A Brief History of: The Demon Core (Short Documentary)

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Arguably the two incidents show how you can't take for granted a material with the potential of going supercritical at the drop of a hat. Unsurprisingly the item in question would gain the name the demon core, but what was this innocuous looking item?
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Sources:
3D sunburn quote and Slotin hands imagery
blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2016/0...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_S...
www.orau.org/ptp/pdf/accident...
www.orau.org/ptp/Library/acci...
www.nndb.com/people/053/00016...

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I now have a second KZbin Channel for my outro music: kzbin.info/door/TJKjPWNMe27wg5T7yk9OnQ

[@zulubeatz1]

What is the music used in the end titles please?

[@TymexComputing]

Nice John :) - but tell us why didn those scientist perform these experiments? couldnt they make it with a noncritical mass and some reflectors? Couldnt they just measure the cross section and later use it in calculations - i believe feynmann was calculating all these geometries of a bomb - no need to tickle the critical mass :)

[@jeffw8218]

Lmao, calling it a “demon core” even though it only killed a few people, whereas the CORES of Fat Man and Little Boy literally killed hundreds of thousands of people. Why do people dump for the FAKE MSM so much? Why can’t people think critically for themselves?

[@holyassbutts]

Luv you Johhhhhhn! Muah! ❤️

[@F4Insight-uq6nt]

Pure Fiction, Proof of all Claims Required. NEW CLEAR ENERGY IS THE MOVEMENT OF WATER.

[@DoktorSchaedel]

"So if the screwdriver slips we are dead?" "Yes" "Lmao let's do it"

[@Patato12341]

AUAJAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA IM DEAD THIS COMMENT SECTION IS TOO GOOD

[@solouso2936]

LMFAO YESS

[@a_honoka_simp413]

Why the hell is Kim jong un here 😂😂

[@salvinorindoge3811]

@@a_honoka_simp413 researching

[@picklehanma8029]

Buddy what are you doing

[@TooMuchSascha]

"You'll be dead if you carry on like this!" He carried on like that. Then he was dead.

[@bogdangabrielonete3467]

*shock face 0o0

[@tisnotdawey4982]

That man was a prophet

[@ivanjelenic5627]

@@tisnotdawey4982 Enrico Fermi was just one of the most genius scientists of that time. sometimes it takes a genius to see the obvious

[@mac6746]

😂😂😂

[@NippyNep]

fuck around and find out

[@SXR123_YT]

"Ayo, Grip check" *smacks screwdriver out of hand*

[@BoolyThePirate]

this made me lol

[@somefuckingretard8289]

This is why the future generations would be the extinction of humanity, not some natural disaster

[@dianthony4515]

😂😂😂

[@ratwithrifle143]

Lol Ik is a funny lad

[@epic.6608]

Nice.

[@alephnull7446]

imagine naming what's possibly the most dangerous weapon created at that time that could flatten a city if u drop a brick into it, and you name it "Rufus"

[@agamemnonofmycenae5258]

Fat man and Little Boy are way better of course

[@shortty7618]

Like a fuckin naked mole rat off that cartoon LOL

[@nsahandler]

Phonetic alphabets before standardization were fuckin wild man. Rufus for R in radiation.

[@y0uCantHandle]

Well, better than Tiffany

[@hardiebear3379]

"Tell me something good."

[@jorymo4964]

"If it glows pink, it's a girl. If it glows blue, it's a boy."

[@mechanoid2k]

These gender reveal parties are really getting out of hand.

[@AzRill5]

What if it’s red

[@starjamm9862]

@@AzRill5 Miscarriage

[@AzRill5]

@@starjamm9862 ah I see, thank you

[@Edge_Walker]

@@starjamm9862 yes my fellow ace friend yes 😂😂😂👌

[@catriona_drummond]

I feel the core is getting a bad rep. If anyone approached me with a screwdriver and started poking I'd go super critical as well.

[@tcpratt1660]

And if I knew that as a result of the guy poking me with a screwdriver, I would wind up the star of a Plainly Difficult video, yeah, I'd be super critical too!

[@JamesTAdams]

Man you ever just-(levels a city)

[@xqces]

what's ur pfp from?

[@theheatedoneplus2463]

Bro saaame

[@punchyboi6915]

Based demon core

[@vsGoliath96]

Demon Core with SpongeBob voice: "Wanna see me kill a scientist? Wanna see me do it again?"

[@psychogoreman198]

Imagone dropping it and it laughs like spongebob before exploding.

[@twistedvnm2314]

Let's just take a second and appreciate the fact that the scientist didn't panic instead he thought of the science behind the accident and told everyone to stand still and mark where they are stand so the effects could be studied

[@headphonic8]

Psychopath shit to do when people are going to die and experiencing their last moments

[@cchoice4919]

@@yehororlov8362 sounds like you want to meet god and ask him if he saw your great work on earth!!..... is that the conversation of extraordinary person!!

