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004 - Doomtown Mannequins

Curio: History, Museums, and the Things We Put in Them

05/25/18 • 59 min

It's da bomb. Shan and Jaybee launch into the nuclear age, learning all about the Nevada Test Site and the development of radioactive technology, and how it relates to a host of irradiated mannequins of the National Museum of Atomic Testing. Learn about all the weird ways people used to ingest radium! Atomize Vegans! Bleeding earballs! And the tragic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the powerful design of the Hiroshima Peace Pavilion.

It's a party mix of laughter, deep, deep horror, and sadness, on this week's Curio.

Resources:

http://www.westmuse.org/sites/westmuse.org/files/documents/WMA2014/Sessions/WMA2014_CollectionsThatKill-Notes.pdf

https://www.archaeology.org/issues/152-1411/features/2594-united-states-atomic-age-doom-town

http://time.com/3675016/nevada-a-bomb-test/

http://www.businessinsider.com/operation-doorstep-photos-2016-3#this-group-of-mannequins-is-hiding-under-the-stairs-in-a-basement-likely-to-test-if-this-was-an-effective-strategy-6

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/sep/21/building-the-atom-bomb-the-full-story-of-the-nevada-test-site

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_Test_Site#Areas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury,_Nevada

http://www.dark-tourism.com/index.php/15-countries/individual-chapters/758-nevada-nuclear-test-site

https://www.globalzero.org/blog/how-many-nukes-would-it-take-render-earth-uninhabitable

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_technology