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00:00 Are aliens real? Is there life beyond Earth? And what would that mean for us?
00:06 The search for alien life takes us all over the universe, but it also asks us to reconsider what we think is really happening even on our own world.
00:15 The quest for knowledge is an incredible journey, and one that could ultimately change your perspective forever.
00:22 This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the extraordinary question, "Are aliens real?"
00:30 Do you need the big questions answered? Are you constantly curious? Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?
00:36 And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!
00:39 Officially speaking, first contact with aliens still hasn't happened. Life on Earth is still the only confirmed life in the universe,
00:50 and humankind is left to try and figure out how and why that could be.
00:54 But of course, there have long been other theories afoot, including various ideas that not only is alien life out there, but that it's also calling the shots down here.
01:04 Roswell. The Phoenix Lights. Bob Lazar. The Hill Abduction. Luis Elizondo. Area 51.
01:21 Everywhere you look, America is drowning in UFO folklore. From tin hat wearing conspiracy theorists, to genuinely unexplained occurrences,
01:30 the alien story has many different chapters in this part of the world in particular.
01:35 Ever since the UFO boom in the 1950s and 60s, the US has led the way.
01:41 Today, film and television has done much to shape how we think about and believe in otherworldly beings,
01:47 and America is appropriately the major player here as well.
01:51 But is there more to the seeming obsession? Is America so interested in aliens because, actually, it really is guided by them?
01:59 According to some, this is all so much more than simple science fiction.
02:04 Rumours of extraterrestrial involvement in global affairs have somewhat come to the fore in recent times,
02:10 not least thanks to comments made by the former Israeli Defence Chief, Chaim Eshed.
02:16 We've covered Eshed's claims in past videos, but for the purpose of today's question,
02:20 the key takeaway is that he says that certain, high-ranking citizens of Earth, including the US government,
02:27 have already made contact with alien species.
02:30 What's more, he claims that the "aliens" we secretly know about are also part of a wider "galactic federation",
02:37 a kind of galaxy-wide block of intelligent powers that Earth presumably hopes to one day join.
02:44 Now, Eshed's claims have never truly taken off, even in SETI and ufology circles.
02:50 Ultimately, there's very little, even zero evidence for anything he's said… besides the rest of the world just taking his word for it.
02:58 And, given that shortly after making his claims he was the main subject of a freshly published book,
03:04 the more cynical suggestion has always been that he was more interested in promoting said book,
03:10 rather than revealing anything that's actually true.
03:13 But, nevertheless, this isn't the first time that similar allegations have been laid at the door of the White House.
03:19 Back in 2014, reports emerged in America, highlighting how some major alien claims had recently surfaced in Iran.
03:27 The Washington Post, Forbes, and others revealed how Iran's Fars News Agency had published a story
03:33 alleging that tall, white space aliens were running a shadow government in the United States.
03:39 It was said that at the heart of the story were previously secret documents released by one Edward Snowden.
03:46 The notorious NSA whistleblower who had, the year before, leaked extensive details
03:51 primarily about far-reaching surveillance programs in the US and across the Five Eyes network.
03:57 In this case, however, the Fars theory seemingly implied that America's mass surveillance
04:02 was actually all part of a wider plan set in motion years before by an advanced alien race intent on conquering Earth.
04:09 The story continued that the same alien beings had at one time assisted Nazi Germany, prior to and during World War Two.
04:17 In the 1950s, however, it's said that their attention switched to America,
04:22 and they supposedly set up base in Nevada, a state that's also world-famous as the home of Area 51.
04:29 From there, in the decades since, the claims allege that this lodging alien race has been pulling the strings of international diplomacy,
04:37 all in a bid to one day take over this planet completely.
04:40 The former Canadian Defence Chief, Paul Hellyer, is also mentioned as a claimed supporting source,
04:46 with Hellyer having made headlines in his later life for variously insisting that extraterrestrial powers have repeatedly visited Earth for years.