[@incognito5416]

@@cchoice4919 u make it sound like we wanna do it voluntarily. Their fate were sealed, so they might as well contribute something for the future at that point

[@SketchySkullKnight]

​@@cchoice4919Take your meds

[@the_rover1]

"well we die anyway in a couple of days. Let's work on a final publication with analysis data of your fatal radiation dose."

[@deezimmo4814]

As a retired laboratory scientist, I can tell you that the greatest threat in any lab is complacency. In order to combat this threat, our lab would rotate scientists into different tasks to keep them "fresh".

[@bmstylee]

100% right. Walk around a gun range and see how nonchalant people are with firearms. Complacency can kill.

[@tomwithey711]

@@bmstylee it's why Americans have such a poor record with them.

[@bmstylee]

@@tomwithey711 we have a bad rep with a lot of things. I've been buzzed by an arrow in my treeatand while deer hunting.

[@yesman2310]

@@bmstylee ah yes, tree deer.

[@Demiglitch]

The greatest threat to a lab is shark with legs who really enjoys the taste of scientists.

[@BedsitBob]

Slotin was quite calm after the incident. Knowing he'd just received a lethal dose of radiation, he simply announced "Well, that does it".

[@jimadams8272]

Hahaha! Famous last words. 😂🤣

[@clownworldhereticmyron1018]

What a lad.

[@lorenzo5204]

doodily doo the rad lad

[@OscarGeronimo]

What a chad!

[@chrisd.2048]

Sadly, intellectual brilliance and common sense do not necessarily go han-in-hand. Wow, those early days of nuclear science were a real f*ckin' cowboy show, huh??

[@Edge_Walker]

Slotin: *takes screwdriver* " Oh trust me! I know what im doing" Narrator: " he indeed DID NOT know what he was doing"

[@rileychan5380]

the real problem was that he KNOW what he is doing which ulimately let him to be not careful enough

[@skullthrower8904]

@@rileychan5380 Theres probably a word for that

[@richardcranium3417]

@@skullthrower8904 stupidity and arrogance

[@youtubesucks3882]

@@skullthrower8904 "Dense" "stupid" "lacking common sense" "retarded" "idiotic" "unfit for dangerous work" "disrespecting the scientific method" "controlling radioactive materials with a screwdriver" There's quite a few words.

[@diegoviramontes2479]

@@skullthrower8904 “arrogance” would be the best word

[@alexander1112000]

I think the worst part of this was that Louis Slotin had observed Harry Daghlian’s deterioration the year before from a similar event, so he knew what was going to happen to him the moment it happened.

[@samfisher2306]

That was the confusing part for me.

[@lemeres2478]

"Alright. It is my job to train you as my replacement. First rule, don't do this" *Geiger Counter intensifies*

[@jesuschristkillmealready5419]

LMAO

[@danielrodriguez248]

He was the gieger counter

[@InvisibleRabbitV1]

I genuinely laughed at that. Very good. I’d give you all my internets, but they’ve become meaningless.

[@Seetor]

@@InvisibleRabbitV1they never meant anything

[@TheCatsa]

@@Seetor HA!

[@sandracheeks1811]

You didn’t mention how they were smart enough to document everyone’s position and distance in the room providing valuable data on radiation exposure effects.

[@solarblitz4524]

I'm sure that would be the surviving scientists that did that.

[@sandracheeks1811]

Solar Blitz No, it was done immediately after it happened and the scientist that did it died soon after. None of them died immediately, it took days for them to die of their exposure.

[@solarblitz4524]

@@sandracheeks1811 oh damn, alright. Thanks!

[@getthegoons]

@@sandracheeks1811 understand that if I found out that I had days left to live because someone else exposed me to radiation, I'm using every second of life I have left beating him senseless. Not killing him, just hurting him.

[@zeze4522]

@@getthegoons who wouldn't? i'd personally take his ass with me though.

[@thomasjefferson8629]

"So if the case closes, it will go supercritical and kill us all?" "Yep." "Can we learn anything by poking it with a screwdriver?" "Nope." "Sounds like a plan"

[@btrain213]

Looks cool though

[@stevenfuller3816]

I’m amazed that he was still allowed to handle that material after Fermi witnessed his utter disregard for safety. He put many people’s lives in jeopardy.

[@Beemer917]

It just goes to show, there is nothing more dangerous than a really smart person with no sense.

[@HugoStiglitz1000]

This is why D&D always separated the wisdom skill, from the intelligence skill.

[@kayden5238]

indeed and I'm seeing modern universities rife with that

[@artemisfowldragon]

High INT low WIS

[@Kehwanna]

Pretty much sums up everyone that develops technology for weapons.

[@colincampbell767]

@@Kehwanna Of course the people who came home alive and in one piece after the war because of those weapons would disagree with you. Remember that the nuclear weapons dropped on Japan are estimated to have saved over 300,000 American lives and almost 10 million Japanese lives.

