Steve Fey's Live From Las Vegas!

Recently we took my mother-in-law, who was visiting from Phoenix, to visit the Atomic Testing Museum, located about a mile East of the Strip on Flamingo Road. That's the road that crosses the Strip next to the Flamingo, in case you're wondering. The actual address is 755 East Flamingo Road, Las Vegas. Hours are 9 to 5, except Sunday's, when they open at 1 PM. It costs twelve bucks, unless you're a local, a senior, or under 17, in which case you get a three buck discount (only one, unfortunately.) When I showed my local ID, we all got in for the locals' price, so if you're from out of town but have a local friend, get them to come along and give them the money to pay your way in.

The museum is associated with the Smithsonian Institution. It was really chilling in parts for me, because I remember the days when the threat of nuclear holocaust seemed more imminent with each passing day. Honestly, looking back, it really wasn't very likely because the Soviets, who may have been evil, and certainly were misguided, weren't stupid. And neither were we. But, it was a time with no need for reality TV, and that's a fact. Truth is, the cold war ended with the good guys in the lead, Reagan got more credit than he deserved, and the world probably got a titch more dangerous as a result. But that's a topic for others. As for me, I was truly amazed at the casual approach people had to atomic radiation in those days.

During a test, those "without goggles," welder's goggles, that is, were told to "face away from the blast." Those with goggles could watch it directly. Other than the goggles, the people witnessing the testing wore no protective gear at all. Soldiers were positioned in trenches as the shock wave from the blast blew over them. After, they were swept off with brooms, and maybe hosed off in some cases. There's no reason to wonder why some people who were there are now dying of cancer. You can get a sense of what it's like to witness a nuclear explosion in the Ground Zero Theater, right smack in the center of the museum. Every twenty minutes or so a multimedia presentation opens with video (film, I suppose originally) and sound in a simulated viewing site. Believe me, it's an experience like no other. And I live in Las Vegas, so I oughta know.

There are also exhibits covering the history of the development and testing of nuclear weapons, drilling the tunnels where underground tests were performed, and the town of Mercury, Nevada, which once boasted an amazingly large population of people all dedicated to testing atomic weapons and other devices. Other devices? Sure, how about an atomic powered rocket motor? Well, why not, if you're going to stand there and let an H-bomb shock wave wash over you, use that same power source to go into space? That rocket motor worked, by the way. Still would, but you know how wussy people are these days. Afraid of a little death and destruction!

But, really, the people testing the weapons believed that they were keeping the world safe for democracy. The thing is, they probably were doing just that. Luckily they didn't know exactly what they were doing to themselves, or they'd have bailed out. They were American heroes; front-line soldiers in a cold war. And, as I said, we won.