Over the years, the US government, military, and CIA crafted numerous top-secret plans and projects, many of which have now been declassified. Here are four of the more curious ones:
- Project 1794 – This clandestine program (view PDF / diagram pictured above) sought to create flying saucer-styled ships to shoot down Soviet bombers. Begun in the 1950s, engineers attempted to build a vehicle that could travel at Mach 4 (four times the speed of sound). However, the program was canceled in 1961, after tests indicated the design was unstable and would be difficult to control in the air.
- Operation Washtub – During the Cold War, the FBI was concerned about a potential invasion of Alaska by the Soviets. So, in 1950, Operation Washtub began with the training of 89 ordinary Alaskan citizens. They were taught decoding and espionage tactics so they might spy on the enemy should an actual invasion take place.
- Acoustic Kitty – In another Cold War-era program, the CIA actually spent millions of dollars using domesticated cats to spy on Soviet adversaries. The felines were reportedly implanted with electronic surveillance technology in order to eavesdrop and gather data.
- Mapimi Silent Zone – Sometimes compared to the Bermuda Triangle, the Mapimi Silent Zone is a small patch of desert in Durango, Mexico, which, according to urban lore, is a place where radio signals or other communications cannot be received. And yet a secret event in 1970 had nothing to do with this legend-- rather, the US Air Force accidentally crashed a rocket there that contained two vials of cobalt 57-- a radioactive material sometimes used in bombs. The clean-up effort was said to be time-consuming and costly.
For a longer list of formerly top-secret projects, check out this round-up by Elizabeth Peterson and Denise Chow, published on Live Science.