[@Defunct231324141]

"Oh, meltdown. It's one of these annoying buzzwords. We prefer to call it an unrequested fission surplus." - CM Burns

[@KarinaMilne]

‘Nuclear excursion’ sounds like it went on a field trip!

[@Disc0_Hipp0]

The goggles do nothing!

[@Worldsawesomestguy]

Who's that dog?

[@Defunct231324141]

@@Worldsawesomestguy Mr Peanutbutter 🎶

[@djohnranch]

Let them have their tartar sauce. Homer was a genius!

[@WackoMcGoose]

The "screwdriver incident" actually is directly referenced in a mid-game level in Infra. Naturally, being a video game, you get an achievement for setting it off.

[@Thiefnuker]

You actually have to go out of your way though, as the second reflector half isn't directly on the core but laying nearby. There's also a text document, a memo between scientists IIRC, telling one scientist to stop the screwdriver shenanigans.

[@WackoMcGoose]

@@Thiefnuker Yup. And in an interesting attention to detail, whereas deaths are normally just a cut-to-black, you actually _see a white flash_ (presumably through Mark's eyelids) right before you collapse.

[@TheLinuxYes]

which demonstrates how connected to the real world video games are.

[@windwoman3549]

I would say complacency mixed with arrogance, or at least on Slotin’s part. You alluded to this in the video. Slotin had been warned by ENRICO FERMI himself, no less! Yet he continued using a screwdriver, no doubt supremely confident that his abilities could prevent any accidents. Sadly, he only had 9 days to contemplate the hubris which was ultimately responsible for his premature death. Love your videos - thanks!

[@Silverfirefly1]

It took him 25 days to die, as his cells divided into porridge instead of new cells across the full thickness of every tissue. My fear of drowning is getting some perspective today.

[@tilobidaLP]

Hey you can always drown in your own blood.

[@voorlees9368]

Bruh I'd be getting a gun ready, I ain't fucking dying like that.

[@calebaustin700]

@@skyflyer4231 damn tv show got me fucked up

[@metalema6]

It's weird that they knew it was a way more than lethal dose, but kept him alive... I wonder what he wanted

[@Silverfirefly1]

@@metalema6 What they wanted was to document the very rare real-world scenario. So, they extended their opportunity. The Japanese also did this, they kept an accident victim alive for so long that he was a living, red skeleton. They didn't give him any pain relief either so as not to interfere with the progression of the condition.

[@Hogscraper]

"3 dimensional sunburn" Quite possibly the scariest thing about this video is knowing that such a thing exists.

[@FatalFist]

Just imagine the atoms in your body being torn apart in places, killing cells in real time. Holy shit.

[@jimtheedcguy4313]

Not to mention it totally destroys your DNA, so your body doesn't know how to replicate the cells necessary to live! Your body starts to die and wither away. This is a very bad way to go.

[@hendrik6720]

@@jimtheedcguy4313 bruh no matter what we all die.

[@cyn1103]

@@hendrik6720 yea but have u seen what radiation that severe does to a persons body?

[@jimtheedcguy4313]

Having worked as a tow truck operator, I'm very aware of my own mortality, but drowning and radiation poisoning aren't ways I want to go out.

[@PhoenixHavok]

Took me a second to remember this was an actual big historic thing and not just an analog horror video

[@Monkforilla]

You need to go outside more

[@GeorgeMTello]

"Not only will this kill you, it will hurt the whole time you're dying"

[@patthonsirilim5739]

it damages you at cellular level if your next to plutonuim core when its in criticle state might as well just take a gun and end it right there

[@FlameDarkfire]

I heard morphine wouldn’t even touch the pain people had from ARS. You’re literally getting torn apart into a soupy mass.

[@PatrikTothMaster]

@@FlameDarkfire Hard for painkillers to be effective when your entire nervous system falls apart.

[@kayden5238]

I don t get it .. I mean if your nervous system falls apart wouldn't it lose its connection to the brain and so you'd go numb?

[@FlameDarkfire]

Damian Curie the nervous system will send garbage signals that the brain will just interpret as “pain!”

[@moonkey2712]

I heard that immediately after the second accident, slotin looked around at everyone else in the room and just "well, that's it." Man knew he was already dead

[@meneither3834]

"that does it"

[@ranchurdhimster4955]

Yeah I read that comment on this video too.

[@richardcranium3417]

Sounds like this wasn’t an “accident” but being lazy and stupid.

[@kenmakouzume7368]

@@richardcranium3417 Thats, not exactly how that works. It was an accident of Complacency. Without a focus on safety and regulation, it becomes easier for such human mistakes to be more often and more dangerous. Accidents always occur, as is human nature. it was complacency that caused it to be a critical radiation exposure rather than, say, a dropped pen or a paperwork mistake.

[@extrm161]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aniZlmeKlq-roas 1:58,

[@arkumbral2146]

"N- No, come on chat. No, I'm not going to open the demon core with a screwdriver"

[@Halcyon1861]

As someone that works at a nuclear plant, this type of thing is just unthinkable. Playing with a core...

