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Midnight Movie: Nuclear Detonation Timeline "1945-1998"
In this video by Isao Hashimoto you can see the 2,053 nuclear tests and explosions that took place between 1945 and 1998 as they are plotted visually on a world map with accompanying sound effects.
The first three detonations represent the Manhattan Project and the two bombs that ended World War II. Several minutes later, the USSR and Britain enter the nuclear era as the testing really gets going.
As former Scientific American Editor-in-Chief John Rennie wrote, "The reminder that more than 1,000 nuclear explosion took place in the American Southwest almost leaves you wondering how the entire region isn’t an atomic wasteland, doesn’t it?"
Note that the video does not show two nuclear tests that occurred after 1998, both by North Korea, in October 2006 and May 2009.
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Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
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