With a possible nuclear war looming over the world right now, I thought it would be kinda fun to look back at something my parents remember a whole lot more than me (because, well...I wasn't really around yet). You see, back in the 1950s, people were pretty dumb (I guess not everything has changed), and they thought that there were steps you could take to survive the destruction of an atomic explosion if it dropped right next door. These "rules" pretty much stuck for another decade or so before people finally realized just how asinine the entire thing was. I've taken the liberty to post the instructions that millions of Americans were bombarded with through filmstrips and public service announcements on a nearly daily basis during the beginning of the Cold War.
PROTECTION IS POSSIBLE
- When the sky pales and the blinding light of a hundred suns is everywhere, you will have less than a second to protect yourself -- approximately the time it takes to say "Atomic Bomb" out loud.
- Instinct will tell you to look. Conquering that instinct may mean the differences between life and death. If you turn to see the bomb, radiation may blind you permanently. The heat flash will catch you full in the face, burning horribly if you are within two miles of ground zero. Don't look. Drop. Curl up in a ball as you hit the ground. Put your hands (and arms, if they are bare) against your stomach, and duck your face into your chest. If you can shade all exposed areas of your skin, you are far less liable to be burned.
- Stay in a ball for ten seconds. Both the heat and the blast wave will pass over you in that time. Then, if you can, stand up. You will be among the survivors -- provided you can move fast enough to avoid falling rubble and fire.
- If the explosion catches you one step from a tree-trunk or doorway, you can take that step and crouch with your back to the light. But if a possible shelter is two or three or four steps away, don't try to make it. You won't have time.
- After the crucial ten seconds, the fronts of brick buildings may be crashing into the street. Your safest move will be to press yourself tightly against the nearest wall -- preferably the wall of a concrete building, for concrete will not strip away like brick. In this position, also, cornices and broken glass from above will fall out beyond you.
- Should the giant flash come when you are indoors, dive for the floor with your back to the window and crawl beneath or behind the nearest table, desk or counter. Anything between you and the window will stop not only the heat rays but also the jagged bullets of broken glass. The blast will be followed by wind of hurricane force; stay away from all windows for at least a minute. The safest place inside any building will be near the interior partitions. Keep as close to these as possible.
Who needs missile defense systems when you've got a wooden desk to hide under?