[@TheLinuxYes]

but back in the 40s it was a novelty. it was cool. what i don't understand is why he would fool with it knowing that the neutron reflectors were able to completely enclose the core. i wouldn't do it unless that was impossible.

[@Thedrizzle404]

9:11 One thing we would constantly remind people of during our job safety meetings was the people who died the most often weren't the newbies as one might expect, but rather the veteran workers. Newbies are overly cautious and make a few mistakes, but veterans can become overtly dangerous as they think "I've done this a million times before, and this time won't be any different." All it takes is one time out of a million.

[@FrostedSeagull]

Well said The Drizzle 404

[@jasonhaynes2952]

I somewhat liken it to forgetting to zip up your pants. We've all been zipping our pants several times a day for most of our lives, but for whatever reason, every once in a while we still forget.

[@steropeshu]

There was a video that made me extra cautious around seemingly harmless things. It was in some sort of textile factory and this machine was spinning the fabric on a giant spool. It's just rolling up big sheets, right? My pool liner is like that. Well, the guy operating it slips and gets caught in the fabric spinning. Eventually the continuous spinning makes his shoes and pants fly off, and his feet keep hitting the ground, and over the course of the video you can see the ground keep getting redder and redder. By the time he finally gets flung out, his leg is literally only being held on by a couple threads of skin. I don't think he survived, and one can only hope the spinning knocked him out before it got really bad.

[@neovo903]

Dunning Kruger effect right?

[@annehaight9963]

I'm a professional driver, and I constantly remind myself of this. It's easy to become complacent and develop bad habits. Every day I try to be a better, safer driver.

[@janickjorgensen2964]

Fermi was especially known for his estimation skills, being able to estimate most things without direct data to within order of magnitude (questions like "How many piano tuners are in the city of Chicago?" are called Fermi Problems for a reason). So if he says you are going to die within a year you better listen.

[@Zenovarse]

But if you had listened then his estimation would be wrong.

[@DeusEversor]

@@Zenovarse nah, it's final destination.

[@guifdcanalli]

@@Zenovarse not exactly Fermi said if he kept his reckless way he would die, so just stop being reckless and you live

[@duzehalo]

Hahah I thought the same - if there's one person's estimation he should listen to it was Fermi's

[@raccoon8743]

Honestly the fact he was only a few off on the explosive power of nuclear bombs using ONLY A SHEET OF PAPER AND HOW FAR IT WENT. Dude was on another level of estimating.

[@0c0cpcpcpck48]

It’s incredible that unbelievably dangerous experiments were carried out like this

[@troodon1096]

Part of me can't help but feel a little bad for them, as that's definitely not a pleasant way to go. The other part of me, probably the bigger part if I'm honest, finds it hard to sympathize with someone's demise when it's entirely a consequence of their own bad decisions.

[@waywardhero1177]

Something about the core being a simple ball makes it that more ominous and horrifying

[@whoknowswhocares885]

Half a sphere technically

[@hendrik6720]

i was thinking, what if the position of the berrylium outer spheres could be self regulating in order to always prpduce sub-supercritical amounts of nuetrons/radiation/power? if berrylium blocks neutrons, will a dense *gaseous* berrylium still block neutrons? what about mercury as a containment/heat transfer material, say in a closed loop system?

[@JesusHChrist2000]

@@hendrik6720 1) Gasious Berylium can never be as dense as solid, and therefore as useful as a Neutron reflector. 2) These days nuclear science is done somewhat differently. 3) The gist of what you are describing allready exists. It's called a Nuclear Reactor.

[@viciousKev]

@@whoknowswhocares885 a hemisphere, technically.

[@jhonfamo8412]

Real scary

[@magmat0585]

imagine being one of the guards stationed to "protect" this thing. You don't really understand what it is or how it does what it does outside of broad terms, or what to do if one of the scientists fuck up, but you get to make sure it doesn't walk off by staying in close proximity to the sassy death marble that's killed 2 men within seconds. Yaaaaay, can I get reassigned to an Arctic radar station, please?

[@jaysea5939]

"sassy death mable" is a great phrase

[@magmat0585]

@@jaysea5939 thank you!

[@iggystoneman2933]

SCP Foundation guards in a nutshell.

[@giga9001]

@@iggystoneman2933 lol

[@AKAtheA]

back then the weapons-grade plutonium was the most expensive metal known to man

[@85bbenjaminfan]

I will never understand how people can grow complacent with such dangerous materials. You'd think the thought of, "If I screw this up, this thing will kill me" would be constantly going through their minds smh

[@q.e.d.9112]

Do you constantly have that in mind when you’re driving your car? If you answered yes - I don’t believe you!

