I just watched one of the most chilling documentaries ever

[Tom Petty]

The stuff about Mt. St. Helens was in Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything." His point was that the seismologists didn't quite understand just how forceful Mt. St. Helens would blow (or that it would erupt out the side), and that the only reason many more people weren't killed is because it was a Sunday and many people who would normally have been in the vicinity during the week (loggers mostly) weren't. He was basically saying that, in hidnsight, there were enough warning signs that no one should have died. Ultimately, though, the death count still turned out to be amazingly low for that type of blast.

i think that's a hindsight is 20/20 type of approach to the eruption. nobody -- or very few -- in the area, including those who lost family, blame the seismologists for the loss of life. folks who were in the zone knew they were risking their lives by being there.

 

[ArnoldBabar]

I wanna make friends with the
Wanna make friends with the
Wanna make friends with the badger

You just became my best friend.
Or at least a nice reminder of my misspent youth.

You probably drive a bitchin' Camaro, too. With no insurance to match.

 

[rascalface]

I was but a young'n in 1983, but I remember the school sending a note home with my older brother advising parents that the film (The Day After) was too intense for children. I was terrified of nuclear war as a kid, that crap consistently gave me nightmares when I got a little older.

I didn't even watch The Day After until about 10 years ago when I was in college, and I only watched it once. It freaked me out ... the scene in Allen Fieldhouse filled with refugees/victims, the girl deathly ill with radiation poisoning, talking about how the phone lines should be restored in a few days. Jason Robards returning to KC, knowing his fate. Man, I can only imagine the impact that movie had on people in 1983.

The threat of nuclear annihilation was real, and it permeated the psyche of many, many people. I'm reminded of the scene in Terminator 2, when the nuke is detonated, with the girl on the swing in the park and everything being vaporized. While T2 is far from the greatest film ever made, that is a powerful scene and image.

 

[Bad Guy Zero]

I wanna make friends with the
Wanna make friends with the
Wanna make friends with the badger

You just became my best friend.
Or at least a nice reminder of my misspent youth.

You probably drive a bitchin' Camaro, too. With no insurance to match.

Yes I do!

If I happen to run you down, please don't leave a scratch.

I love that car. I was so happy when my parents drove up here from the Bahamas.

Now go eat your paisley!

 

[User 1019]

Where'd you read that? They evacuated the area and had watch stations all over the place. I remember reading about that old guy up there on Moses Lake, Harry Truman, crusty old dude he was, who gave interviews saying "I'm not leaving." He died in the eruption.

spirit lake.

moses lake is located about 240 miles from MSH.

That's what I was thinking. I stayed in Moses Lake on my trip, and it's a far forking piece from the mountain.

 

[StormSurge]

Thanks for this Bubbs. I will be looking to catch this. I enjoyed the long post.

You mention secret agents. Did these guys factor in to the story?

 

[Football_Bat]

One big-ass EMP would do far more damage to this country than, say, two dozen 20-kiloton hits on major cities.

With EMP, the electrical grid is fried, computers (and their data) are zapped, car and truck ignition systems are ruined, water pumps grind to a halt, and commerce in this country ceases to exist. Hundreds of thousands would die in the surface blasts, but with an EMP, tens of millions would die of starvation, disease and exposure. Cities would run out of food in days and crops would rot in the fields because there'd be no way to harvest them.

 

[Bad Guy Zero]

One big-ass EMP would do far more damage to this country than, say, two dozen 20-kiloton hits on major cities.

With EMP, the electrical grid is fried, computers (and their data) are zapped, car and truck ignition systems are ruined, water pumps grind to a halt, and commerce in this country ceases to exist. Hundreds of thousands would die in the surface blasts, but with an EMP, tens of millions would die of starvation, disease and exposure. Cities would run out of food in days and crops would rot in the fields because there'd be no way to harvest them.

The Amish would suddenly become veeeeeeeeeeery popular.

 

[Football_Bat]

I've been watching too much Jericho.

By the way ... season premiere Feb. 12!

 

[StormSurge]

A quick glance of Discovery.com doesn't show any repeat airings from now through 1/20. :'(

 

[Clerk Typist]

Now, Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed....

 

[Flash]

I was but a young'n in 1983, but I remember the school sending a note home with my older brother advising parents that the film (The Day After) was too intense for children. I was terrified of nuclear war as a kid, that crap consistently gave me nightmares when I got a little older.

I didn't even watch The Day After until about 10 years ago when I was in college, and I only watched it once. It freaked me out ... the scene in Allen Fieldhouse filled with refugees/victims, the girl deathly ill with radiation poisoning, talking about how the phone lines should be restored in a few days. Jason Robards returning to KC, knowing his fate. Man, I can only imagine the impact that movie had on people in 1983.

The threat of nuclear annihilation was real, and it permeated the psyche of many, many people. I'm reminded of the scene in Terminator 2, when the nuke is detonated, with the girl on the swing in the park and everything being vaporized. While T2 is far from the greatest film ever made, that is a powerful scene and image.

Consider yourself lucky. Our school made us watch it ... I was in Grade 7. Scared the living shirt out of me. Didn't sleep for days.