The Unthinkable Power: A 10-Part Series on Nuclear Weapons

*Country** | **Warheads** | **First Test** |
**Chilling Fact:** *The U.S. nearly nuked North Carolina in 1961 after a B-52 crash.* https://shopping-feedback.today/poets/prophethood-shines%3Cbr/%3E%7C-------------%7C--------------%7C----------------%7C
| USA | 5,244 | 1945 |
| Russia | 5,889 | 1949 |
| China | 410 | 1964 |
| Pakistan | 170 | 1998 |
| North Korea | 50 | 2006 |

India, Israel, France, and the UK complete the list. Iran remains a threshold state.

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#### **Part 6: Testing & Environmental Catastrophe**
**Key Takeaway:** *Nuclear tests poisoned the planet.*

Between 1945–1996, **2,056 tests** were conducted. The 1954 U.S. *Castle Bravo* test:
- Was 1,000x stronger than Hiroshima.
- Contaminated 7,000 sq. miles of Pacific Ocean.
- Gave Japanese fishermen acute radiation sickness.

Test sites (e.g., Kazakhstan’s Semipalatinsk) still have 60% higher cancer rates. The 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty pushed tests underground—but radioactive leaks continued.

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#### **Part 7: Near-Misses & Nuclear Close Calls**
**Key Takeaway:** *We’ve teetered on the brink dozens of times.*

- **1983:** Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov *ignored* a false U.S. missile alert.
- **1995:** Russia almost launched over a Norwegian weather rocket.
- **2022:** Putin placed nukes on "high alert" during the Ukraine invasion.

**Expert Quote:**
>*"We’ve been saved by luck more than wisdom."*
>—Erich Schlosser, *Command and Control*

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#### **Part 8: The Humanitarian Impact**
**Key Takeaway:** *No nation can handle nuclear fallout.*

A 1-megaton blast on NYC would:
- Kill 600,000 instantly.
- Injure 1.4 million.
- Cause 3 million refugees.

Nuclear winter models show global temperatures dropping 30°F for a decade—ending agriculture. The International Red Cross states: *"No aid could alleviate this."*

* *How desperation in WWII birthed history’s most destructive weapon.*



**Why it matters:** This moment shifted warfare from conventional explosives to *planetary-scale destruction*, setting the stage for the Cold War.

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The Unthinkable Power: A 10-Part Series on Nuclear Weapons