Conspiracy forum boards are buzzing over a "mind bending" connection between Denver International Airport and geographical coordinates described in a key scene of the the alien-loving, sci-fi classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In all my years of following the ever-evolving conspiracy theories that swirl around DIA, this just may be the most awesome.

I'm guessing this all started with some bored geek re-re-watching the 1977 Steven Spielberg film, where UFOs send signals to the U.S. government and Richard Dreyfuss to meet up with them at Devil's Tower in Wyoming. On a lark, said geek probably decided to plug the coordinate numbers sent by the aliens in the movie (104,44,30,40,36,10) into Google Earth (W104' 44' 30' N40' 36' 10'), which then immediately zoomed in on... Denver International Fucking Airport!

Just check out this Youtube posting by FringeRecall:

If the coordinate numbers had led Google Earth to, say, the intersection of Haight and Ashbury in San Franciso, the episode could be dismissed as a hilarious coincidence or an intentional joke by the scriptwriters. But to have the geographical dart land on DIA, a facility that is approaching Area 51 status within Internet conspiracy culture, is almost too astoundingly synergistic to brush off.

Plus, notes a blogger at rabbithole2.com, "Back when Close Encounters of the Third Kind was made the Denver Airport was nothing more than a farmer's field. That airport would not be built at that location FOR 16 YEARS!"

That said, the Google Earth trick only seems to work on certain computers.

I downloaded the most recent version of Google Earth, and when I entered the coordinate numbers "W104' 44' 30' N40' 36' 10'" I was taken either to DIA, to a farmhouse fifty miles north of DIA in Ault, or a city street in Cancun, Mexico.

I don't understand the technical quirks and nuances of Google Earth and GPS, but if any other sci-fi/conspiracy geeks out there can figure this out, please share.

And if you or anyone you know have been spontaneously crafting the iconic DIA tent roof out of mashed potatoes, share that information as well.

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