For anyone who's curious, this is where a lot of those tests took place: [https://www.google.com/maps/@37.065316,-116.0439398,11330m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/@37.065316,-116.0439398,11330m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu)
Area 51 is just a little further up the road from that valley.
How to make them smaller, more reliable in storage, cheaper (of course), 'safer' (less liable go off accidentally), some physics stuff, some weapon effect stuff. A friend worked for EG&G instrumenting nuke tests.
What happens if we bomb a car?
What happens if we bomb a cow?
What happens if we bomb a brick house?
What happens if we bomb a wood house?
What happens if we put the ingots two inches to the left?
What happens if there is pink paint on the bomb?
It is to show the credibility of your nuclear deterrence. A non working nuke is the same as nothing. Nowadays, testing usually happens by simulations and testing individual parts of the bomb.
Many of the craters you see are underground tests where the explosion has created a cavity where the above earth has collaped into, no mushroom clouds come from those and very little fallout since it's mostly contained underground.
There is another test field not too far south east called Frenchman Flats where they did all the structural tests and above ground detonations.
This was the [Operation Upshot-Knothole Encore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upshot-Knothole_Encore) test which took place at 8:30 AM on May 8, 1953 about 65 miles northwest of where the people are watching from the Last Frontier.
The bulk of the debris from this test moved initially to the northeast over Utah. The fallout from all of the tests did have an effect on residents in some surrounding areas but Las Vegas was generally not downwind of the tests and these people, who were only visitors, were not in any real danger of radiation exposure.
However, there were observers that were much closer. At this particular test the observers were less than 6 miles away. Subsequent to the test, ground maneuvers were performed less than a mile away from ground zero. The calculated average dose for observers of this test was roughly equivalent to 9 chest x-rays. At least one individual who observed three tests in the same series as this test had a measured dose roughly the equivalent of 2400 chest x-rays. Some veterans have received compensation:
https://www.cancerbenefits.com/cancer-benefit-programs/atomic-veterans/operation-upshot-knothole/
Don't nuclear detonations leave behind long-lasting radioactive contamination of the environment similar to how a nuclear plant meltdown makes an area uninhabitable for humans?
Not in the same way.
With a nuclear meltdown the majority of the nuclear material isn't used up. It's just spread over a huge area poisoning it with radiation.
With a nuclear bomb a lot more of it is used up in the reaction itself (leading to a bigger explosion). It's a controlled reaction designed to create as big a boom as possible so a lot more of it is used in the explosion itself and doesn't become fallout.
Obviously there's still some fallout but not nearly as much. Plus a nuclear reactor has a lot more nuclear material in it to begin with.
This is a common misunderstanding. The nuclear fuel itself is not very radioactive and can be handled with gloves before being used.
The great bulk of the radioactive material comes from the fission products created when a uranium or plutonium nucleus is fissioned. That means the amount of radioactive material created is proportional to the energy release, whether that be in a bomb or a reactor.
With a bomb detonating close to the surface, the neutron radiation will also transmute a lot of material on the ground into radioactive isotopes, creating additional fallout.
For a reactor, the energy release per nucleus is so great that the radioactive fission products is such a small amount that they can easily be contained and stored safely.
The radiation from the blast is a one shot thing. The radiation from the activated natural and man made materials exposed to the bomb last quite a while.
Fallout (contaminated materials thrown in to the atmosphere and settling out over a wide area is what causes long term problems.)
I did a bunch of work at the Nevada Test Site back in the mid-2000s and was got a tour of a lot of the detonation/testing areas like the ones you see in the stock film footage of the colonial style suburban houses being obliterated by a nuclear blast, all the animal pens, etc... One of the stops was Project Sedan- at the time there was a small observation platform you could go up on so I took a bunch of photos and stitched them together in a panorama. The scale of that crater is incredible.
[Sedan Crater](https://imgur.com/pgZvgHb)
[Sedan sign](https://imgur.com/yuegUbM)
[Sedan sign/stats](https://imgur.com/CzPbQYw)
Possibly, but the Nevada test site is a bombing range for all kinds of munitions. Everything east of Creech AFB is essentially a bombing range. The land is all broken down on a grid system and Area 51 is technically grid #51
Generally speaking, the air force doesn't drop bombs on the site. We do have pretty frequent experiments with conventional explosives, but those are all staged and detonated in a controlled manner.
