When a nuclear apocalypse comes calling, the first thing most of us will yearn for is a drink. And thanks to our government’s foresight and willingness to bomb stuff, you can rest assured that the surviving cans of PBR and Bud Light found in your now flattened local 7-Eleven will be safe to chug.
This is actually no joke. Alex Wellerstein, an American Institute of Physics science historian who also runs a blog about nuclear secrets, recently posted some old government documents and photos from “Operation Teapot.”
The subtitle to this 1955 report (PDF) on the experiment undertaken at the Nevada Test Site says it all: “The effect of nuclear explosions on commercially packaged beverages.”
The idea was to try and figure out how non-zombie residents of a post-apocalyptic society might find safe fluids to drink. The always readily available shelves of soda and beer seemed like the best option, but would they be safe to drink after a nuclear blast?
Continues at news.cnet.com
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