Weird White Sands Weekend: Trinity Is A Tourist Trap?
The Trinity site, where the US set off the first man-made atomic explosion, is only open to the public twice a year. One of those times was last Saturday. I went with a couple of friends, expecting to find a couple dozen science geeks and amateur historians. I did not expect hundreds of camera-toting gawkers from all over the country who behaved as though they’d pulled over at the World’s Largest Ball Of Yarn!, rather than a great scar upon the earth inflicted by mankind and symbolic of his hubris and folly.
And yet…
Say cheese!
Look! This partially vaporized column must be important—it’s fenced off!
A replica of Fat Man, and…God Bless America.
The whole thing reminded me of those parades they have in Pakistan, where the military drags its nuclear-tipped missiles through the streets, met by cheering crowds. Hooray! We’re a nuclear power!
More from my field trip after the cut.
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