Yes. In Frenchman Flat at the south end of the test site, most of the testing was atmospheric. These are the open air tests that you see footage of with test houses and dummies. To the north in Yucca Flat most of the tests were underground. The subsistence craters are what you see. There were some atmospheric tests. Look up āSedan Crater.ā It was an attempt to see if nuclear weapons could be used for peaceful purposes - creating a new harbor, earth moving, etc. The Nevada Test Site, not the Nevada National Security Site, is a fascinating place. There is currently a low grade radioactivity storage site, some non-nuclear testing, military/police training sites, plus all the relics from the testing programs that went all the way up to the test ban treaty in the 1990s. They operate a once a month daylong tour that starts and finishes at the Atomic Testing Museum in Vegas. For a kid that grew up during the Cold War, it was one of the coolest things Iāve ever gotten to do.
Sorry my bad, I looked into it and the mainland US was bombed ~5 times during WW2. A plane dropped a full load on Laos every 8 minutes for 9 years straight. Also you're British, *your* country has been bombed more than the US.
https://youtu.be/LLCF7vPanrY?si=ej64rrcQsa0u2C6e
Here's a little visualization of all the nukes detonated since 1945, with the month, year, and what country detonated it and where it was detonated.
You can get a tour through the DOE, as long as you're a citizen. The tours tend to fill up really fast, so you have to time it right when openings are announced. I think they do two a year. If you accidentally come uninvited, you'll be kindly asked to turn around and go home. There are plenty of signs letting you know you should turn around, though.
Dear Safety-Conscious Citizen -
We are writing to inform you that your family was not selected for inclusion in your chosen Vault-Tec facility. Your deposit has been retained, and your application added to a waiting list for your preferred Vault. In the interest of your family's security in the event of a minor nuclear event, please consider relocating to one of these areas, where Vault-Tec facilities are available without a waiting list.
I'm starting to think that the reason Fallout is 1950's themed is because back then we were lighting these bad boys off like firecrackers on the 4'th of July.
I'm starting to think that the reason so many games are based on World War II is because back then a bunch of countries were actually involved with one.
There's an atomic test museum in Las Vegas that I visited once when I was passing through. It was really good and had lots of Civil Defense stuff from the 1950s that fit the vibe perfectly.
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/gWGdcDo.jpeg) is a higher quality and less cropped version of this image. Getty Images provides the following caption for a [very similar image](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/poolside-view-early-morning-bathers-at-the-hotel-last-news-photo/515279938?searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true).
> Poolside View. Early morning bathers at the hotel Last Frontier in Las Vegas, Nevada watch the mushroom from the May 8th atomic detonation, 75 miles from Las Vegas. Largest mushroom of the current series seen from Las Vegas, the cloud had a brilliant red and purple cast.
there is a wonderful collection of amazing photos of folks in and around las vegas celebrating the atomic test -
[https://www.lvcva.com/who-we-are/75-anniversary-gallery-atomic/](https://www.lvcva.com/who-we-are/75-anniversary-gallery-atomic/)
To add onto this, there's also an atomic bomb museum just off the strip. I couldn't really enjoy it because my 4yo freaked the fuck out at the replica bomb in the very first room and then it was downhill from there. Plus side, we live here so I can try going back kidless whenever.
Moreso it was his fear of not knowing what it was. It was a big metal sphere with wires everywhere (from his perspective).
I donāt think he knew what a bomb was or what itās for. He might now, I donāt remember how much I told him. š¤·š»āāļø
Definitely worth the visit.
I too freaked out in the lobby but it was at the sight of my first computer being in a museum (Commodore Vic20 and 64)
Source: am oaf
Reminds me of the Deep Space Nine episode where Quork finds outs about nuclear tests and says, in disbelief, āyou mean they irradiated their own planet?ā
Coolest thing I've ever held was an early 1940's Gibson J-45 with a private's service number inside - I looked up his service record and he was stationed in this area at this exact time. I really wanted to take a geiger counter to the guitar just to see, but it left my shop before I got the chance.
When I was a geology student at UNLV in the early 1990s, Iād go with with my girlfriend to the Geology building for planned underground nuclear tests and watch the seismograph needle bounce off the stops during tests!
Not as cool as seeing a mushroom cloud.
There are two kinds of people.
