The rise of nuclear fear

[BNC Moderator]

The Historic Roots, and Impacts, of Our Nuclear Fear
From Radium Toothpaste to 'Doomsday Itself'
Review of the new book by Spencer R. Weart "The rise of nuclear fear"
Opinions please.

[jasonk]

I'm not old enough to have experienced the cold war. I'm also not afraid of dying in a nuclear explosion tomorrow. As a kid radiation was what turned you into a super hero or made your spaceship go faster than the speed of light.

Will have to check it out and see what he has to say about generational differences in fear level.

[eclipse]

"As a kid radiation was what turned you into a super hero or made your spaceship go faster than the speed of light."
Ha ha! I love this quote. After all, it was Gamma Radiation + Supersoldier medicine that produced the Hulk. (When all they really wanted was another Captain America). Then there's "Radioactive Man" from the Simpsons. Martin Prince reads the first ever Radioactive Man comic with Bart and says something like "But normally *that* amount of radiation would just kill a man?" and Bart just sulks "Hey, what do YOU know about super heroes". (Or something like it).

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