[@85bbenjaminfan]

@q.e.d.9112 operating a car and working with radioactive nuclear materials are on two completely different levels. I happen to drive for a living, so I'm well aware the dangers of being on the road. And to avoid complacency, I'm what you would call a "defensive" driver, meaning I pay attention to what's going on around me and react to situations accordingly. However, working with the materials as I stated above requires a much higher level of care, the failures of having which are demonstrated in this video. I tend to think suffering from radiation sickness is much more painful than dealing with injuries from a car crash

[@q.e.d.9112]

@@85bbenjaminfan Glad to hear that you’re a defensive driver; me too, but the thought “If I screw this up, this thing will kill me” is just as relevant to driving a vehicle. I’m sure you can see everyday how many people don’t think that. Also, keep in mind, these were dangerous times. These guy’s contemporaries were facing death daily. 100 aircrew deaths in a single bombing raid was not uncommon. Add to that the lack of safety protocols. This was new technology, developed under wartime conditions where safety is low on the list of priorities. And, like all new technologies, it takes a fatal accident or three before safety norms are established. Early boilers blew up until safety valves were mandated. Many people got electrocuted before safe electrical wiring was enforced. Neither is it relevant to question which constitutes the more horrifying death, though I agree radiation poisoning is almost inevitably going to be worse. But people just don’t consider these things.

[@85bbenjaminfan]

@q.e.d.9112 I can agree with the points you make here. I guess my comment was more meant to be a reflection of how complacency and arrogance almost always leads to disastrous consequences. The Titanic and Chernobyl being two other examples I would point to in this regard, as complacency and arrogance played a major role in both disasters, leading to loss of life and families being majorly affected. We as humans should strive to avoid these conditions of the mind and remember that we are fragile creatures and that the world is a scary and dangerous place, no matter how confident we are in the machines and technology we build. We tend to put too much faith into our creations, and it almost always leads to these disasters that kill people. It's a sad pattern to observe

[@Clarachk]

Great stuff in a nice, digestible format 🙂 Would love to hear your take on the 1961 SL-1 Nuclear Reactor incident. It’s a doozy like this one. Killed two gentlemen... Who were MANUALLY removing/reinserting a critical fuel rod in a BEYOND highly radioactive environment... There was an explosion... It involved a high impact impaling death... The guy who was standing on top of the reactor was impaled through the ceiling with the radioactive rod.

[@commissar1448]

I want the forbidden jawbreaker

[@grayeaglej]

Yaaaassssss.

[@topkek7587]

25 cents is all it takes

[@HIDHIFDB]

@@topkek7587 for what?

[@AllDesign4U]

@@HIDHIFDB To see God... kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIK6i52MpdGiipo

[@christopherrobin3763]

Lol I'm gonna start calling my dick the demon jawbreaker my girlfriend will love it lmao😅😅

[@charlieapples9373]

A really tough old lady once told me that when women get together and find something dangerous, they either avoid it or get rid of it. When men get together and find something dangerous, they hold a contest to see who can poke it with a stick the greatest number of times. ...I think she may have been on to something, there.

[@juanvaldez5422]

Whamens!

[@svennoren9047]

"old" being the operative word here. You don't get old being careless.

[@jme9811]

Actually radioactivity was discovered by a woman who died from it ...you know that right? What was your sentence again?

[@drinkthekoolaidkids]

@@jme9811 lolololll .... that's right !

[@jamesc.2054]

@@svennoren9047 Well... that was back in the day. Nowadays even the laziest, most incompetent idiots live to reproduce and raise more worthless idiots.

[@coltbusick6644]

Whether it’s in a laboratory or a machine shop, you are never in more danger than when you’re relaxed and think you’re safe.

[@thefourthwritedjentleman3643]

So glad I found your channel my man, love it and been binging

[@solarprophet5439]

Once again, life demonstrates the difference between wisdom and intelligence...

[@kathleendircks907]

Solar Prophet That needs to be written where EVERYONE can see it!

[@masterzoroark6664]

Wis is street/life smarts Int is book smarts ... Better have both

[@Cortesevasive]

It doesnt matter, how you frame it u poor

[@christosvoskresye]

@@masterzoroark6664 No, wisdom is more than that. Dog the Bounty Hunter might have plenty of street smarts, but I'd hold off on affirming his wisdom.

[@flyde6521]

Maybe don't try and shame a dead man

[@whynotanyting]

"This ball can wipe out a city." "Ok, but have you seen me with a screwdriver?"

[@selvbilde253]

Nincadalop One little untightened pipe can cause a cascade of trouble.

[@jamiebraswell5520]

Loose it in Los Angeles and let it do its work, then take it to San Francisco.

[@wilmagregg3131]

@@jamiebraswell5520 the plague would die out at least

[@tyjohnson7327]

NO, AND NETHER AS ANYONE HAND IF WE DID YOU BE ON THE NEWS AND DOING LONG LONG TIME OR ON THE UPSIDE YOU BE THE BEST SCREW SCREWER ON THE PLANET I THINK YOU JUST A CLOWN THINKING YOU DANGEROUS

[@HayashiShirou]

a pencil is enough o.o

[@jamespepper8671]

Having read the reports on this, you have made a very well made video and highly accurate and I applaud you. Excellent synopsis. The guard that survived they didn't realize he had leukemia until after he died. So at least he had that peace of mind.

