# 1956 Nuclear Beer Test



## Tactic12 (Dec 16, 2012)

I found this pretty interesting...

In 1956, the Atomic Energy Commission exploded two bombs with bottles and cans of pop and beer at various distances to see if they were drinkable after the explosions.

The closest liquids were placed less than a quarter of a mile away from ground zero. The farthest away were a couple of miles. Some of the drinks were buried, others were in clusters, and others were paired up.

The bombs were equivalent to 20 kilotons of TNT and 30 kilotons of TNT. The commission found that the beer even closest to the blast site was drinkable.

It was a little radioactive, but drinkable in dire situations. The farther away from the blast site the less radioactive the beer was. The researchers even taste tested the beer and said it was all good, except for the beer closest to ground zero.

Now you know: if we ever suffer from nuclear war, you can at least calm your nerves with a cold brewski.


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

If this is true they may have been referring to the metallic can (these were steel back then) or bottle cap.

The article you're referring to also states "Exposure, the authors say, "did not carry over to the contents."" This means the actual contents (beer/soda) were not actually radioactive which makes sense as lighter elements are increasingly difficult to convert to unstable isotopes.

As for the change in taste... If I put a case of beer in my garage during the summertime I would have to throw it out due to the heat changing the taste. These cans and bottles were put in the Nevada desert. I'd expect a change in taste.


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## eddy_dvyvan (May 8, 2012)

how dare north korea test nuclear weapons!
haha
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Interesting story though, Kinda goes to show they had 2 much time on their hands though


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