• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Restored footage of nuclear tests shows what would happen if towns were bombed

Home> News

Published 20:53 1 Dec 2022 GMT

Restored footage of nuclear tests shows what would happen if towns were bombed

Old footage of nuclear tests has shown what would happen if towns were bombed by a nuclear blast

Callum Jones

Callum Jones

Featured Image Credit: Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo / Smithsonian Channel

Topics: US News

Callum Jones
Callum Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

The talk of a nuclear blast happening has always been discussed, but for many, the possibility of it actually happening is outlandish.

But what would happen to our towns if were bombed? Well, this old footage might just be the best indication, and some of the results are surprising.

It comes from the 1950s, which was seen as a turning point decade, with historians often describing it as a 'boom'.

Advert

And there's no wonder it earned that name, as we'd just come off the back of a brutal second World War, and suburbs plus the economy were starting to thrive again.

One thing that was tested out in the US over the 50s was nuclear tests, particularly in the state of Nevada.

These tests were done using 'fake towns' with very normal things in them, in order to see how a standard US town would be impacted by an atomic blast.

Well, unearthed footage from the Smithsonian Channel shows footage of these tests being done nearly 70 years ago.

Advert

Above these fake towns, the Apple-2 bomb was placed on a lookout tower 1,500 feet in the sky - this was done so the expected fire blast that comes from a bomb wouldn't destroy monitoring equipment.

Technicians then built these fake towns within the blast zone, which included homes made from brick and wood, shops and petrol stations - all things you'd expect from a standard town, really.

These towns were known as 'doom towns', and some even called them 'survival towns'.

The houses in the town were placed in different distances away from the blast site, so technicians could see how houses were affected the further away you got.

Advert

To make it even more real, mannequins were placed in the houses, so they 'could see what happened to a normal average family'.

Mannequins were even placed in the towns.
Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo

They even went to the trouble of clothing these mannequins with a variety of different outfits that used different materials.

This 'typical US family' were placed in the home doing normal things - sitting at the table for dinner, kids playing with toys - with a massive blast set to hit them.

Advert

So, for the actual blast, a lot of the mannequins as you'd expect were destroyed and never to be seen again.

But it may surprise you that some of the houses actually withstood the incredible blast.

As seen in the video, a house that was reportedly 6,000 feet away from the blast site survived.

As explained by Darwin Morgan, Director of Public Affairs at the Nevada National Security Site, the houses are initially bombarded by the heat.

Advert

Many houses in the fake town withstood the blast.
World History Archive / Alamy Stock Photo

In this house, the chimney was shifted around six inches and all the windows were blown out - but aside from that, it was still standing.

Oh, and let's not forget the mannequins - RIP.

Anyway, other houses that were closer to the blast were not so lucky, with one shown on the video exploding within seconds of the blast.

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
12 hours ago
  • 11 hours ago

    Man who beheaded his father and posted footage online reveals shocking reason why he did it during trial

    Justin Mohn brutally executed his father and posted the harrowing footage on YouTube

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    Expert urges people to never sleep with fan on and explains how it could impact your health

    I know it might be tempting, but don't do it!

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Woman, 19, diagnosed with neurological disorder after doctors dismissed her symptoms as ‘just anxiety’

    An Australian had a health scare which confirmed to her that she wasn't just suffering from anxiety

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Trump names new head of NASA as MTV reality star who did striptease in hotel room

    The former TV star was caught on camera performing a raunchy dance

    News
  • Shocking simulation shows what would happen if the 'biggest nuclear bomb' went off in New York City
  • Where Donald Trump will go if nuclear war broke out amid WW3 fears
  • Apocalyptic video shows what would happen if a needle hit Earth at the speed of light
  • What to do in the first 10 minutes if US is hit with nuclear bomb as WW3 fears grow