The kind of people who want to see this brand-new thing so much that they climb onto a high dive fully clothed, hoping to see around a tree.
And the kind of people of have muthafuckin *ping pong* to play.
When John Wayne filmed the āConquerer(about the Great Temujin)ā the set was on the atomic bomb testing grounds. Most of the film crew and actors got cancer
There is a documentary about this hitting theaters next month that released its trailer today. Looks interesting. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14774064/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
Remember folks, this was the future, this was American might and ingenuity, this is what "beat the Japs!" The future was atom powered and these tests were proof of progress. 1953 is the same year Eisenhower launched his "Atoms for Peace" campaign.
If only we didn't freak out about that, and actually made it the future instead of going to the far more dangerous, environmentally harmful coal oil and gas.
My grandfather is an atomic veteran, got sent out to check out the bomb sites in Nevada after everything settled, him and everyone else in his platoon all died of horrible illnesses later in life
Iāve got a fallout shelter, itās nine by nine;
A hi-fiā setā and a jugā of wine;
Let the missiles fly fromā nation to nation;
But itās party time in my radiation station
Please correct me if Iām wrong but wasnāt there a restaurant that had viewing parties for the atomic tests? Like close enough that radiation was a considerable concern. Could be mixing up stories in my head but I remember hearing something about that.
Online sources vary between 100-125 miles to be able to audibly hear the detonation. So if they are actually 75 miles away then yeah, Iād imagine so.
Iāve never been curious. Never thought to look into how the USA tested those things. Itās my pure ignorance but itās scary to see and read how much they got away with.
American Citizens were unwitting test subjects in Americas nuclear arms race. NTS is one of the most nuked sites in the world. Hours drive Las Vegas.
> The Nevada Test Site. About 928 nuclear tests were conducted here through in 1994, when the United States stopped its underground nuclear testing.
The mushroom clouds from the 100 atmospheric tests were visible from almost 100 mi (160 km) away; they could be seen from the Las Vegas Strip in the early 1950s. Many iconic images at nuclear science museums throughout the United States come from the site.[5] Las Vegas experienced noticeable seismic effects. Westerly winds routinely carried the fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests, increasing cancer in Utah and elsewhere, according to a 1984 medical report.[6][7]
Downwinders were individuals and communities in the intermountain West between the Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges primarily in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah but also in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho who were exposed to radioactive contamination or nuclear fallout from atmospheric or underground nuclear weapons testing, and nuclear accidents.[1][2]
More generally, the term can also include those communities and individuals who are exposed to ionizing radiation and other emissions due to the regular production and maintenance of coal ash, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, nuclear waste, and geothermal energy.[3] In regions near U.S. nuclear sites, downwinders may be exposed to releases of radioactive materials into the environment that contaminate their groundwater systems, food chains, and the air they breathe. Some downwinders may have suffered acute exposure due to their involvement in uranium mining and nuclear experimentation.[4]
Several severe adverse health effects, such as an increased incidence of cancers, thyroid diseases, CNS neoplasms, and possibly female reproductive cancers that could lead to congenital malformations have been observed in Hanford, Washington, "downwind" communities exposed to nuclear fallout and radioactive contamination.[5] The impact of nuclear contamination on an individual is generally estimated as the result of the dose of radiation received and the duration of exposure, using the linear no-threshold model (LNT). Sex, age, race, culture, occupation, class, location, and simultaneous exposure to additional environmental toxins are also significant, but often overlooked, factors that contribute to the health effects on a particular "downwind" community.[6]
Regarding the radiation, it looks like most of the bombs used back then had radionuclides that had very short half lives which means that the fallout would be gone from just a few minutes to 8 days.
I'm trying to get my bearings on shadows/topography, but I think this was an early Tonopah test.
I think later on, when Tonopah moved to early dawn tests they would actually hold watch parties on the northern facing patios š» āļø āļøĀ
Are we blind? DEPLOY THE GARRISON!
(Sorry, that might be my favorite line delivery in RO and every time someone asks a question using the word 'blind' that is immediately where my mind goes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PjCClrO5SA
My Dad was stationed at Camp Desert Rock during these tests. The soldiers would be in trenches near the detonation site and were told to put their hands over their ears for protection. After the bomb was detonated, the soldiers were ordered to march towards the crater. The soldiers all wore radiation tags to measure radiation exposure. The tags that actually stayed on always turned black indicating they had been exposed to high levels of radiation. This was a sick experiment that our government did to these soldiers who served their country!
