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The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
In Honor of Yuri Gagarin, the First Human in Space
Soviet Atomic Lighthouses Are Both Spooky and Deadly
Soviet Dog Cooked in Space Only Got this Lousy Statue

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Pope John Peeps II
11/10/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
I try to smile.

I try to smile and be a bit optimistic because, no matter how monstrous some men and women can be, the human spirit always seems to find a way to survive.

This isn't meant as a specific criticism, more like an artistic critique: the end of that post was really not good. I mean... I think it takes away from the reporting, the gallery and the linking to this great book to end off with a sort of pedestrian "oh but I FEEL human spirit triumph adversotragedy tears kittens fuzzwarm ME." #nucleartest
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Jesus Diaz
11/10/09

@Pope John Peeps II: I wasn't tried to report. The Big Picture guy already did that. This was about what this makes me feel, that's all. It may be clichéd, but I'm not going to stop saying what I feel and think just because it sound clichéd. #nucleartest
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Pope John Peeps II
11/10/09

@Jesus Diaz: It just would have made this post way stronger to have left it with the clean idea of a great tragedy, instead of trying to sort of mollify it. After all the talk of the great Stalinesque killing machines and the atomic war plague, why am I supposed to feel that the human spirit is indomitably cheerful? I mean. When Troy burned, nobody ever said "well, at least we're warm". #nucleartest
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Jesus Diaz
11/10/09

@Pope John Peeps II: Hahaha. Didn't you read The Iliad? They spend a hundred verses talking about how warm they were. #nucleartest
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Pope John Peeps II
11/10/09

@Jesus Diaz: I'm not sure if that's a joke or not? They didn't burn Troy in the Iliad.

@macserv: THIS blog is all about writing for an audience. It's not specifically anything personal. So they're writing to please US. And if I find that something pretty cheeseball ruins a good post, then why wouldn't I say so? That's what these comments are for, right? #nucleartest
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scarbrtj
11/09/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
I'm a radiation medicine physician. First off, those are some very sad images. But keep in mind, orphanages anywhere are generally going to have their fair share of unfortunate children with birth defects, retardation, etc., regardless of whether the orphanage is near previous nuclear test sites.

But, that said, the consequences of radiation exposure in utero are relatively well-studied. To over-simplify, exposure in the 0 to 4 week timeframe usually leads to outright death of the embryo, or the embryo survives unharmed (it's a pretty sensitive developmental time, and usually the radiation insult will be survivable, or 100% not survivable). In the 8 to 15 week timeframe, radiation exposure of a harmful enough level will usually lead to serious organ damage and a newborn which will have a very limited survival. In the 8 to 30 week timeframe, mental retardation/microcephaly and perhaps growth stunting are possible, but the most sensitive timeframe is 8 to 16 weeks for retardation. Past 30 weeks, the fetus has about the same risk profile as an adult: either you survive the radiation exposure, or you don't; but either way, no harmful structural abnormalities will result. Cancer risks (leukemia, thyroid e.g.) are increased substantially later in life (childhood, adulthood). Again, in general, substantially increased risks of remarkable, unsightly birth defects is rare; this is based on the Hiroshima/Nagasaki data, and the emerging Chernobyl data.

So, my opinion on the pictures is: the child with macrocephaly (large head) was not a radiation-associated case. The children with retardation and microcephaly could be radiation-associated. The young man that looks the most deformed probably has a case of large facial angiomatous malformations, and those are almost certainly not radiation-related. #nucleartest
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InsidiousTuna
11/09/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
Well, I was looking forward to picking up my copy of Modern Warfare 2 and unleashing the tactical nuke in multiplayer, but this just makes me sad for the innumerable lives lost and affected by the advancement of nuclear technology. #nucleartest
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PN - gooapplesoft
11/09/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
wow. truly a sad images that destroyed my bubbly day. Now i really want to go on a rant but ill let it go because I have a lot of work to get done.

Truly the least you can ask for is a safe testing of nuclear technology. There are SO MUCH space in russia its ridiculous... they couldn't have chosen a better place to do this? #nucleartest
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x@ck3D
11/09/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
I hope our world leaders will take a good hard look at these pictures and strengthen their resolve to honor these victims by pursuing peace and preventing nuclear proliferation. #nucleartest
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Sticks Calhoun
11/09/09

In reply to The True, Heartbreaking Faces of the Nuclear Era
There are many stunning photos on Ed Ou's site. And I can feel a future Gizmodo post on the "Inanimate Love" series (not work safe). #nucleartest
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infmom
05/09/09

In reply to In Honor of Yuri Gagarin, the First Human in Space
Gagarin was not the only early space explorer who was grounded after one flight. Scott Carpenter and Deke Slayton made only one spaceflight each.

I remember Gagarin's flight and the world's reaction to it. I was in the fifth grade.

