Duck and Cover! There are many aspects of the Civil Defense program that may seem funny today, but the period after World War II was a very scary time. Civil defense officials and volunteers during that time were very serious about their work and I believe they deserve respect for their efforts. They rendered emergency services after natural and man-made disasters and would have had an impossible task had there ever been a nuclear war. This virtual museum is dedicated to the Civil Defense and emergency workers of the United States who worked to protect the public from nuclear attack.
posted by Ruthless Bunny on Oct 27, 2009 - 44 comments

Los Colorados, Ukrainian Polka Band, Plays Katy Perry's Hot 'n' Cold.
posted by stresstwig on Apr 8, 2009 - 16 comments

Got some dry ice? Got a swimming pool? Well, what are you waiting for? Inquisitive dogs will be confused! Start with a small chunk. Next, take a 60-pound block of dry ice and kick it into the jacuzzi. Okay, so you're looking for more of a thrill? Try a dry ice depth charge! (If you don't have a pool, a frozen lake will do.)
posted by not_on_display on Feb 23, 2009 - 68 comments

A lot of people have nightmares about showing up to school or work naked. But hey, how about this one? Brrrrrrrrr. (nsfw)
posted by miss lynnster on Jan 6, 2009 - 77 comments

Coming in at just under $860,000, the take for the recently auctioned estate of James Brown fell well short of the two million that Christie's had hoped for. You'll want to browse the collection for yourself, of course. If I had the extra scratch, I'd have sure bought this.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Jul 19, 2008 - 21 comments

With the grounds it was built on having hosted the first demonstration of airplane flight in 1909, Tempelhof International Airport, the world's second-oldest working commercial airport, was officially opened in 1923. Also known as City Airport, it takes its official name from the Tempelhof neighborhood of Berlin, itself named for the Knights Templar who owned its land in the Middle Ages. [more inside]
posted by Your Time Machine Sucks on Apr 25, 2008 - 36 comments

Some Russian online communities like to take on unusual challenges. Courtesy of English Russia.
posted by Lord_Pall on Dec 17, 2007 - 30 comments

Landsat Image Mosaic Of Antarctica UK and US researchers peice together the most detailed map of Antarctica yet, searching through years of data to find cloud free images.
posted by Artw on Nov 27, 2007 - 17 comments

The Cold War Files. Interpreting history through documents.
posted by Effigy2000 on Sep 18, 2007 - 4 comments

Apoteket Orkestern.
posted by hama7 on Jun 23, 2007 - 23 comments

Norilsk is a big city in northern Siberia. On the permafrost. It was built by slave labor in the 1930s. Norilsk Nickle, a very profitable company, wants you to invest there. Some think it's a hell hole. Others think it was the downfall of the Soviet economy.
posted by MarshallPoe on Jun 21, 2007 - 30 comments

Uptick in Cold War-like rhetoric making you a little nostalgic for the era of parachute pants and Members Only jackets?
A cabal of Russki comrades at some pinko university have been going around collecting and resurrecting disused Soviet-era arcade games, which became instantly obsolete with the collapse of communism. Sea Wolf, Duck Hunt, Pole Position, Dogfight!
We begin bombing in five minutes.
posted by planetkyoto on Jun 7, 2007 - 28 comments

Russia on Tuesday test-launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile The points to note are:- It could penetrate any defense system, the statement did not specify how many warheads the missile can carry, it's either a decoy or something that has been developed in complete secrecy.
posted by chrisranjana.com on May 29, 2007 - 54 comments

Gov. Bill Richardson takes a tour of the captured USS Pueblo in the DPRK.
posted by Burhanistan on Apr 9, 2007 - 26 comments

Alaska's calling Yoooooooooooou! Not interested in that Free Land in North Dakota or Kansas? Anderson, Alaska is giving away 26 lots on a first come, first serve basis. No gas station, no grocery store, no traffic lights, but grizzley bears abound!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy on Mar 17, 2007 - 19 comments