[@jensmith4411]

@Free Spirit 🤣😂🤣😂

[@enzovillegas1116]

I find radiation so fascinting, so amazing and with so many uses that can benefit humanity, yet so dangerous.

[@MrKajithecat]

"Two nerds die horribly because they were too arrogant to follow workplace precautions or safety procedures"

[@olivinator]

this first one died because there were no workplace precautions or safety procedures to follow.

[@kathleendircks907]

olivinator No, he was just arrogant.

[@MrKajithecat]

@@olivinator I doubt that. They knew the dangers. They were men of science disregarding common sense.

[@gbear1005]

@@kathleendircks907 if arrogance is the sole cause of being risk blind, sure.

[@gbear1005]

Few people have the ability to do effective risk analysis and mitigation. Especially as young as the guy wielding the screwdriver

[@trenchcoatbandit]

"I AM THE DEMON CORE, but you can call me rufus." " im really quite a fun guy. TILL IM NOT!"

[@ksimvanderhlaar]

Read this in a voice of Sheogorath...

[@trenchcoatbandit]

@@ksimvanderhlaar now you say that, i cant stop reading it as that

[@lisacollins5868]

😆😆😆😆😆

[@NickanM]

Sounds exactly like my parrot.

[@ronbaker3677]

Now- I am become death- but you can call me Bob..

[@FernandsLiveShowShow]

Great fan of your series - but one thing I've realised that's given me a little chuckle is your use of the black/white stripy box in the top corner at 4:02, used commonly in the UK to signal an ad break 😅 I'm not sure if it was deliberate for KZbin's sake or other but I thought it was a nice touch to mark a break 😄

[@galucastro5972]

Plainly difficult: Refers to many scientific references and words Me: Ahh yes round ball bad. No touch. No touch bad ball

[@luck3949]

Scientist: you'll die in a year, if you will continue to violate safety instructions. Other scientist: dies in a year, because of violation of safety instructions.

[@slightlyamusedblackkidfrom9153]

Scientist: *screwdriver slips* Demon core: so anyway I started blasting

[@DreableNeebal10]

"so anyway I started ionizing"

[@Lucho741]

Didn't have to blast out, but I did anyway, young punk had to pay...

[@friedrichgerster1583]

@@Lucho741 thats the thing..without deceptions,this never happened..

[@Natsuki_Kat]

I can not let you escape Squidward, I am adding another demon core to your confinement untill you calm down.

[@AltEisenImpact]

"You're gonna die within the year" "Haha, screwdriver goes BRRRRR"

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

"I am one of the few people who are left here who are experienced bomb putter-togetherness." I think that after delivering a quote like that, he should have been banned from coming within one hundred miles of any nuclear material, ever.

[@Moletrouser]

Had he said that, you would have a point. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Slotin

[@aonoymousandy7467]

at least 500 miles 🤣

[@bigstupidgrin]

Qxir is great, been semi-marathoning you recently

[@jaegermonster9549]

"... took the lives of two very talented scientists." One which was literally poking the heart of a nuke with a screwdriver.

[@michaelkim1767]

You hang out at the barbershop and eventually you're going to get a haircut

[@thedumbartist]

this is an excellent quote, 10/10

[@xninewxw7559]

Rockstump Bike no

[@alonsovm2880]

bald pp normally grow beards

[@markusmartin5332]

@@alonsovm2880 bald asian leave the chat

[@LemonRush7777]

@Rockstump Bike You can shave

[@TROOPERfarcry]

They recklessly began to test it. - "Hey Phillip, wanna' see how hard we can hit it with a hammer?"

[@SINJP626]

The only difference between science and stupidity is writing the results down

[@Patato12341]

@@SINJP626 XDDDDD

[@1BeGe]

Ironically that would have actually been FAR safer.

[@Edge_Walker]

THAT REMINDED ME KF THE VIDEO WITH THE BOMB AND THE HAMMER AND THE DUDE GOES UP TO THE BOMB AND SAYS TO HIS FELLOW SOLDIERS- "welp, lets go home"

[@dgodrummer8110]

nice narration and video. thank you. I have often wondered if that scene in "fat man and little boy" was accurate.

[@notaprogamer2782]

"Come on guys, I'm not gonna stick a screwdriver in the demon core, not gonna d- oh ten bucks? Bet"

[@Peluceus]

Slossian is coincidentally also quoted as being the 2nd most experienced in bomb died-fromness

[@zellers5423]

Too fucking underrated

[@tomheynemann8768]

A number of Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki might disagree

[@Tom-fh3zg]

I know it's not politically correct to find the humor, but that's funny as hell.

[@craigwall9536]

I LOL'd.