04:55 During his time in office, Hellyer led an effort to build a UFO landing pad in Alberta, Canada,
05:01 seemingly as a symbol of peace and friendship with any possible alien arrival.
05:05 However, he became much more outspoken with UFO claims in the early 20th century,
05:10 telling RT, the state-controlled Russian news outlet, that aliens from both within the solar system and from other star systems have contacted Earth before.
05:20 The Farr's story and Hellyer's claims have never really been backed up, however, and in fact have been widely criticized.
05:27 In the case of the Farr's story in particular, suggestions are that it was seeded by spy reports coming out of Russia in a bid to further sway readers against America.
05:38 Again, much as with Chaim Eshed's revelations, there's a distinct lack of irrefutable evidence.
05:44 And so, the story quickly faded into the throng of conspiracy theory only.
05:49 What's more, in the years since, Snowden himself has said on record that as far as he could tell,
05:55 aliens have never contacted America, or the world in general… which seemingly deals a big blow to any belief otherwise.
06:03 Nevertheless, those beliefs have hardly disappeared, and have in fact emerged ever stronger more recently,
06:09 thanks in large part to the US government and security agencies now speaking about UFOs more openly than ever before.
06:17 Importantly, a UFO never immediately translates as a possible alien ship, but the alien conversation has clearly taken new shape nowadays.
06:26 Not only is so much UFO footage now being captured within the military,
06:30 but the leaks of that footage have sparked debate about just how much more there could be that's being kept from the watching public.
06:38 The likes of Gimbal and GoFast have quickly become iconic pieces of film, but we know that they aren't isolated incidents.
06:46 In the 2021 UFO report, for example, released by the Pentagon under mounting pressure for full disclosure,
06:53 the focus was on 144 UFO cases total, 143 of which it concluded were still unexplained.
07:01 There are large and shadowy gaps forming, then.
07:04 Significant grey areas in the Venn diagram of what the government knows, what the government doesn't know,
07:10 and in how much of any of that gets revealed to the rest of us.
07:13 What do you think could be happening within those gaps of knowledge?
07:17 More broadly, there are a number of theories as to how or why an unseen alien force could exist.
07:23 One version of the Zoo Hypothesis argues that aliens could be watching us from a distance,
07:28 biding their time until we become advanced enough for them to reveal themselves.
07:32 The Lab Hypothesis is a continuation of that theme, although with the more sinister undertones
07:38 that distant aliens aren't only secretly watching us, they're experimenting on us, too.
07:43 However, neither can quite incorporate the claims made by Haya Meshed, Paul Hellyer, or the Fars News Agency.
07:50 In those cases, if true, then watching aliens haven't kept their distance.
07:55 They've journeyed to Earth, made themselves known to some of us, and have taken a very hands-on approach from there on out.
08:02 In most other alien conspiracies, the state of Nevada is painted as though, in Area 51,
08:08 it's hosting some kind of alien prison, where the US is secretly keeping specimens to study.
08:14 However, here, it's more that there could be an alien base there, not for human research,
08:20 but for ET interference in human society.
08:23 The control totally switches hands.
08:25 Crucially, there remains no real evidence that this is what's actually happening.
08:30 The theories around alien control in America, and on Earth in general, are mostly baseless,
08:36 more based on the words of just one person.
08:39 As time goes on, it's become clearer and clearer that there is a lot that the government doesn't tell us
08:44 (and hasn't told us) about the search for alien life.
08:48 But it remains a stretch to say flat out that that's because it's actually a puppet of alien control itself.
08:55 What's more, many of these theories almost come and go out of fashion,
08:59 perhaps in part due to the bipartisan nature of US politics.
09:03 The opponents of one administration might play the alien card against the government,
09:07 whilst that administration is in power, only to swiftly withdraw it should their preferred party win the next election.
09:14 Clearly, there's a lot to consider here, and there do still remain plenty of gaps and grey areas in our knowledge.
09:21 The world must keep asking questions and considering the alternatives.