It was a cold day on Mount Washington in New Hampshire today, where the weather can really suck. With a temperature of -37F and a peak wind gust of 117mph, it was cold enough to turn boiling water to snow (youtube). Also, previously on MeFi.
posted by SteveInMaine on Mar 6, 2007 - 60 comments

W Joseph Stroup believes we are headed to a new Cold War. It may be triggered when Russia attacks the West's Achilles' heel (part II: Russia tips the balance) and a Russian oil grab 'puts western supplies at risk'.
posted by stbalbach on Nov 26, 2006 - 39 comments

An interview with Margaret Atwood. [Sometimes bad interviews are the most interesting.]
posted by furtive on Oct 12, 2005 - 30 comments

Living on top of Mt. Washington. 09:50 PM Thu Aug 18, 2005 EDT - ... In the air this morning there was an undeniable chill and on the ground a touch of frost...Clear air pooling south from Canada opened views to the distant Adirondacks as well as deep into Quebec and all our surrounding states...just six week until snow can be expected.
Just a taste of this daily "blog" kept by observers living on the top of the tallest peak in the Northeast US. Redux of a previous post, but the blog is interesting enough to put it forth once again.
posted by Jazznoisehere on Aug 25, 2005 - 24 comments

It is the dead of winter at the bottom of the Earth.
Therefore, it's a great day for some lucky intrepid foolhardy souls to join The 300 Club! Those wishing to join in the future are advised to hurry, though.
posted by yhbc on Aug 1, 2005 - 7 comments

The atom bomb is 60. It's very popular now and becoming more so daily. The most recent nuclear nation to threaten to use theirs is China. The U.S, Europe, and the U.S.S.R. got through a half century Cold War without immolating themselves. Will South and East Asia be as successful and/or lucky in the near future?
posted by jfuller on Jul 16, 2005 - 23 comments

The Puzzling Story of NATO's Secret Armies During the Cold War: Just What Were They Up to? Secret stay-behind armies served a dual purpose during the Cold War: They were to prepare for a communist Soviet invasion and occupation of Western Europe, and – also in the absence of an invasion – for an “emergency situation.” Further detailed in the book Nato's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe by Daniele Ganser.
posted by stbalbach on Jul 10, 2005 - 11 comments

Images of Antarctica: "some of them are mundane, some are fantastic, and some are, frankly, crappy." Don't miss the art page.
posted by breezeway on Feb 22, 2005 - 12 comments

What do you do if it's 1979 and you are a sixteen year old in East Germany? Your Mom and her boyfriend, an officer in the intelligence service, have decided to defect. If you are Thomas Wagner, you wait twenty-odd years, and then you post the whole experience to your blog.
posted by mwhybark on Jul 25, 2004 - 14 comments

Frozen seas. A brief but kind of amazing collection of photos of the deck of a fishing trauler in fridgid conditions, where every exposed surface has layers of frozen saltwater accumulated. This condition can cause the boat to become topheavy and capsize, as well as just plain making life more miserable for those that work on the deck.
posted by jonson on May 3, 2004 - 12 comments

The Greatest Stories Ever Told (in Esquire) The magazine picks six candidates to be the best story from its first 70 years. Gay Talese's "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" was their choice as the best.
posted by kirkaracha on Oct 11, 2003 - 6 comments

Cold weather politics? The antarctic treaty was written in 1959 and adopted in 1961 and has been signed by 27 countries. It has helped to keep the antarctic region a real no-mans land where science instead of politics is the target. And of course it looks quite nice as well.
posted by sebas on Nov 29, 2002 - 9 comments

Cure for the cold? Is this really worth it? If all it does is "make a runny nose completely clear up a day sooner than usual," it hardly seems worth burdening your system with another drug. Seems like a ridiculous waste or research effort to me. But I guess there is money to be made, even from inefficacious drugs.
posted by SteveS on Dec 18, 2001 - 2 comments