There's no shelter from a storm this bad.
Above is a photo of the underwater nuclear test codenamed Umbrella, which was part of the Hardtack series of tests conducted by the U.S. in the Pacific Proving Grounds—aka Marshall Islands—in the South Pacific. The test happened today in 1958.
A thorn in the side of the world.
The above photo shows the detonation of the Cactus nuclear device, which was set off today in 1958 on Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands, South Pacific, as part of Operation Hardtack I. Yes, there were so many nuclear tests during the ’50s and ’60s that quite a few occurred on the same day in different years. Instead of leaving a house behind Cactus left a crater 346 feet in diameter and forty feet deep. Which these days also could probably be made into an Airbnb.
This Umbrella doesn't offer much in the way of protection. This photo shows the detonation of a U.S. nuclear device codenamed Umbrella, set off on Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands as part of the Hardtack test series, and specifically designed to test radiation contamination on ships exposed to underwater nuclear blasts. The eight kiloton explosion threw a column of water 5,000 feet high, along with whatever unlucky fish, dolphins, and whales happened to be in the vicinity. Just more collateral damage in the ongoing arms race, and certainly not the last. The bomb went off today in 1958.
Just wait until she shows her face. The explosion captured in these two photos is the Nutmeg nuclear test conducted on Eneman Island, part of the Marshall Islands chain, in the South Pacific between Hawaii and the Philippines. The first shows the bomb just after detonation surrounded by what is known as a Wilson Cloud, moisture condensed out of humid air by shock waves. The second photo shows the explosion about fifteen seconds later, with the obscuring moisture burned off. These images were taken from a collection of movies declassified by the U.S. and released by the National Laboratory in March. Everyone seems much more worried about nuclear weapons of late. Well, guess what? It was never a good idea to stop worrying. News outlets always say global warming is the greatest threat to human existence. It isn't. These are. And they will be as long as they exist. The images date from today, 1958
This is one of the more famous images of a nuclear detonation, a shot of the American blast codenamed Dakota, which was part of Operation Redwing, conducted at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, today in 1956. The layered effect you see is sometimes called a Wilson cloud, and consists of water vapor condensed out of the atmosphere by rarefaction, an aftereffect of a shockwave traveling through humid air. In order to perform tests on Bikini Atoll, about 200 Micronesian inhabitants were forced to relocate. They and their descendants hope to return one day, but as of now their home is still too contaminated with radiation.
Careful now—the footing is truly treacherous. Above, two photos from today in 1955 of a superheated debris cloud over Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands of the South Pacific. It was generated by the nuclear test George, which was part of Operation Greenhouse and was the first test of a boosted fission weapon. What is a boosted fission weapon? Well, it’s more advanced than the world-threatening weapons that came before it, but not as advanced as the world-threatening weapons that came after it. Or put another way, it was a completely redundant step on a ladder to nowhere.
Photo showing the detonation of Seminole B, a 13.7 kiloton nuclear device detonated June 6, 1956 by the U.S. as part of Operation Redwing, a series of nuclear blasts on Eniwetok and Bikini Atolls, Marshall Islands, South Pacific.
Photo of the American nuclear test Baker, July 23, 1946, part of the series Operation Crossoroads, staged in the Marshall Islands, Micronesia. The test was designed to measure a nuke’s effectiveness on naval vessels (as well as about 400 live pigs and goats aboard the ships). Surprise—it was very effective.
How to snuff a wild Bikini.
Codenamed Castle Bravo, this is the explosion resulting from the first U.S. test of a dry fuel thermonuclear hydrogen bomb. It happened fifty-five years ago this month, on Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, Micronesia.
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1910—First Seaplane Takes Flight
Frenchman Henri Fabre, who had studied airplane and propeller designs and had also patented a system of flotation devices, accomplishes the first take-off from water at Martinque, France, in a plane he called Le Canard, or "the duck." 1953—Jim Thorpe Dies
American athlete Jim Thorpe, who was one of the most prolific sportsmen ever and won Olympic gold medals in the 1912 pentathlon and decathlon, played American football at the collegiate and professional levels, and also played professional baseball and basketball, dies of a heart attack. 1958—Khrushchev Becomes Premier
Nikita Khrushchev becomes premier of the Soviet Union. During his time in power he is responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, and presides over the rise of the early Soviet space program, but his many policy failures lead to him being deposed in October 1964. After his removal he is pensioned off and lives quietly the rest of his life, eventually dying of heart disease in 1971. 1997—Heaven's Gate Cult Members Found Dead
In San Diego, thirty-nine members of a cult called Heaven's Gate are found dead after committing suicide in the belief that a UFO hidden in tail of the Hale-Bopp comet was a signal that it was time to leave Earth for a higher plane of existence. The cult members killed themselves by ingesting pudding and applesauce laced with poison.
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