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Today in 1951 the Nevada National Security Site was established. Somewhat ironically named, the site was a place where nuclear bombs were tested on US soil …and citizens.
Here are some pictures that give an idea of the insanity of what things were like there:
The testing of nuclear bombs in Las Vegas area was sold as not only being perfectly safe but also good for tourism. An icon for this marketing campaign was Miss Atomic Bomb who became famous for this picture of her wearing a mushroom cloud and striking a ‘Yay for bombs!’ pose.
The campaign was very successful and tourists often excitedly watched the aftermath of bomb detonations from their Vegas hotel rooms.
That’s right…nuclear bombs…
Holy fuck amiright??
Omg.
People in the military got close up views of the bombs (bet those tourists were jealous) because they were used as test subjects.
Don’t worry the sunglasses will protect you from the…what was that thing called…oh yeah…NUCLEAR BOMB.
The effects of nuclear detonations were tested in different scenarios, like the effects on people huddling in trenches.
Sometimes it was just a photo op.
The tests were often done in a lighthearted and fun atmosphere (don’t worry soldiers, just a bit of nuclear testing no biggie). Here you can see one soldier ‘decontaminating’ another with, amazingly, a broom.
The idea was to brush off the radioactive dust that had stuck to the soldiers’ clothing. But what nobody told them was that the act of sweeping the radioactive dust only put it back in the air to be inhaled by anyone in the area and potentially contaminating people who got in contact with that broom later.
Along with testing the effects of nuclear bombs on live people there were also bizarre setups of mannequin families placed at various distances from ground zero.
This is a picture from after a blast. In the background you can see a (live) person leaning up against a truck looking through paperwork.
The story of the Nevada National Security Site is freaky as hell but even more than that it’s incredibly heartbreaking.
Not only soldiers but also many civilians who lived in the area got leukemia and other kinds of cancer from exposure to the radiation. All in the name of ‘national security’ and testing something that was already known to be dangerous.
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