The Unintended Consequences of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing in the 1950’s!
By Professor J. Robert Hopnoodle
On the whole, most scientists were gravely concerned about the atmospheric nuclear tests conducted by all of the nuclear superpowers in the 1950’s and early 1960’s. The attention focused on fairly pedestrian issues like random radioactive fallout raining down on cities across the globe, unpredictable and possibly irreversible damage to the environment and Strontium 90 in the milk babies were drinking. There were completely unexpected consequences to this testing as well.
First, the high levels of radiation spawned several famous cases of genetic mutations. In 1954, the world was shocked when the initial atomic tests in the New Mexico desert generated an army of colossal ants that, among other things, infested the sewer system beneath the city of Los Angeles. The movie Them documented what a close call that event was. Had it not been for the destruction of the queen and her eggs, the world faced certain ant-driven Armageddon. And who can forget the incident in 1957 when grasshoppers were fed radioactive food stuffs at an experimental farm in Illinois. As we saw in the shocking film The Beginning of the End, the only thing that saved us that time were the brilliant scientists who tricked the grasshoppers into swarming into Lake Michigan and drowning. The results of high doses of radiation on humans are impossible to forecast. Witness the unabated growth demonstrated in The Attack of the 50 Ft. Man versus what happened to Dr Scott Carey in The Incredible Shrinking Man. The regular appearances of Godzilla in Japan also prove that ghastly genetic mutations know no national boundaries. Worldwide vigilance continues to be essential to this day.
The second unanticipated consequence of above-ground nuclear tests was the appeal it held to aliens from outer space. In fact, the Earth became a virtual Grand Central Station for visitors from across the galaxy. Whether it was Klaatu and Gort making the Earth stand still in 1951, Eros and Tanna attempting to initiate Plan 9 From Outer Space in 1959 or the unnamed hordes we learned of in 1957’s Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, extraterrestrial beings visited Earth with grave concern and often hostile intentions. However, thanks to the scientific genius of humans, many alien visitors left somewhat happy and satisfied. Unless of course we somehow managed to destroy them first. Despite the signing of the nuclear test ban treaty in 1963, alien visits to Earth continue to this very day. As the reporter Scotty Spencer radioed the world after assisting the air force fry The Thing From Another World in 1951 . . . “Watch the skies!”
Professor J. Robert Hopnoodle is Professor Emeritus at University of Phoenix Offline and is a regular contributor to Flashlight Theater.
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