09:30 We know humans are curious creatures. With aliens, though, would they share this trait?
09:35 Would they also harbour curiosity? Research suggests, yes.
09:40 Adaptation, surely an essential skill for any intelligent organism, has been shown to link with curiosity.
09:47 Therefore, it arguably makes sense to expect that any alien life that does manage to survive
09:53 would also be interested in learning more about us, if they ever found us.
09:57 It would most likely be within their nature. But how exactly would they do that?
10:02 If there is another civilisation out there in space, do they know about us?
10:16 Until now, we certainly don't know about them, and remain alone from our perspective as a species.
10:22 As such, it's hard to imagine any scenario where humans wouldn't want to learn as much as possible about alien life,
10:29 if we were ever to discover it. The chance to watch life not as we know it would simply be impossible to pass up.
10:36 But that doesn't mean that we'd make contact immediately. Rather, we'd want a view from a distance,
10:42 and preferably without our subjects knowing anything about us. We wouldn't want them to know that we know they're there.
10:49 It wouldn't be the only way forward, but many see it as the most likely.
10:53 Which, presumably, makes it the most likely course of action if the tables were turned, too.
10:58 An alien race watching us might also prefer to hide themselves.
11:02 And for any number of reasons, including out of fear, out of concern that they might alter our evolutionary path,
11:09 they might spread disease, or kill us off, or simply out of an abundance of caution towards the unknown.
11:15 Say an alien group has been watching us. Then what do they know so far?
11:20 One unfortunate aspect of humanity is clear - that we're a violent species.
11:25 We're divided, and war and murder are frequent occurrences.
11:29 If they've been watching since World War Two, then they'll have seen the atom bombs over Japan.
11:34 More broadly, they'll have seen how we treat animals, smaller organisms, and even other people on Earth for personal gain.
11:42 Indeed, a reconnaissance mission to Earth might turn any potential alien away from ever physically visiting it, based on observation.
11:50 And so, watching in secret could become crucial in order to keep tabs on our progress and assess the risk that we might pose to the rest of space.
11:59 A von Neumann probe is probably the best way forward.
12:02 A von Neumann probe is a hypothetical spacecraft that's outfitted with advanced AI capable of self-replicating
12:09 and putting itself into position around exoplanets, moons, or just about anything else in the universe.
12:15 Theorised by the physicist John von Neumann, the probe could potentially mine asteroids for the materials needed to build more versions of itself.
12:24 But its wider value to interplanetary espionage is clear.
12:28 If humans were to discover a sure sign of alien life, it's likely what we would send to investigate it.
12:34 If it were possible for us to build just one of these probes, then we'd soon have multiple of them, as is their design, watching our cosmological neighbours.
12:43 So, again, we might expect an alien group to do the same thing when targeting us.
12:49 The self-replication is ultimately the most original and vital capability of a von Neumann probe,
12:55 as these things could fill a whole galaxy over time, perhaps within just a few million years.
13:00 As they spread and spread, they give whoever launches the first probe an opportunity to gradually tighten their grip on whatever planet or civilisation they wish to monitor,
13:10 and because of the small size of each individual machine, to do so without being detected.
13:16 Consider the prospect of von Neumann probes crossed with nanotechnology, and there's even more potential to spy and truly remain invisible.
13:24 But, according to some, with tech that's not even that advanced, and only slightly better than our own,
13:30 an alien civilisation might have already managed to put such a probe in place around our planet, should they have wanted to.
13:37 The physicist James Benford is a leading voice here, suggesting that co-orbital objects,
13:43 or objects that revolve around the sun from the same distance as the Earth does, offer the ideal location or cover for alien spy technology.
13:52 Probes either on, near, or masquerading as co-orbital objects are always close to Earth,
13:58 while remaining a small enough speck against the backdrop of space to go unnoticed, even by our best telescopes.
14:05 In general, co-orbital objects haven't been studied in depth so far, because they were only discovered by us just a couple of decades ago.
