Yesterday’s post featured a colorful shot of the sun rising over Frenchman Mountain just east of Las Vegas, Nevada. The funny story about this mountain is it is named for Paul Watelet, an immigrant miner who was actually from Belgium. Strangely perhaps, to me the photo could be mistaken for the flash of a distant thermonuclear explosion.
In fact, Las Vegas is no stranger to the sight of nuclear explosions. Between 1951 and 1962, the U.S. conducted 100 nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere over the Nevada Test Site (formerly the Las Vegas Bombing and Gunnery Range) about 65 miles (105 km) north of Las Vegas.
It is ironic that so far the only country that ever nuked the United States is the United States. We nuked ourselves over and over again with these tests. Las Vegas promoted the sight of radioactive nuclear blasts as a tourist attraction. Calendars throughout the city advertised detonation times, as well as the best viewing spots to see the blasts.
Wikipedia states:
During the 1950s, the mushroom clouds from the 100 atmospheric tests could be seen from almost 100 mi (160 km) away. The city of Las Vegas experienced noticeable seismic effects, and the mushroom clouds, which could be seen from the downtown hotels, became tourist attractions. Westerly winds routinely carried the fallout from above-ground nuclear testing directly through St. George, Utah and southern Utah. Increases in cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, bone cancer, brain tumors, and gastrointestinal tract cancers, were reported from the mid-1950s onward. A further 921 nuclear tests were carried out underground. (Citations and links omitted.)
The tests served various purposes one of which was studying the effects of nuclear fallout. Atmospheric tests were conducted even though there was already much evidence on the harmful effects of atomic radiation. No one warned the public or the troops who participated in various exercises connected with the tests.
The somewhat unusual association I made between the photo and nuclear bombs may stem from my upbringing as a member of the Cold War “duck and cover” generation. Today, school kids in the U.S. have active-shooter drills. School kids in the 1950s and 60s had duck-and-cover drills where we were told to protect ourselves from nuclear blasts by things like hiding under a desk or crouching against a wall. Good luck with that.
Funny that the sunrise photo reminded me of a nuclear explosion because it really is a photo of the result of many thermonuclear reactions. Every second the sun fuses about 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium which releases an amount of energy equivalent to 1 trillion 1 megaton bombs. Every second! The sun is a bad mf. Thank goodness that all takes place 93,000,000 miles (149,000,000 km) from Earth.
Final Thought
The Nevada Test Site is deactivated and is open to tourists. The next time I’m in Vegas I’d like to take one of the tours. Even though image recording devices such as cameras and cell phones are strictly prohibited, I think the site would be quite interesting and the Cold War connection is nostalgic.
I wonder if the memory of participating in active-shooter drills might affect today’s youth as they age.
Salsaworldtraveler'sblog 
i certainly would have that as a place I would be interested in visiting. As strange as it sounds. I’d like to visit Cernobyl too one day but that certainly wont be possible for a while and hopefully everything is stable there because I know it’s still in the middle of a program to keep it under control and I think the invasion adversely affected that
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d also love a quick visit to Chernobyl. It might be fun to see one of the Pacific islands that were used for atomic tests.
LikeLike
I remember the duck and cover drills. When we got older we derided that tuck position as “kissing your butt goodbye.”
“Today, school kids in the U.S. have active-shooter drills.”
Yes, the bomb drills are done, now replaced by the active shooter drills. I’m enraged that we’ve allowed ourselves to come to a point in which my grandchildren come home and tell me about the active-shooter drill “we did today.”
The other day, I visited my grandson’s school to return a book. There’s a steel fence that must be 15 feet high if it’s an inch. The gate is locked. The entrance to the school office is a solid steel door, locked from the inside. It’s a fortress. People new to the area often comment that the school looks like a prison.
The next step that’s being proposed is the preposterous notion of arming teachers.
We had duck and cover drills because there was a potential threat from outside our boundaries A threat that wasn’t of our own making.
Now the threat comes from inside and it’s a threat of our own making.
Excellent and informative post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the comment, Paul! I wonder how much good active shooter drills do because the shooters are often young people who themselves went through active shooter drills at the school they are attacking. I agree that arming teachers is a horrible idea. Earlier this year at the grocery store in Buffalo, NY, a single retired police officer serving as a security guard bravely did his duty and confronted the shooter. The guard died going up against a shooter with an assault rifle and body armor.
LikeLike
Wow John, not sure how I missed this. Great picture! Uncanny the only the US nuking the US 🙈
Fascinating stuff:
🌞🌟🌟🌟 I hope it doesn’t blow up my poem… lol. just wrote Dear Sol… lol 😂🌞
“Every second the sun fuses about 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium which releases an amount of energy equivalent to 1 trillion 1 megaton bombs. Every second! The sun is a bad mf. Thank goodness that all takes place 93,000,000 miles (149,000,000 km) from Earth”.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Given what was known and unknown about harmful effects of radiation, it is incredible that we exploded nuclear weapons in the air at the Nevada site 100 times.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it’s mind boggling really John! 🙈🙈🙈
LikeLiked by 1 person
I dislike not being able to take pictures at sites, but the benefit is that you are truly present and experiencing it more authentically. when I was in high school we had a false alarm where someone thought they saw someone bring a gun into the school. We all locked down and it was pretty terrifying. Unfortunately I had the same car as the suspicious person and got taken out of class and questioned. It was a nerve-racking experience for sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a great point about the benefit of not being able to take pictures. I can see how your high school experience would have been very frightening. I’m surprised they let you go. You have such a menacing appearance. 🤣 Thanks for sharing that story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is very “cool” John, so to speak. I would also be interested in touring the site if Sladja and I ever make it to Nevada. “The only country that ever nuked the United States is the United States” gave me a laugh out loud moment. Your cover shot is an impressive sunrise snap, but I do see what you mean about it having an apocalyptic quality. Really appreciated the historic insight.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The effects of radioactive fallout were much more widespread than the what was noted in the wiki quote. “Apocalyptic quality” is the term I was looking for. Thanks for your thoughts as always.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Man will never cease finding new and ever increasingly dangerous ways to annihilate themselves, while seeking to defend themselves from, enemies both real and imagined. I remember the duck and cover drills, during the Cold War, even this far North. Stay well John. Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well said, Allan. I hope our species can survive our primitive tendencies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now you’re going to make me see sunrise in another light ☺️! I don’t know the term “duck and cover”, but to hide under a school desk from a nuclear blast … how would that protect you? But then, I’m no expert anyway.
LikeLiked by 1 person
At best duck and cover might have protected us from flying glass. I’m no expert either but don’t think it would have done much to protect us from the building falling on us or the ensuing radiation sickness. Those were the times we lived in.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was fortunate to attend grade school at a converted college administration building with a fallout shelter in the lowest floor. During our school’s atomic bomb drills, we evacuated class and ran down to the basement to take cover. Good times!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Air raid drills were a nice break from the normal school day. You were lucky to have a place like that to evacuate to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t realize how unique our school’s shelter was so unique until discussing the duck and cover with people who grew up elsewhere.
LikeLike
Duck and cover, about as useful as being an Ostrich. The human race has an awful lot to answer for. Hope you don’t glow in the dark after your visit.🙈😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, me too. They say it’s safe. 😉 Thanks for checking out the post.
LikeLike
I frequently see remarks such as your “School kids in the 1950s and 60s had duck-and-cover drills where we were told to protect ourselves from nuclear blasts by things like hiding under a desk or crouching against a wall. Good luck with that.” I am always amazed that your teachers at the time didn’t explain that “duck and cover” was to save you from flying glass and other debris, when your school was hit by the blast effect of such a bomb or the flash effect.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Older kids realized that hiding under a desk might protect us from flying glass. Those who knew that also knew that a lot more than glass would be flying if our city was hit by a nuclear bomb(s) and that if we survived the blast, fallout would kill us or make us very sick. (Remember fallout shelters?) It seemed that adults didn’t want to have honest discussions with themselves much less children about the realities of nuclear war. Thank you for reading the post and adding to the discussion.
LikeLike