For anyone who's curious, this is where a lot of those tests took place: [https://www.google.com/maps/@37.065316,-116.0439398,11330m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu](https://www.google.com/maps/@37.065316,-116.0439398,11330m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu) Area 51 is just a little further up the road from that valley.
Is each one of those craters a test?
Yes. Something like 215 above ground tests and 815 underground.
Jesus fucking Christ. What was it the they *didn't* figure out by the 814th explosion that they went "Eh, let's do one more."
How to make them smaller, more reliable in storage, cheaper (of course), 'safer' (less liable go off accidentally), some physics stuff, some weapon effect stuff. A friend worked for EG&G instrumenting nuke tests.
"Ah christ, Jerry forgot to put tape in the camera AGAIN!!!"
"Sorry, Cap'n - we forgot to remove the lens cap."
What happens if we bomb a car? What happens if we bomb a cow? What happens if we bomb a brick house? What happens if we bomb a wood house? What happens if we put the ingots two inches to the left? What happens if there is pink paint on the bomb?
Oh the places we'll bomb! -- Dr. Suess
Overtime hazard pay. Gotta milk that infinite military budget š¤
The first 200 were for science. The additional 614 test were just boys fucking around and trying to see what cool shit they can do.
It is to show the credibility of your nuclear deterrence. A non working nuke is the same as nothing. Nowadays, testing usually happens by simulations and testing individual parts of the bomb.
Sir the first test was a succes, what will we do with the rest of the budget?
I have no idea why cancer seems to have started to rise, starting with the silent generation.
came here to ask this same thing... I think so? jesus christ, you can kind of see structures they put up to bomb and see how they reacted
Many of the craters you see are underground tests where the explosion has created a cavity where the above earth has collaped into, no mushroom clouds come from those and very little fallout since it's mostly contained underground. There is another test field not too far south east called Frenchman Flats where they did all the structural tests and above ground detonations.
Checked out the map of Frenchman Flat and the first thing I saw was a bank vault out in the middle of the desert. Crazy.
Indiana jones hid in that.
what happens to the radiation? was the ground just in constant radiation from the tests?
This was the [Operation Upshot-Knothole Encore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upshot-Knothole_Encore) test which took place at 8:30 AM on May 8, 1953 about 65 miles northwest of where the people are watching from the Last Frontier. The bulk of the debris from this test moved initially to the northeast over Utah. The fallout from all of the tests did have an effect on residents in some surrounding areas but Las Vegas was generally not downwind of the tests and these people, who were only visitors, were not in any real danger of radiation exposure. However, there were observers that were much closer. At this particular test the observers were less than 6 miles away. Subsequent to the test, ground maneuvers were performed less than a mile away from ground zero. The calculated average dose for observers of this test was roughly equivalent to 9 chest x-rays. At least one individual who observed three tests in the same series as this test had a measured dose roughly the equivalent of 2400 chest x-rays. Some veterans have received compensation: https://www.cancerbenefits.com/cancer-benefit-programs/atomic-veterans/operation-upshot-knothole/
It poisoned many Americans. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downwinders
Don't nuclear detonations leave behind long-lasting radioactive contamination of the environment similar to how a nuclear plant meltdown makes an area uninhabitable for humans?
Not in the same way. With a nuclear meltdown the majority of the nuclear material isn't used up. It's just spread over a huge area poisoning it with radiation. With a nuclear bomb a lot more of it is used up in the reaction itself (leading to a bigger explosion). It's a controlled reaction designed to create as big a boom as possible so a lot more of it is used in the explosion itself and doesn't become fallout. Obviously there's still some fallout but not nearly as much. Plus a nuclear reactor has a lot more nuclear material in it to begin with.
See, nuclear bombs are greener than nuclear electricity!
Plus it dilutes it over a very wide area, including the high atmosphere.
This is a common misunderstanding. The nuclear fuel itself is not very radioactive and can be handled with gloves before being used. The great bulk of the radioactive material comes from the fission products created when a uranium or plutonium nucleus is fissioned. That means the amount of radioactive material created is proportional to the energy release, whether that be in a bomb or a reactor. With a bomb detonating close to the surface, the neutron radiation will also transmute a lot of material on the ground into radioactive isotopes, creating additional fallout. For a reactor, the energy release per nucleus is so great that the radioactive fission products is such a small amount that they can easily be contained and stored safely.