14:13 So, when it comes to mapping the solar system, these things are a looming grey area.
14:18 Potential hosts for a von Neumann probe, or a fleet of von Neumann probes, include our moon and even the upper reaches of our own atmosphere.
14:26 While no real evidence has ever been officially released of possible alien tech on the moon, theories abound, and some are more compelling than others.
14:35 Meanwhile, the Black Knight satellite remains the best example of a theorised probe within our own atmosphere, and we took a closer look in another recent video.
14:45 Mainstream analysis agrees that it's probably just a discarded piece of space debris… but could it, in fact, be the beginning of a von Neumann surveillance network?
14:54 Then again, there's some argument that a watching alien race wouldn't actually need to send probes of any kind at all.
15:00 It may feel as though telescopes have been around forever, and therefore aren't especially cutting-edge… but actually, even just on Earth or launched from Earth, they're improving at a staggering rate.
15:12 The recently launched James Webb Telescope is 100 times more powerful than the Hubble Telescope, humanity's former flagship mission.
15:20 Looking further ahead, however, there are already plans to develop telescopes that are large, powerful and accurate enough to see the surface features of a target planet in detail…
15:31 perhaps as clearly as we currently see our own world via satellite imagery.
15:35 Estimates vary, but at the most optimistic, it's hoped that we might achieve this within the next 100 years.
15:42 So, could a hypothesised alien race that's just a century more advanced than us already have this capability?
15:49 And could they already be using it to watch our every move?
15:53 Or might they have chosen a different path that we humans are also only just beginning to realise?
15:58 For example, researchers have theorised about one day sending a group of telescope probes into space that will use our sun's gravity as a magnifying lens, again allowing them to see far-off planets up close.
16:11 This project, called the Solar Gravity Lens, is today backed by NASA.
16:16 But might even a slightly older than us and more developed alien civilisation have it already?
16:21 We can't know for sure, but we can't rule it out.
16:24 Beyond supercharged telescopes, one of the most popular E.T. conspiracy theories argues that really, aliens don't need to watch us from afar by any means because they walk or fly among us.
16:37 The idea is that alien beings can so seamlessly blend into human society, perhaps to the point that they bend physics to remain unseeable.
16:46 On the simplest level, the ever-increasing number of UFO sightings in the 21st century has gotten the whole world talking.
16:53 The footage isn't only grainy stills submitted by one-off members of the public anymore.
16:58 There are now whole libraries of UFO clips, many of which come from within the world's militaries and governments.
17:05 So, perhaps that's how they're spying on us - by simply zooming around our planet going mostly unnoticed.
17:11 Apart from occasionally, when they slip up and do get filmed by us, using our limited video tech.
17:16 But really, with or without advanced machines and capabilities, it would still carry considerable risk to spy on us from the inside.
17:24 The safer bet would still be to watch from a distance.
17:27 From a point that's determined to be just far enough away that we, the lowly humans, would never know they were there.
17:34 Extreme space telescopes would then be one method, but perhaps the von Neumann approach wins out.
17:41 True, we watch the skies today more than we ever have done in human history.
17:46 But is it so unlikely that we could still be missing a nearby flotilla of alien probes, surveilling everything we do?
17:54 Real life isn't like the movies.
17:59 Which is why the question of extraterrestrial existence, and what to do if it is out there, is still very much an unknown.
18:05 Even amongst the scientific community.
18:07 There are some who espouse that we should attempt contact at all costs, while others fear that this would be a very, very bad idea.
18:14 Much of the debate surrounding the presence of alien life is today scattered across a number of theories.
18:29 Some are more outlandish than others.
18:31 One of the perhaps most compelling, however, is known as the "Dark Forest" hypothesis.
18:36 First and foremost, it's an idea that suggests that alien life does likely exist.
18:40 But even so, it argues that "contact" with any other civilization by that alien group might be considered so frightening and fraught with danger that it would be best to actively avoid it.
