Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/02/05/nuclear-missile-in-garage.html
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I haven’t had my coffee yet, and read the headline as “Man attempted to detonate nuclear missile…”
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Hardly seems fair to call it a nuclear missile if there’s no warhead, surely? I’m guessing it didn’t have fuel, either.
You can’t even say it’s a useful prop for re-enacting Dr. Strangelove.
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Everybody should have a hobby.
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Wow, brains are amazing. I haven’t seen that episode since it aired (I am one thousand years old), but the thumbnail had barely even flashed on the screen and I could hear “TAKE THAT, Maynard G. Krebs!” in my head.
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Merely the notion of “air-to-air nuclear missile” reinforces my belief that my grandparents’ generation was insane as a result of trauma from international wars during their lives.
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To be fair, it’s not as if the US hasn’t lost any nuclear warheads so no telling where they might show up.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220804-the-lost-nuclear-bombs-that-no-one-can-find
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Sign of how crazy the times are right now:
I first misread the title as “Detonate” instead of Donate; and I was still only mildly alarmed…
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Who knows. You’d hope that the bomb squad would check for that but plenty of local bomb squads have made boneheaded mistakes so maybe they just assumed it was perfectly safe as long as no warhead was installed.
This type of missile uses a solid fuel propellant. I definitely hope they knew how to check for that.
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Sometimes the “Sold Seperately” disclaimer can be a blessing instead of a letdown.
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Well, “attempted” is reassuring.
ETA: More reassuring that “succeeded at”, anyway.
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I suppose.
I am so very weary…
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I’m mildly surprised that the Bellevue PD didn’t confiscate it for refurbishment and addition to their “To Serve and Protect (and Annihilate)” arsenal.
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Not now, at least.
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It’s really, really hard to make a missile that can hit a fast-moving target like an ICBM or a fighter jet or even a high-speed bomber, especially when you’re working with late-1950s technology. But strap a nuke on it and you’ve only got to get it in the same general neighborhood…
(Yes, still insane)
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Made me think of this documentary about the people who survive off stealing scrap metal from US military test/training areas and selling it for the scrap value.
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Air to Air nuclear missile? When you absolutely need to take that other plane out?
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Did you see Dr Strangelove? That missile that nearly took out the B-52 was nuclear. It detonated at 1 mile distance. Would have worked out better for everyone if it had succeeded.
I used to work with a former B-52 co-pilot. He told me that bombers had opaque curtains to cover the windows when entering a situation where someone might shoot a nuclear missile at them. There was a small patch that the co-pilot could lift up to look out with one eye. They called it the “tomato patch” because you wouldn’t have much of an eye left if you were looking out of it at the wrong time.
Edit to add: turns out you can buy your very own curtain from a B-52 for just $45.
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Perfect thing to adorn the windows of your Love Shack.
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