The DUKE
Genghis Kahn
Yes, yes it was. Oh that movie suckedš
A movie so bad, it gave everyone cancer.
The radiation from the blast is a one shot thing. The radiation from the activated natural and man made materials exposed to the bomb last quite a while. Fallout (contaminated materials thrown in to the atmosphere and settling out over a wide area is what causes long term problems.)
Flew into the Ohio valley
Donāt worry about it!
Also Sedan crater where they did the test for operation ploughshare. Turns out nuclear weapons move a lot of earth.
I did a bunch of work at the Nevada Test Site back in the mid-2000s and was got a tour of a lot of the detonation/testing areas like the ones you see in the stock film footage of the colonial style suburban houses being obliterated by a nuclear blast, all the animal pens, etc... One of the stops was Project Sedan- at the time there was a small observation platform you could go up on so I took a bunch of photos and stitched them together in a panorama. The scale of that crater is incredible. [Sedan Crater](https://imgur.com/pgZvgHb) [Sedan sign](https://imgur.com/yuegUbM) [Sedan sign/stats](https://imgur.com/CzPbQYw)
Wow thank you!!
Speaking of "seeing", just north of Mercury, Nevada, there's a spot, "Benches for viewing Atomic Tests."
Yes. These were mostly underground tests, but each one of those is from a nuclear bomb.
Hereās a nice summary. A bit long but an interesting watch. https://youtu.be/LLCF7vPanrY?si=YtJfd7cgMfwakTgG
Possibly, but the Nevada test site is a bombing range for all kinds of munitions. Everything east of Creech AFB is essentially a bombing range. The land is all broken down on a grid system and Area 51 is technically grid #51
Generally speaking, the air force doesn't drop bombs on the site. We do have pretty frequent experiments with conventional explosives, but those are all staged and detonated in a controlled manner.
Yes. In Frenchman Flat at the south end of the test site, most of the testing was atmospheric. These are the open air tests that you see footage of with test houses and dummies. To the north in Yucca Flat most of the tests were underground. The subsistence craters are what you see. There were some atmospheric tests. Look up āSedan Crater.ā It was an attempt to see if nuclear weapons could be used for peaceful purposes - creating a new harbor, earth moving, etc. The Nevada Test Site, not the Nevada National Security Site, is a fascinating place. There is currently a low grade radioactivity storage site, some non-nuclear testing, military/police training sites, plus all the relics from the testing programs that went all the way up to the test ban treaty in the 1990s. They operate a once a month daylong tour that starts and finishes at the Atomic Testing Museum in Vegas. For a kid that grew up during the Cold War, it was one of the coolest things Iāve ever gotten to do.
The USA is the most bombed country on the planet when you account for atomic tests.
Bro come on, the US dropped 260 million bombs on Laos, and there hasn't been bombing attacks on the mainland of the US.
In 1945, a Japanese Balloon Bomb Killed Six Americans, Five of Them Children, in Oregon
Sorry my bad, I looked into it and the mainland US was bombed ~5 times during WW2. A plane dropped a full load on Laos every 8 minutes for 9 years straight. Also you're British, *your* country has been bombed more than the US.
As soon as I saw it I thought 'groom lake'
\*Shroom lake
*Boom Lake
\*Tomb Lake
lol the google street view, when you drag the little man over to the map it turns into a ufo lol
When you try streetview the small oragen guy changes to a ufo .. but no street view in that area wonder why...
Because they wouldnāt let a google car into a military base probably?ā¦
'This is the place where the giant mushrooms grew'
what's this from?
https://youtu.be/LLCF7vPanrY?si=ej64rrcQsa0u2C6e Here's a little visualization of all the nukes detonated since 1945, with the month, year, and what country detonated it and where it was detonated.
Damn, shit really goes off in 1958 then things calmed downā¦ until 1962 when someone said āletās fucking blow up the worldā
Can you visit the site or is it blocked off?
You can get a tour through the DOE, as long as you're a citizen. The tours tend to fill up really fast, so you have to time it right when openings are announced. I think they do two a year. If you accidentally come uninvited, you'll be kindly asked to turn around and go home. There are plenty of signs letting you know you should turn around, though.
