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

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'.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.