New ‘Extraterrestrial Highway’ Sign With Silhouette of Stealth Bomber Resurfaces Near Area 51

Although nobody attempted to storm the top secret US Air Force base in the Nevada desert as this summer’s viral Facebook movement suggested, some still headed to the area to take part in alien-themed events. Ahead of this, the unusual sign was “abducted”, local media outlets report.

A new version of the joking sign for Route 375, nicknamed the Extraterrestrial Highway, has been installed at the junction with Route 318 in Lincoln County, Nevada, after its predecessor was taken away ahead of the Storm Area 51 events.

As the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports, the plate with an alien-styled nickname of the desert route also features a silhouette of a stealth bomber, referring to the classified US Air Force facility linked to countless conspiracy theories and even thought to be a secret storage for alien technologies.

Sign 'Abducted'

Although the old sign “vanished” ahead of the Alienstock and Area 51 Basecamp, dedicated to this summer’s viral event, the Internet still has plenty of pictures of it covered in stickers and graffiti. The new one has been put higher up to stop vandals, the Nevada Department of Transportation explained. According to the state authorities, it is the most stolen sign in their area.

The run-of-the-mill route received its nickname from the Nevada Commission on Tourism in 1996 as they strived to direct the attention of travellers to areas linked to the US military’s secret facilities and atomic bomb test sites.

The region has been rumoured to conceal all kinds of secrets, ranging from aliens to new types of weapons, since the 1950s. But it ended up trending on social media this summer thanks to a joking Facebook event called Storm Area 51.

The event, which purportedly planned to break into the top secret Area 51 on 20 September, received overwhelming Internet coverage after two million alien hunters, many of whom are traditionally drawn to the place, vowed to partake in the event on its Facebook page, despite multiple warnings from the US military. It was formally called off at rather short notice over safety concerns, with the organisers okaying a music festival in the desert instead.

Although the movement failed to become a reality, it gave rise to a whole series of hilarious memes widely shared online.