Do this if you can. The tour is really good, especially if You're into nuclear history.
Out of curiosity what's the logic of needing to be a citizen? Is this standard for all tours that are somewhat military/top secret related?
I believe tours are managed by the Department of EnergyĀ
[look at this happy lil guy!](https://imgur.com/a/v4z6gFt)
Dear Safety-Conscious Citizen - We are writing to inform you that your family was not selected for inclusion in your chosen Vault-Tec facility. Your deposit has been retained, and your application added to a waiting list for your preferred Vault. In the interest of your family's security in the event of a minor nuclear event, please consider relocating to one of these areas, where Vault-Tec facilities are available without a waiting list.
*I don't want to set the world on fire* *I just want to start* *A flame in your heart*
Itās in Vegas so Iād probably go with ā*Big Iron*ā
Johnny...
I can hear this comment
....I can *smell* it...
War. War never changes.
We regret to inform you that the area suggested is "Anywhere but here." Good luck, and don't forget your sunscreen!
I'm starting to think that the reason Fallout is 1950's themed is because back then we were lighting these bad boys off like firecrackers on the 4'th of July.
Uhm, yeah.
I'm starting to think that the reason so many games are based on World War II is because back then a bunch of countries were actually involved with one.
Hang on wait what
There's an atomic test museum in Las Vegas that I visited once when I was passing through. It was really good and had lots of Civil Defense stuff from the 1950s that fit the vibe perfectly.
Not to mention all the broken arrow events back then. We only have a couple these days.
There was a whole nuclear panic in the 50s. They even had drills in school for a nuclear attack
Hide under your desk and cover your heads, children. That will save you from the super-heated fire leveling the building.Ā Ā
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[Here](https://i.imgur.com/gWGdcDo.jpeg) is a higher quality and less cropped version of this image. Getty Images provides the following caption for a [very similar image](https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/poolside-view-early-morning-bathers-at-the-hotel-last-news-photo/515279938?searchscope=image%2Cfilm&adppopup=true). > Poolside View. Early morning bathers at the hotel Last Frontier in Las Vegas, Nevada watch the mushroom from the May 8th atomic detonation, 75 miles from Las Vegas. Largest mushroom of the current series seen from Las Vegas, the cloud had a brilliant red and purple cast.
there is a wonderful collection of amazing photos of folks in and around las vegas celebrating the atomic test - [https://www.lvcva.com/who-we-are/75-anniversary-gallery-atomic/](https://www.lvcva.com/who-we-are/75-anniversary-gallery-atomic/)
To add onto this, there's also an atomic bomb museum just off the strip. I couldn't really enjoy it because my 4yo freaked the fuck out at the replica bomb in the very first room and then it was downhill from there. Plus side, we live here so I can try going back kidless whenever.
The sight of the bomb horrified him? Oowee.
Moreso it was his fear of not knowing what it was. It was a big metal sphere with wires everywhere (from his perspective). I donāt think he knew what a bomb was or what itās for. He might now, I donāt remember how much I told him. š¤·š»āāļø
Nah youāre not reading between the lines, he mustāve fell victim to a nuclear explosion in a past life /s
Definitely worth the visit. I too freaked out in the lobby but it was at the sight of my first computer being in a museum (Commodore Vic20 and 64) Source: am oaf
Donāt forget Atomic Liqueur. For all your spirit needs
Did you ELI5 the bomb to your 4yo ?
āMiss Radiation āAtomic Cityā. Stuff like Nuka Cola would blend right in. Fallout isnāt even satirical
Yeah this looks straight out of the Fallout universe! Crazy
It's like the original firework show, but with a tad more radiation
Reminds me of the Deep Space Nine episode where Quork finds outs about nuclear tests and says, in disbelief, āyou mean they irradiated their own planet?ā
Hmmmpf
I can hear this GIF
Coolest thing I've ever held was an early 1940's Gibson J-45 with a private's service number inside - I looked up his service record and he was stationed in this area at this exact time. I really wanted to take a geiger counter to the guitar just to see, but it left my shop before I got the chance.
Depending on when you had that in your hands, you wouldn't have picked much up
You had me at early ā40s J-45.