Sometime circa 1983 I was able to ask Scott Carpenter why the USA was still 20 years behind the Soviets in space. He had no idea what I was talking about till I said "Valentina Tereshkova."
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petelobl
05/07/09

In reply to In Honor of Yuri Gagarin, the First Human in Space
i have no sympathies for an enemy army member's accomplishments.. everything done in space was military-based, and in retrospect his accomplishments look so rad & "cool".. well gee f'in golly.. f him, may he die in red hell - i dont expect survivin' Soviet comrades (such as putin) diggin the exploits of Alan Shepherd, nor does it really matter what graves they dig...

Giz has got gis' on its face for this enconium - a real slap in the face to all who suffered under the menace of the glorious CCCP
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Kaiser-Machead
05/08/09

@petelobl: No one gives one flying lizard ovary about the Cold War. The simple fact remains that he was the first man in history to go into orbit, but don't let facts and historic feats of mankind get in the way of lamenting over wartime lore.
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Migo
05/07/09

In reply to In Honor of Yuri Gagarin, the First Human in Space
Sometimes, I get a bit claustrophobic when I think of how we're all clumped on this small rock, and if something wiped it out, we'd be gone forever.
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winshape
05/07/09

@Migo: Luckily, space is mostly...space.

And the odds of something hitting us are...umm...astronomical.
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Kaiser-Machead
05/07/09

@winshape: I'd say that the odds of an object of sizable mass hitting the earth is not as slim as we think. However, the odds of something of sizable mass hitting us within the week, or within the year, or even the next, MIGHT be a great deal slimmer. There's a hell of a lot of debris in the solar system, and a great deal of this debris bounces comes careening towards the earth all the time.
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faunt
05/07/09

In reply to In Honor of Yuri Gagarin, the First Human in Space
I lived on Gagarin Street some time ago, thus I had slight idea who he was before reading the article.

But I didn't know he was totally badass. Thanks, Gizmodo.
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Hello Mister Walrus
05/07/09

@cmq: What country do you live in?
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faunt
05/07/09

@Hello Mister Walrus: Poland. Why d'you ask?
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Hello Mister Walrus
05/07/09

@faunt: Just wondering. I figured that there are not many countries that have streets named after Yuri Gagarin.
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Kaiser-Machead
05/07/09

In reply to In Honor of Yuri Gagarin, the First Human in Space
What a wonderful, yet sad story. That phrase by Gagarin is even better than "My God, it's full of stars!"

Ah, gone are those heady days, when the world trembled at the sound of their rockets.
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OMG! Ponies!
05/07/09

@Kaiser-Machead:

One ping only, Vasily
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Kaiser-Machead
05/07/09

@OMG! Ponies!: Hey, careful Poniesh. Mosht thingsh in here don't react well to commentsh.
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OMG! Ponies!
05/07/09

@Kaiser-Machead: Son, the average Russkie don't take a dump without a plan.
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Kaiser-Machead
05/07/09

@OMG! Ponies!: Look, I'm a Gizmodo commenter, which means I'm a thief, and a liar. So when I'm not kissin' babies, I'm stealin' their lollipops. But, that also means that I keep my options open.
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Striderhayasa - Can we get some damn m/kb support?!
05/07/09

@Kaiser-Machead: who said "please God don't let me fuck this up" or something to that effect? To me, THAT'S the most profound thing I've heard regarding space flight.
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alby1481
05/07/09

@Kaiser-Machead: I am sorry to correct you, however, you need to know that Soviet Union banned anything that had to do with God and religion. I know because that is where I grew up. What he said in reality, and it was published in newspapers, radio, television and even one of his monuments has his quote. "I was in space, and I did not see God there!"
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Kaiser-Machead
05/08/09

@alby1481: And I'll have you know that "My God, it's full of stars!" is a reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, not any actual historic event.
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BergenCountyJC can't beat MW2
05/07/09

In reply to In Honor of Yuri Gagarin, the First Human in Space
If John Glenn could go back to space when he's 70 why can't I?
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
05/07/09

@BergenCountyJC: I spent most of the 70's wishing I was in space. Does that count?
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vangorder
01/16/09

In reply to Soviet Atomic Lighthouses Are Both Spooky and Deadly
They're not powered by reactors, they're powered by RTGs.
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
01/16/09

@vangorder: How does a Role Playing Game power a light house?
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stryder100
01/16/09

In reply to Soviet Atomic Lighthouses Are Both Spooky and Deadly
That lighthouse is beautiful.
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frigg
01/16/09

@stryder100: you can buy and live in lighthouses. But they're usually such a mess, no one wants to after seeing them close up.
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jblock
01/16/09

In reply to Soviet Atomic Lighthouses Are Both Spooky and Deadly
I remember this on NPR, the story was that some of these were so remote they didn't check up on them too often, and when they went to check one of them finally, they found the Nuclear Material MISSING. great quality assurance guys. This was years ago though, but I still believe a dirty bomb on US shores is inevitable, and scary(I am on the east coast).
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GitEmSteveDave_DefinesTurgid
01/16/09

@jblock: Come to NJ then. No "dirty bomb" can beat our normal background radiation.
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