18:51 ETs that are advanced enough to survive deliberately choose to remain silent, because to do otherwise might invite the potential threat of annihilation.
18:59 So, the theory goes.
19:01 When reaching out into space, then, the most intelligent species are those that do so with utmost caution, slowly and tentatively finding their way, as though they're trying to just quietly shuffle through the leaves and branches of a forest.
19:14 In a sense, it's an idea that can be applied historically to life on Earth, as well, where we have mutually assured destruction.
19:21 Broadly, this principle states that one nuclear superpower is inevitably kept at bay by another nuclear superpower, thanks to that other power's nuclear capability.
19:30 If one were to ever "go on the offensive", it would initiate a retaliatory strike that would ultimately destroy both parties.
19:37 It's then only a small step from these modes of thought back to a wider consideration of our place in the universe.
19:43 What if, for example, an alien civilization contacted by Earth turned out to be hostile?
19:49 It's not exactly unlikely.
19:51 Most stars within our galaxy are significantly older than the sun.
19:55 So, chances are that a nearby alien colony could potentially possess technology that's much more advanced than ours is, and that technology could easily seal our doom.
20:05 But perhaps let's not run to our apocalyptic end times before we can walk to them.
20:09 At a more basic level, scientists and policy makers today have to consider the process and ethics of interstellar communication.
20:17 The SETI Institute was founded in 1984 as an organization dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
20:24 The SETI continually listens to and observes the stars, and that's despite an almost ever-present line from within the US government and the Pentagon insisting that there's no evidence that alien life exists.
20:35 Additionally, METI International - i.e., Messaging to Extraterrestrial Intelligence - was founded in 2015 in the hopes of more actively establishing contact, by the sending of messages to hypothesized alien groups.
20:49 Both organizations serve as major lifelines to those who believe that the official lines are actually incorrect, and that there is life out there waiting to be found.
20:57 But still, is this merely a fool's errand?
21:00 Or maybe so entrenched in the realm of science fiction that it'll never become science fact?
21:05 The answer certainly depends on who you ask, but an infamous paradox begins to come into view if we think long and hard about the subject.
21:13 The Fermi Paradox, or the very simple question of "where is everyone?"
21:17 In short, this is the seeming contradiction between a lack of physical evidence that alien life exists and the scientific knowledge concerning the law of averages that it must do.
21:27 There just has to be life out there because there are so many potential opportunities in space for life to thrive.
21:33 But if that's the case, then why hasn't contact already happened?
21:37 One solution says that it could be that our technology just isn't advanced enough yet.
21:42 That we simply aren't heard by those we're trying to contact, or that we don't understand if they ever try to reach us.
21:48 But not all the theories are quite so well-meaning.
21:51 Not all conclude with the suggestion that we just need to keep trying.
21:55 Rather, there are warnings that we should think more about the Dark Forest scenario and be much more careful.
22:01 Enter the famed physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking.
22:04 Hawking held a generally more pessimistic view of alien contact.
22:08 Comparing a hypothetical encounter to that had in history between Christopher Columbus and Native Americans.
22:14 In a number of interviews, Hawking highlighted how we need only to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might easily develop into something that we wouldn't want to meet.
22:24 History shows how Columbus and other colonizers were ultimately ruthless, cruel, and had a devastating impact on Native groups.
22:32 And so, the idea is that any arriving alien force might behave and apply itself to Earth as a whole in much the same way.
22:39 Hawking isn't the only scientist to have raised such concerns, either.
22:42 For example, a 2011 report co-authored by NASA's Sean DeMoggle Goldman while he was at Pennsylvania State University,
22:49 developed multiple potential scenarios for alien contact.
22:53 Including ones in which selfish aliens work solely for themselves,
22:57 and ones in which they wield unintentional and/or intentional harm to our societies.
23:02 Furthermore, there have long been theories that advanced aliens might knowingly attack us in a bid to preserve other alien groups.
23:09 To protect those groups from us.