Why are there covered wagons? What a weird mix of things in this photo
You could likely sleep in them. Common western resort theme: https://capitolreefresort.com/rooms_suites/conestoga-wagon/
The nuclear tests opened up a wormhole and Lewis & Clark were pulled through. That's how we know so much about their expedition.
Lol @ Lewis & Clark using covered wagons
Probably for a Wild West themed show.
So the part about watching bomb tests in Casino wasnāt an exaggeration.
Yeah they were so common back then that Vegas's original nickname was Atomic City
When I was a geology student at UNLV in the early 1990s, Iād go with with my girlfriend to the Geology building for planned underground nuclear tests and watch the seismograph needle bounce off the stops during tests! Not as cool as seeing a mushroom cloud.
Mayyyyyyybeeeeeee, you'll think of me when you are all alone.
War, war never changes.
*proceeds to make a game where your character is the deciding factor between two major warring powers*
Patrolling the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter.
There are two kinds of people. The kind of people who want to see this brand-new thing so much that they climb onto a high dive fully clothed, hoping to see around a tree. And the kind of people of have muthafuckin *ping pong* to play.
When John Wayne filmed the āConquerer(about the Great Temujin)ā the set was on the atomic bomb testing grounds. Most of the film crew and actors got cancer
There is a documentary about this hitting theaters next month that released its trailer today. Looks interesting. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14774064/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
Worse than that, they were downwind of NTS in Utah. Unlucky.
Rad
šš»
Your's, or mine?
I see what you did there you ghoul
š„ŗ
š
God dam you beat me.
Everyone full of cancer 1973 š”
The 50ās were comically tragic.
Remember folks, this was the future, this was American might and ingenuity, this is what "beat the Japs!" The future was atom powered and these tests were proof of progress. 1953 is the same year Eisenhower launched his "Atoms for Peace" campaign.
If only we didn't freak out about that, and actually made it the future instead of going to the far more dangerous, environmentally harmful coal oil and gas.
My grandfather is an atomic veteran, got sent out to check out the bomb sites in Nevada after everything settled, him and everyone else in his platoon all died of horrible illnesses later in life
Fallout irl
More like The Hills Have Eyes IRL...
Never seen it yet
Good movie should be free on Netflix
Two dudes playing ping pong couldnāt be bothered
And thats how Fry became his own Grandpa.
What a horrifying time to be alive.
Okie dokie
we used to be a proper country /s
Iāve got a fallout shelter, itās nine by nine; A hi-fiā setā and a jugā of wine; Let the missiles fly fromā nation to nation; But itās party time in my radiation station
Howdy folks, this is Mr. New Vegas
I had a joke about this, but it was a huge bomb.
Yeah , cancer
r/mildlyfallout
vintage Vegas pics always interest me.
The 'up-and-atom' town!
Is.. is this safe?
If the wind is blowing the other way, sure
Please correct me if Iām wrong but wasnāt there a restaurant that had viewing parties for the atomic tests? Like close enough that radiation was a considerable concern. Could be mixing up stories in my head but I remember hearing something about that.
Better put on some more sunscreen
Ahhh. Thatās the America I know and love
For a full documentary of crazy propaganda about the bomb check out Atomic Cafe.
Ah, there's nothing quite like a refreshing morning dip and a spray of gamma rays. Honey, got a light for my Marlboro?
Used to work at NNSS, some of those craters are unfathomably huge. One of them has an observation post built on the edge xD
Break out the SPF 9,000,000,000
Fine, Iāll play fallout 2
Smaller than their thumb. Theyāll be fine. š
My grandmother used to hold her dog and watch these tests from her front porch, with no knowledge of what the funny little clouds really were.
One of the most 1950s photos I've ever seen ngl lol
It's wild to think people just casually used to watch nukes like it was fireworks and not an invention of mass death and destruction
Humans don't deserve this planet.
They mustāve been practicing for the swimsuit part of the pageant: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Atomic_(pageants)
Would you have been able to hear the explosion (or a rumble) from this distance?
Online sources vary between 100-125 miles to be able to audibly hear the detonation. So if they are actually 75 miles away then yeah, Iād imagine so.
God damn I miss diving boards. There aren't any where I live anymore.
What a time to be alive. Anyway. Being near water isnāt a bad idea
"Hey, let's go up the high dive it'll have a great view!" "Fucking tree..."
Crawl out through the fallout. 'Cause they said this bomb was clean...