[@THEFRISKIESTDINGO]

> survived a nuclear weapon > literally turned it off with One Punch > sperm perhaps the most well-put together cells in his body What an absolute chad

[@Scrapper_142]

It's a good thing he was skilled in bomb putting togetherness

[@kyjohns8271]

I wonder if he stayed a Holiday Inn Express the night before ? 😂

[@therandomytchannel4318]

*was* skilled in bomb putting togetherness! 😁👍

[@johnladuke6475]

So good he sometimes does it accidentally.

[@pumkinhead24]

........... assembly.

[@Incognito_Blazer]

@@pumkinhead24 I mean, the guy did literally describe it as 'bomb putting togetherness'

[@kingcapital1266]

scientists: NOOOOO YOU CANT GO CRITICAL BECAUSE I POKED YOU WITH A SCREWDRIVER demon core: haha core go boom

[@Oilydeath]

Imagine living in a time where you could do stuff like this without any strict safety precautions

[@JaimeWarlock]

I am 64 and the world was still kind of like that when I was a kid. Buying ammo at the local hardware store when I was twelve. No helmets required for bicycles or motorcycles. Most cars didn't have seatbelts. Asbestos brakes (btw, they often lasted longer than the car). Wild swimming. Every year in school, we knew a school mate that died in an accident. I don't think it was all bad though. It weeded out the weak and unlucky. Those of us that survived had a lot more self-confidence. Unfortunately, it was probably that self-confidence that let those scientists disregard any safety precautions.

[@Amstelchen]

Demon core: I killed Daghlian and Slotin Chernobyl: Hold my graphite

[@82dorrin]

4:01 "510 REM of neutron radiation" Dyatlov: 510. Not great, not terrible. 510 Rem = 581.5 Roentgen. So actually pretty goddamn terrible.

[@roboguard96]

I think the demon core is probably more scary since its so small yet it still killed 3 people. Plus emitting a blue glow before killing you, sounds like somthing out of Wolfenstein

[@IkeanCrusader1013]

Actually the elephant's foot under the chernobyl plant is much scarier. Just this strange alien mass melting it's way into the earth, so highly radioactive that getting too close can fucking vaporize you

[@todydn]

@@IkeanCrusader1013 not to mention that it's sitting over a massive underground water casm if it melts through and drops into the water it will heat fracture somehow making it re melt down. And they say do to the fact that's it's concentrated all in one mass instead of fuel rods if it goes boom it will without a doubt be the worst nuclear disaster the world has seen along with the biggest nuclear detonation to date .... The only thing worse is America's radiation dumpsite near bikini atoll it's a huge dome that seals in all of the Manhattan project waste aswell as fall out debrie from the a bomb and h bomb tests in the Pacific they say one good storm could destroy the dome scattering all the shit into the Pacific not that it matters because they burried it on a very small island that's made out of coral it's porus so the seas water flows right through the island and the put all that shit in a wet hole the dumb fuckers so needles to say the ocean life around there is fucked and the nomadic people that used to live on boats and hop island to island had to move to mainland places and give up thier culture because the fishing is so bad there now I think that may be the worst one

[@IkeanCrusader1013]

@@todydn I'd have to disagree, chernobyl is worse. The dome protecting it, if it were to fall, would spill out so much radioactive fallout and waste that the resulting nuclear blanket would last for hundreds of thousands of years. And that's not even counting the explosion of the elephant's foot.

[@MadeagoestoNam]

"they did what scientists would do." Somehow very similar to what any man with a case of beer and a bit of curiosity would do: poke it with sticks and mess with it until someone gets hurt.

[@Paid2Win]

You mean "Science"

[@Tridd666]

Yes that is literally science

[@asparrow9876]

Men never needed a case of beer to pick up sticks and poke anything........ It's innately in our nature.

[@Dug6666666]

Their contribution to science was not quit what they intended. A cavalier attitude to this new radioactivity thing was far from uncommon back then.

[@Motive11331]

The difference between science and messing around is writing it down

[@GlassesnMouthplates]

Cool! This video was uploaded right on my birthday... ...and so was the second incident.

[@austinh3848]

This video is so cool. Very informative and extremely interesting.

[@tieember9596]

I'm reminded of an airline that crashed because a dad decided to let his two kids take control of the plane. "Complacency" is the keyword here.

[@matheusalencar4762]

Can you tell me what was this incident that happened?

[@thenewkhan4781]

@@matheusalencar4762 he's talking about the crash of Airbus A310 over Russia in 1994. There are many documents of this flight on KZbin, X Pilot has it with the cockpit recordings.

[@vanacutt1110]

@@matheusalencar4762 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKPXpYeIbcprY5Y

[@kdrapertrucker]

That was in Russia, I'm sure Vodka was a contributing factor, and of course typical Russian not giving a frick.

[@martiniden8282]

@@kdrapertrucker No, the key factor was absence of sound alarm for turning off the autopilot, while it could turn off by itself in certain situations.