23:12 A scenario in which, again, ultimately, we would be basically helpless.
23:16 All of which means that, while it might sound like a dilemma out of a movie only,
23:20 the question of whether or not we should cry out against the Dark Forest,
23:24 whether or not we should ruffle those leaves and branches of the universe,
23:28 remains entirely valid in real life.
23:30 Because, do we really want to hear from whoever might answer our call?
23:35 Douglas Vakoch, the president and founder of METI International, naturally counters that we should.
23:40 In a 2016 article for Nature Physics, titled "In Defense of METI",
23:44 he argues that if they, the aliens, wanted to invade, then they most probably already would have.
23:50 And perhaps there is some logic here, too.
23:52 But does that also mean that METI and organizations like it should go unchecked in terms of how many messages they send?
23:59 In terms of the content those messages provide?
24:02 Should we instead have a kind of SETI police, independently analysing the information that we give up?
24:08 Some say that yes, we should have stricter rules,
24:10 with more and more questions about accountability being raised when it comes to the great unknown of space.
24:15 But what do you think?
24:17 Should we be trying to message aliens, yes or no?
24:19 Should we be messaging them freely, or should there be a cap?
24:22 To some extent, this particular horse has already bolted, however.
24:26 For example, both NASA and the European Space Agency, two of the world's leading space organizations,
24:32 have already directly targeted the North Star, Polaris, in recent times.
24:36 NASA broadcast a Beatles song toward it in 2008.
24:40 ESA beamed more than 3,000 text messages directly at it in 2016.
24:45 There have been other, similar initiatives, too.
24:47 Meanwhile, the concerns against have mounted as well.
24:50 Such as earlier in 2016, when multiple scientists signed and released a warning against METI,
24:56 urging for debate at least around what is and isn't sent.
25:00 Questions like "who's in charge" and "who sets the rules" might appear quite basic,
25:04 but given that the response to these messages possess the potential to affect all of known life on Earth,
25:09 they're really fundamental considerations that we perhaps need to make.
25:13 And, in fact, there's even some division between SETI and METI with regard to the tactics we should be employing.
25:19 With SETI's John Gertz, among others, having previously suggested, in a 2021 paper,
25:24 that METI is reckless and should bear criminal consequences,
25:28 that paper ran with a subtitle regarding SETI and METI, "The time has come to regulate them both."
25:34 For now, given the universal speed limit of light, there's at least a little time on our hands
25:39 before our probably quite primitive signals could be picked up by another force.
25:43 But if and when that does happen, we could well be in serious trouble.
25:47 If nothing else, then Earth and humankind might be seen as the latest energy hotspot
25:51 by a Kardashev Type 3 civilization somewhere, intent on harnessing and conquering all within its path.
25:57 For those against, METI might double up as waving our own red flag at that particular bull.
26:03 Ultimately, of course, we don't know.
26:05 But it's that fear of the unknown that has increasing numbers urging a more restrained approach.
26:10 That silent paranoia that we may not be alone in the universe.
26:13 And if we're not, what if they're not friendly?
26:16 We don't have any reason to assume that humanity is the highest evolved civilization,
26:20 just as we have no reason to assume that any contact with aliens will be mutually beneficial to both.
26:25 There are some more positive potential scenarios where peace and goodwill is sent our way
26:30 by a well-meaning ET group, yes, but should we be taking that risk?
26:34 And shouldn't we all get a say in what happens if we are to take that risk?
26:38 Because there are many models and theories to suggest that, actually, first contact could be fatal.
26:43 Hollywood tells us time and time again that humanity can defeat aliens in an invasion scenario.
26:52 No matter the odds, we so often seem to come out on top.
26:55 But how realistic is that?
26:57 If an extraterrestrial species with advanced technology really were to try to take our planet,
27:02 the chances of winning in a straight fight seem slim in real life.
27:06 If all else fails, then, where on Earth could you run and hide?
27:10 So much of today's topic depends on the capabilities of the aliens that are hypothetically invading us
27:23 and the strategies they use.