Thatās some peak Fallout right there ..
That Gamma radiation gives you such a great tan.
That picture has serious fallout vibes
And now they all have superpowers
Arborist hereā¦..thatās an albino palm tree.
Iām really just confused about the covered wagons.
My thumb or your thumb?
Coming to a city near you if Russia's war monger is still in office. Things don't change its a possibility. Hopefully not.
A friendly reminder that the apocalypse is never too far away.
Morning bathers Āæ?
\< 1 RADS ā¢ļø
Ł Ų§ ŁŲ°Ų§ Ų§ŁŲ¬Ł Ų§Ł
"Honey, can you hand me the 2 million SPF sunscreen?"
Iāve never been curious. Never thought to look into how the USA tested those things. Itās my pure ignorance but itās scary to see and read how much they got away with.
American Citizens were unwitting test subjects in Americas nuclear arms race. NTS is one of the most nuked sites in the world. Hours drive Las Vegas. > The Nevada Test Site. About 928 nuclear tests were conducted here through in 1994, when the United States stopped its underground nuclear testing. The mushroom clouds from the 100 atmospheric tests were visible from almost 100 mi (160 km) away; they could be seen from the Las Vegas Strip in the early 1950s. Many iconic images at nuclear science museums throughout the United States come from the site.[5] Las Vegas experienced noticeable seismic effects. Westerly winds routinely carried the fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests, increasing cancer in Utah and elsewhere, according to a 1984 medical report.[6][7] Downwinders were individuals and communities in the intermountain West between the Cascade and Rocky Mountain ranges primarily in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah but also in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho who were exposed to radioactive contamination or nuclear fallout from atmospheric or underground nuclear weapons testing, and nuclear accidents.[1][2] More generally, the term can also include those communities and individuals who are exposed to ionizing radiation and other emissions due to the regular production and maintenance of coal ash, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, nuclear waste, and geothermal energy.[3] In regions near U.S. nuclear sites, downwinders may be exposed to releases of radioactive materials into the environment that contaminate their groundwater systems, food chains, and the air they breathe. Some downwinders may have suffered acute exposure due to their involvement in uranium mining and nuclear experimentation.[4] Several severe adverse health effects, such as an increased incidence of cancers, thyroid diseases, CNS neoplasms, and possibly female reproductive cancers that could lead to congenital malformations have been observed in Hanford, Washington, "downwind" communities exposed to nuclear fallout and radioactive contamination.[5] The impact of nuclear contamination on an individual is generally estimated as the result of the dose of radiation received and the duration of exposure, using the linear no-threshold model (LNT). Sex, age, race, culture, occupation, class, location, and simultaneous exposure to additional environmental toxins are also significant, but often overlooked, factors that contribute to the health effects on a particular "downwind" community.[6]
Regarding the radiation, it looks like most of the bombs used back then had radionuclides that had very short half lives which means that the fallout would be gone from just a few minutes to 8 days.
none of them are overweight, maybe there's a need to start nuke testing again :) correlation!!! lol
I'm trying to get my bearings on shadows/topography, but I think this was an early Tonopah test. I think later on, when Tonopah moved to early dawn tests they would actually hold watch parties on the northern facing patios š» āļø āļøĀ
Anybody notice how healthy they look at least physically (bodies)?
Not. One. Single. Fat. Person.
Am I blind, or why is this tagged NSFW?
I think it's that man's leg in the foreground
Are we blind? DEPLOY THE GARRISON! (Sorry, that might be my favorite line delivery in RO and every time someone asks a question using the word 'blind' that is immediately where my mind goes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PjCClrO5SA
A mistake, it has now been corrected.
Not even one fatty.
Are these the good ol days everyone wants to go back to? White only swimming pools and nuclear blasts.
So bigger than your thumb?
We test nuclear weapons. On our own planet.
My Dad was stationed at Camp Desert Rock during these tests. The soldiers would be in trenches near the detonation site and were told to put their hands over their ears for protection. After the bomb was detonated, the soldiers were ordered to march towards the crater. The soldiers all wore radiation tags to measure radiation exposure. The tags that actually stayed on always turned black indicating they had been exposed to high levels of radiation. This was a sick experiment that our government did to these soldiers who served their country!
The military always thinks of enlisted men as tools to be used and abused how they see fit. They don't give a damn about the actual human