Would you recognize .....
March 4, 2005 9:34 PM Subscribe
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) Awareness Training -- > If you see one of these, DO NOT press the
RED BUTTON
Yeah. Guessing from the apparent size of the indicator lights and keyhole, it's so small it's almost cute.
posted by hank at 11:22 PM on March 4, 2005
posted by hank at 11:22 PM on March 4, 2005
So the pictures are funny. I could swear that atomic bomb image is from the 60s Batman show.
Anyway, for contractors in Iraq, it's valuable training. After more than a few jaunts down Route Irish in sunny Baghdad, I still can't drive down the street in the US without feeling a slight twinge at every paint can and large-ish piece of trash on the shoulder.
posted by xthlc at 12:27 AM on March 5, 2005
Anyway, for contractors in Iraq, it's valuable training. After more than a few jaunts down Route Irish in sunny Baghdad, I still can't drive down the street in the US without feeling a slight twinge at every paint can and large-ish piece of trash on the shoulder.
posted by xthlc at 12:27 AM on March 5, 2005
I like the box. I want one.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:29 AM on March 5, 2005
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:29 AM on March 5, 2005
Long ago, physicist Ted Taylor was quoted as worrying (in John McPhee's book _The_Curve_of_Binding_Energy_) because the bomb models on display then -- at the museum near the Trinity site -- revealed how small a bomb could be made, and still function. At the time it was something the size of a golf bag.
This one looks smaller than a golf bag. Batman Movie prop? maybe. A Google search turned up a real suitcase bom, USA built, named SADM.
" Army's M-159 SADM (Special Atomic Demolition Munition), with a choice of yields in the range of 10T to 1KT, and a weight of about 150 lbs (59 lbs of which is the W-54 warhead itself). It uses a mechanical combination lock PAL, and is time-fused. It can be emplaced by a two-person team. Between August 1964 and June 1968, approximately 260 SADMs were manufactured. While some of the early marks have been retired, about 200 remain in service.
Keep in mind that the above two weapons were built with 1960s technology...."
posted by hank at 12:15 PM on March 5, 2005
This one looks smaller than a golf bag. Batman Movie prop? maybe. A Google search turned up a real suitcase bom, USA built, named SADM.
" Army's M-159 SADM (Special Atomic Demolition Munition), with a choice of yields in the range of 10T to 1KT, and a weight of about 150 lbs (59 lbs of which is the W-54 warhead itself). It uses a mechanical combination lock PAL, and is time-fused. It can be emplaced by a two-person team. Between August 1964 and June 1968, approximately 260 SADMs were manufactured. While some of the early marks have been retired, about 200 remain in service.
Keep in mind that the above two weapons were built with 1960s technology...."
posted by hank at 12:15 PM on March 5, 2005
but ... but ... why would they put a button there if you weren't meant to press it?
posted by pyramid termite at 2:54 PM on March 5, 2005
posted by pyramid termite at 2:54 PM on March 5, 2005
The pranksters who built the DO NOT PRESS bomb. People have, um, pressed it. Including "Weird Al".
posted by dhartung at 12:20 AM on March 6, 2005
posted by dhartung at 12:20 AM on March 6, 2005
Very good!
I'm not surprised it was adopted by Oak Ridge to illustrate their serious web site.
When the builders who know the real thing decide to use your spoof image as their web page illustration -- that's respect.
posted by hank at 12:33 PM on March 6, 2005
I'm not surprised it was adopted by Oak Ridge to illustrate their serious web site.
When the builders who know the real thing decide to use your spoof image as their web page illustration -- that's respect.
posted by hank at 12:33 PM on March 6, 2005
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posted by DeepFriedTwinkies at 11:03 PM on March 4, 2005