
Unfortunately, those efforts did little to dissuade major alien fans from arriving at Area 51 anyway.
The morning of the event, dozens gathered outside the base's security gate to hold a makeshift rally.
With signs and costumes, the crowd looked ready to meet some aliens.
Many people were seen preparing for the "raid" with instantly-memeable Naruto runs.
Everyone who showed up to Area 51 will someday be able to tell their kids about the crazy event.
What was originally planned as a raid warped quickly into a festival.
True believers never forgot the true purpose of the gathering, however.
Law enforcement patrolled the area to make sure everyone was safe and the crowds didn't end up doing anything crazy...
...like raiding an Air Force base.
Meanwhile, Alien Stock was happening in Las Vegas and the fun people were having was out of this world!
Memes were being shared left and right as the events went on!
Though they may not remember meeting any actual aliens, everyone at Area 51 will surely remember the friends they made along the way.
Of course, no one should actually try to raid the base.
Please, no one run onto the base.
Please.
Happy Area 51 Day, everybody!
The book Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base is available here.
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