Origin Story

Nuclear War part 1: The Unthinkable

Jun 12, 2023
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INSIGHT

Historic Fear of Nuclear War

  • Nuclear war is an existential threat that humanity has feared since before the first atomic bomb was built in 1945.
  • Cultural artifacts like films and songs during the Cold War made the fear deeply personal and widespread.
INSIGHT

Atomic Bomb Term Origin

  • The term 'atomic bomb' was coined in 1913 by H.G. Wells and originated from fiction long before scientific development.
  • Early ideas about the bomb imagined it as a superweapon that could end the world, showing the long-standing cultural fascination with such power.
ANECDOTE

Leo Szilard's Chain Reaction Epiphany

  • Leo Szilard, after reading a skeptical critique about atomic energy, had a breakthrough idea about nuclear chain reactions while walking in Bloomsbury.
  • His eccentric and persistent approach eventually led to him spearheading efforts to build the bomb in the U.S.
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