Thread: Are you prepared?

I am a 31 year old European. I've never consciously lived in a time when Russian attack seemed likely. My generation hasn't had any training in 'what to do when $SUPERPOWER attacks.

I grew up at the very end of that! We had regular drills where we would duck and cover under our school desks!

Originally Posted by JMS

I grew up at the very end of that! We had regular drills where we would duck and cover under our school desks!

I've wondered about that. What's the point of ducking underneath a desk if a 10 Megaton bomb is dropped above you. It would vaporize everything in a 50 mile radius (or something similar. not a scientific estimate).

Don't get me wrong I am not poking fun. There is always going to be an outer limit where the blast will be survivable if you are not shredded by window fragments, so underneath a desk would be a good place to be for that eventuality.

But how would you know when to do that?
If it happens far away (which would be a given if you want to have a chance) I can't see the point of ducking underneath the desk.
Either you have enough time to find real shelter (basement would be ideal to avoid the surface blast) or you have no time and you get hit by the blast before you know what happened. The window between those 2 (not warning enough to take shelter, but enough to know the blast is coming) is so fine it's nearly unexisting.

Again, no poking fun. I am trying to make sense of it.
I think the whole thing was more of a way to give the people the idea that they were prepared, and to give the people of psychological boost.

You have to trust that the sirens are going to go off quickly enough to let you get to real shelter. My school didn't have a basement, so during tornadoes we would shuffle into the hallways (no windows) and cover like that guy in the video did. We did that during the good ol' disaster drills too.

I don't think making kids hide under desks in fear of nuclear attack gave anyone a psychological boost. I think it just comes from the idea that it's better to do something than to do nothing even in the event that there's nothing you can really do.

Originally Posted by Bruno

There is always going to be an outer limit where the blast will be survivable if you are not shredded by window fragments, so underneath a desk would be a good place to be for that eventuality.

But how would you know when to do that?
If it happens far away (which would be a given if you want to have a chance) I can't see the point of ducking underneath the desk.

You know when to do it if the classroom suddenly goes bright and you're alive to realize it. If the structure you're in is weakened by aftershocks, you'll want to be under cover of some sort. I wonder who decided that ducking under desks would be the suggested course of action and why exactly? I can only guess

Originally Posted by Bruno

I am a 31 year old European. I've never consciously lived in a time when Russian attack seemed likely. My generation hasn't had any training in 'what to do when $SUPERPOWER attacks.

Pretty much the same here....little younger than Bruno though.

Besides....if a nuke falls anywhere near you.....Ducking...or Cover is not going to do much good now is it?

YouTube - Small Nuclear Explosion horrifying!