I'm a sucker for history. Yesterday marked the 58th anniversary of the detonation of the very first hydrogen bomb. Back in 1952, the United States detonated "Ivy Mike" off of the remote Marshall Islands in the Pacific. Though the US had tested and deployed atomic bombs in World War II, Ivy Mike was the first true hydrogen bomb. The mushroom cloud, seen above, rose to 57,000 feet in a mere 90 seconds, eventually peaking at 120,000 feet. Half an hour after the detonation, the mushroom covered an expanse 60 miles wide.In other history making news, today is Election Day. Regardless of what party you support, I think you should get out and vote. We are lucky to have the freedom to elect our government officials.
- Joel
1 comment:
the islands affected by that bomb are still uninhabitable today... villagers were relocated never to be able to return home, and in that and other subsequent tests in the south pacific, hundreds of people were exposed to unthinkable amounts of radioactive fallout producing massive amounts of radiation poisoning for the island natives and US military personnel alike.
in fact, the Nuclear Defense Agency called the bomb dropped on the Bikini islands on March 1 of 1954 "the worst single incident of fallout exposures in all the U.S. testing program"
you can read more about it... it's really horrific stuff.
happy voting.
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