27:25 In general, though, since they'd have arrived here from some far-off world,
27:29 we can reasonably guess that they'd have far greater technology than we do.
27:33 It's not hard to imagine, either, that they might attack Earth from space,
27:37 seeing as they'd be so much more comfortable up there than we would be.
27:40 It isn't even yet a hundred years since humanity first went to space,
27:44 so we'd be seriously behind any hypothetical overlord that arrived from the stars.
27:49 That said, at the beginning of the invasion, perhaps it would still be best
27:53 to avoid getting caught close to the regions and facilities
27:56 known to be significant in our early space travel efforts.
27:59 Parts of the US, Russia, and China, for example, as these could be early targets for aggressive ETs.
28:05 But what happens when that first wave is over? What to do next?
28:09 So many apocalypse stories involve survivors heading underground, and with good reason.
28:14 Heading even to just the basement rather than the first floor of your or another's home
28:18 would offer better protection against potential explosions,
28:21 against anything that's potentially falling from the sky,
28:24 and against getting caught atop a building that quickly collapses.
28:27 You should also have a better chance at avoiding potential radiation spread by alien weapons, too.
28:32 Initially, at least.
28:34 Perhaps staying in your own home wouldn't be the best idea, though,
28:37 as it would cut you off from the rest of your community,
28:39 who'd also be fleeing in terror, yes, but could provide strength in numbers.
28:44 Heading for an underground structure like a subway station might be a better option.
28:48 Although, really, sheltering in anything that's man-made would never be suitable for the long term,
28:53 assuming that an invading force would target these places first of all,
28:56 sure as they would be that humans would congregate there.
28:59 No, when it comes to underground bolt holes, the best places would be somewhere that humans don't often use,
29:05 and somewhere that's far away from obviously populated regions.
29:09 Caves are the simplest answer, being isolated and therefore more likely protected from the first attack on the cities.
29:15 And there's plenty of precedent already set in the real world, too,
29:18 with show caves in Missouri, for example, once designated as official fallout shelters by the US government during the Cold War.
29:25 Many of Earth's cave systems also aren't fully mapped and catalogued,
29:29 meaning that any alien force with access to our information wouldn't have so great of an advantage.
29:34 There's still thermal imaging to think about, and any other advanced tech that an alien might have, but still.
29:39 Other cave locales of note include the spectacular Son Dong Cave in Vietnam,
29:44 which is massive and has plenty of plants growing inside of it for food.
29:48 Or Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, USA, which still isn't fully explored even by us.
29:53 Having access to food and water would of course be vital to surviving an alien event,
29:58 and therefore forests are another potential hiding place.
30:01 Quite apart from the food that they naturally provide, dense enough forests and woodlands can also protect us from overhead surveillance.
30:07 It's perhaps little wonder, then, that "hide in the woods" was the highest scoring option other than "keep moving"
30:12 during a 2020 poll conducted by Geeknative.com, which asked participants, "Where would you go to survive an alien invasion?"
30:19 It just makes a lot of sense.
30:21 The ideal forest would be one with a river running through it and plenty of wildlife for food.
30:26 If you happen to find a forest with a cave as well to sleep in, even better.
30:30 In general, living or hiding somewhere where you can live off the land would likely be a better strategy
30:35 than relying on abandoned grocery stores to restock supplies.
30:39 Forget the movies, because these will quickly run out and could more easily be monitored.
30:44 Beneath a canopy of trees, however, you're much freer to roam.
30:48 Forests, like cave systems, are more likely to force an invading alien group to explore and hunt on foot, too,
30:55 which is another reason why it could make sense to run for the trees.
30:59 There aren't any security cameras there, so they couldn't be hacked to track you, either.
31:03 As long as you ditch your phone and smartwatch, you should be much more difficult to trace.
31:07 Prime safe spots would now include, then, the Amazon rainforest, of course,
31:11 or the East Australian temperate forests if you find yourself on the other side of our post-apocalyptic world.
