Duck And Cover (1951) Bert The Turtle
Nuclear Vault1 HN recommenders · 2013–2022
4.9M views · other · evergreen · Uploaded 2009-07-12
The 1951 US civil defense film 'Duck and Cover', starring Bert the Turtle, which taught schoolchildren to drop and shield themselves during a nuclear attack. It was shown to millions of children and is preserved in the National Film Registry.
HN uses it as an example of Cold War fear and persuasion, with some defending the advice as sensible against blast debris and others mocking it.
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7 comments from Hacker News
This so reminds me of the "Duck and Cover" Films ( [VIDEO] ). And imho it seems as futile as these. I will not go down the route, as to discuss the right to own an carry guns... as this is just as futile.
AND WHILE I'M HERE TALKING ABOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS SYSTEMS and understandings thereof, allow me to rant about one of the most misunderstood videos of all time, Bert the Turtle ("duck and cover") -- [VIDEO] -- Witness the crowds of people saying "lol but nuclear bomb! you're already dead!" Well, maybe you're right and you're already dead, but IF YOU'RE NOT DEAD YET then there's going to be a BIG BLAST WAVE OF DEBRIS heading your way IN A MATTER OF SECONDS, so you'd better look for some shelter, pronto. And get away from any windows, too, or you'll end up like those poor people watching the Chelyabinsk meteor, getting LACERATED by flying glass.
Fear, like Sex, is a foundational human motivator that has been shown to persuade people to buy things. I don't believe there is anything new going on now. [VIDEO]
What philosophy do you think drove the production of these videos, if people didn't think nuclear war affecting them and their children was a real possibility? [VIDEO]
Today, the 1950's era "Duck and Cover" drills [1] are sometimes laughed at. However, in the event of an actual nuclear blast, some simple preparation would save lives. When a bright flash lights up the sky, people indoors will naturally run to the nearest window to see what happened. This is the wrong thing to do, because the bright flash of an explosion is followed a few seconds later by a pressure wave, turning the window glass into a fast-moving cloud of shrapnel. Just getting under a desk or table away from any windows improves your chances of survival. The advice is useful even if the flash is not caused by a nuclear weapon. Most of the injuries from the Chelyabinsk meteor [2] in 2013 were caused by window shrapnel. [1] [VIDEO] [2] [LINK]
That came later iirc - initially they were thinking of using them prior to running infantry in. I think there are old public test videos where they actually did this kind of thing. I also recall a group of scientists trying to elevate the understanding of the e-risk (pugwash conference?). Basically people were becoming too comfortable with the idea of nuclear war because they knew how to “duck and cover” and had a little bomb shelter in the yard. See this: [VIDEO] Dr. Strangelove is also worth watching for a satirical take from that time.
Duck and cover; still laughable after all these years: [VIDEO] "Fallout" is far more useful than current covid information sites. It's sad how far the US gov't has fallen in 70 years: [LINK] Remember: In case of nuclear blast, stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye!