...MANNEQUINS AND NUCLEAR WARFARE?

1.

In 1953, the US Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) built two houses in the Nevada desert. The families living there were actually mannequins donated by American department stores.

2.

This was part of ‘Operation Doorstep’ – a test to see what the effects of a nuclear strike would be on a typical suburban home. The houses were placed 1km and 2.5km from ‘ground zero’.

3.

The 15-kiloton atomic bomb was detonated from the top of a 90m tower to replicate an airburst explosion, similar to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima eight years earlier.

4.

Damage to the mannequins showed that any aboveground occupants in either house would have been killed. But surprisingly, those mannequins sheltering in the basements were protected from the initial blast.