31:17 Maybe surviving in the wilderness full stop isn't your strong suit, however?
31:21 Still, all's not lost if you head to the general countryside instead.
31:25 Again, you'd be far from densely populated areas, and hopefully you'd also be a distance from important
31:30 space-related locations and from famous landmarks.
31:33 While the world's most recognized cities would likely fall first in a bid by alien attackers to rob humanity of hope,
31:40 most predictions of an ET apocalypse feature thriving rural communities,
31:44 dedicated and determined villages and plucky rural towns,
31:48 bands of survivors converting old barns, churches, village halls and schools into crucial bases to hide people,
31:55 but also to try to build some means of counter-attack from.
31:59 The best countryside locations would also be the most isolated ones, far away from most of the rest of the population.
32:06 In some ways, there is a similar mode of thinking when governments plot where to build military or top-secret bases in the real world.
32:12 They want them as far away from prying eyes as possible, which is why they so often turn up right next to tiny or even abandoned towns.
32:20 In America, then, you'd want to live or head to the least populated and the least densely populated states,
32:26 with many of the central states nearing the top of that list.
32:29 Elsewhere? Anywhere that for any reason was uninhabited before the alien invasion might be worth considering.
32:35 Our planet's abandoned sites have almost always been left to decay for a reason,
32:40 but they'd arguably be the last place that a malevolent alien would think to look.
32:45 Although, finding food and water in such places could be difficult.
32:49 But finally, and thinking theoretically, where would really be the ideal place to live on Earth if aliens ever were to come calling?
32:55 How about the bottom of the ocean, in a submarine or an underwater city?
33:00 It might sound far-fetched, but there are theories that some of the world's militaries already have secret bases underwater…
33:08 and that there are plans in the future to expand underwater cities.
33:12 We certainly know of some early examples, including established underwater hotels offering rooms submerged by the sea.
33:19 But also, we've got a growing history of underwater habitats specifically built for scientific study.
33:25 Jacques Cousteau's Conshelfs 1, 2, and 3 were arguably the most famous, built in the 1960s.
33:31 But we've also seen Seal Lab 1, 2, and 3… and operating today, there's the Aquarius Reef Base, frequently used by NASA.
33:40 Humans have famously explored very little of our own oceans,
33:43 so perhaps here would be the best place to rush to, to try and wait out an alien occupation.
33:48 Again, there'd be no cameras or tracking tech for our invaders to hack into, we'd have plentiful food from the ocean itself,
33:55 and we'd have protection from most weapons that could be launched toward us from the sky.
34:00 Indeed, the oceans from an invading alien's point of view could well represent quite a mystery,
34:05 so perhaps we'd be best to just wrap ourselves up in them.
34:08 If our ocean tech were sufficiently advanced, it might even be possible to monitor the invasion of our planet without actually being spotted ourselves.
34:16 Alas, underwater bunkers aren't exactly freely available to us at the moment.
34:21 But, until such time as they are, there are still some places that are better than others when it comes to trying to outrun ETs.
34:28 And if you were building a house with alien evasion specifically in mind,
34:32 then best head to the countryside, find yourself a forest, locate a cave within that forest, and start planning the ultimate safe spot.
34:40 If you could draw up plans for a personal submarine in the meantime, then you'd really be one step ahead.
34:46 So, what do you think? Are there aliens out there? Or are we all alone?
34:52 Are there already alien beings on Earth? Or has our planet so far evaded detection?
34:58 Should we be treading carefully through the dark forest?
35:01 Or is it about time that we really made our presence felt to the rest of the universe?
35:06 Ultimately, these are existential questions with answers that could potentially change the course of our future.
35:33 Are aliens real? Most predictions and statistics say yes.
35:37 There's a growing number of theories to suggest that they are.
35:41 But the reality is that we haven't discovered them yet.
35:44 Perhaps it's only a matter of time.
35:47 What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments.
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