Haunting 1950 images imagine the effects of an atomic bomb attack on the Big Apple

Daily Mail ^ | 21 August 2012 | Daily Mail Reporter

[moonshot925]

It wasn't a movie poster for a monster or disaster film. It was an illustration of America's worst nightmare - that an atomic bomb would strike a major U.S. metropolis.

The harrowing image of the New York City skyline marred by a giant mushroom cloud splashed the cover of Collier's magazine on August 5, 1950 - at a time of heightened American anxiety.

The Collier's issue was spotlighted recently on Smithsonianmag.com, which ran the same pictures that appeared in the same 1950 issue of the magazine.

While recent films like The Avengers, Independence Day and Cloverfield touched on a fictional attack against New York City by aliens and monsters, a full-scale explosion that could level Manhattan's skyscrapers was plausible, especially during the Cold War.

[MrEdd]

War.

War never changes.

[Paladin2]

Given Bloomberg and the peeps who elected him (multiple times), how is this bad?

[stormer]

You’re shitting me, right?

[Dallas59]

[PittsburghAfterDark]

I wonder if sections of Detroit don’t look like this anyways thanks to 60 years of Democratic rule.

[Paladin2]

Given Bloomie’s proclivities? No.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

I gotta go with Paladin’s comment, ‘...how is this bad’?

[Randy Larsen]

I was pissed about 9/11...

Now that I think about it, not as much.

[Randy Larsen]

I gotcher drift and totally agree!

[Paladin2]

I've lived close to the "Big Apple" and visited multiple times.

I'm not enamored like many are.

[stormer]

Huh. How’d you feel about 9/11? I realize not as many people were killed as would be in a nuclear attack, but it sounds to me like you think it was a pretty good start.

[BobL]

Unfortunately these bombs aren’t smart enough to stop at the city borders. Otherwise, I might agree with you.

[Paladin2]

"How’d you feel about 9/11?"

0bama's (Islamist) fault.

[Walkingfeather]

anyone doubt they would use them if they had them?

[deks]

I hope you’re joking about not minding if NYC were nuked. But to anyone who wishes death to all of the New York City FReepers as well as my family and friends there, I say screw you.

Would you like to see liberal majority California destroyed too? Have a look at the top 20 states for quarterly and monthly donations to FR, including California, New York (Top 10), Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts (Top 20).

https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/scoreboard

[Paladin2]

"anyone doubt they would use them if they had them?"

Nope.

[Oztrich Boy]

It’s the only way to be sure.

[jmacusa]

Over 700 people murdered on 9/11 were from my home state of New Jersey. I'm appalled any FReepers would think nuking any American city would be a good idea, even in jest. We're barely a month away from the 11th. anniversary of that horrible day. Some people here need a good old fashioned haymaker right in the mouth.

[BobL]

“I hope you’re joking about not minding if NYC were nuked. But to anyone who wishes death to all of the New York City FReepers as well as my family and friends there, I say screw you.”

That’s fair - sorry about that, sometimes we get carried away by the majority of the people there (including the mayor, in New York). To be honest, when I saw those pictures, and the date, they didn’t do justice to what’s out there now. The big Soviet City-Busters pretty much vaporize everything for at least 10 miles - there’s nothing of Manhattan left, and virtually nothing of the neighboring areas (i.e., the crater is 10 times the diameter). These things are not toys and they shouldn’t be joked about.