[@horrorhabit8421]

For every Heisenberg and Bohr, there are a thousand Homer Simpsons.

[@ChrisCaramia]

Requisite joke: D'oh!

[@giraffeorganic]

A thousand? Try a hundred thousand. We’ve got lots here in the states. Some of them are rather easy to spot, they’re the ones that don’t wear masks and contribute to the spread and death toll of covid-19.

[@posivibez2094]

Probably more like for every million

[@phyranios9091]

Organic Giraffe I like to think it’s not just unique to the states but it’s definitely more concentrated here

[@CliftonPhotographer]

We know.. Look at the last election! 🎃 🇺🇲

[@roadsage6828]

@8:39 The newspaper : "We've been trying to reach you regarding your car insurance."

[@judeevans8303]

wanted to watch this again after Kyle Hill did his video on the Demon core meme. This video is a great addition to the zeitgeist thank you!

[@slappy8941]

"Here we have the most dangerous thing ever created by humanity. I am now going to poke at it with a screwdriver."

[@hippiehippo9030]

Crikey!

[@dxp96]

sounds like something from a Futurama episode

[@KucheKlizma]

This is how the last Dr. Who dies forever.

[@darkraiking680]

I believe that is how things go with humanity.

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

good thing the Aussies didn't develop it.

[@EkEMaN91]

"OK due to Harry's death we've increased the safety precautions when working with the core." "Hmm... doesn't say anything about not using screwdrivers in here."

[@thecloneguyz]

Everyone in that room died of cancer no one survived

[@ghoulbuster1]

@@thecloneguyz yes, I also read the story, no need to repeat it.

[@Katharsis540]

IKEA instructions.

[@TheWanderingOne.]

Love the story telling👏

[@Apple_Beshy]

Safety is not just for you, it's also for those people around you

[@toybarons]

"A screwdriver? Don't know. Doesn't sound safe." "It's safe. Trust me. I've done this many times before." Science!

[@crazypath573]

"Hey, let's do a Super Criticality experiment on this unbelievably dangerous radioactive material!" "Sure! What do we need?" "A flat blade screwdriver and your bare hands."

[@RabidNemo]

One of my favorite jokes in a James Bond movie. Diamonds are forever. is when bond is sneaking around inside the nuclear facility and there's another employee who notices he's not wearing his badge (The badge he refers to had a film strip on it that would show a mark if you had been exposed to radiation so that they could detect any leaks in shielding and know of personnel that had been exposed) The employee says to Bond "You should always wear one you can't be too careful with the dangers of radiation you know" "To which Bond replies yes I'll be much safer wearing one of these"The irony being that it offers no protection.

[@honk4bread46]

That’s how ya die

[@annehaight9963]

@@RabidNemo Actually Bond shows his ignorance with that joke. The employee is correct that one of the dangers of radiation is low doses repeated over time. That's what the film badges are for; to document cumulative exposure.

[@FallingPicturesProductions]

You son of a bitch I'm in

[@colinbarnard6512]

Both 'supercriticality' incidents were amalgamated into one pre-July 1945 vignette in the 1989 film 'Fat Man and Little Boy', with Paul Newman as General Leslie Groves, and Dwight Shultz as Robert Oppenheimer. Shultz is best known for his portrayal of Murdoch in the A-Team, and Lt. Reg Barclay in Star Treks TNG, Voyager, and, I believe, DS9, as well as ST:FC. His Oppenheimer is absolutely brilliant, holding his own, and more, beside Mr. Newman. The vid's creator knows his stuff, both historicaly, and scientifically. Very well done.

[@marcuscarana9240]

This was one of the most crude experiments performed by supposedly professional scientists. Sorry, but this was definitely Slotin's fault and the whole experiment was an accident waiting to happen due to complacency and disregard for safety.

[@iandalonso]

Screwdriver slips Yup that’s me you’re probably wondering how I got here......

[@FrankieProkop]

Ian Alonso *Baba O’Riley starts playing*

[@EJ-ci6gp]

Frankie Prokop *freeze frame* *record scratch*

[@-Super_Dario-]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@austinalsobrook]

It was at this moment, he knew hed f***ed up

[@lastsonofktn]

wow

[@montecristo1845]

I remember my folks watching a VHS movie in the eighties they rented from the local library called Fat Man and Little Boy. I was only in the room for a minute but the scene recreating this event with John Cusack scared me. They show the incident/accident and he has to reach in to stop the explosion and then tosses bits of chalk for others in the room to mark the floor so they know where everyone was standing at the time. I admire people who are quick thinkers in times of crisis.

[@derekp2674]

See: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4KTgWqIbqiZebs

[@red4life848]

Massive fan of Qxir and now of yours 👍

[@krissydiggs]

It’s hard for me to feel sorry for these people. Playing with nuclear weapons was the biggest misstep humans have made in our existence.

[@LoponStormbased]

We used it to end a war with Japan that would have cost so many more lives than they took, and the research over it has lead to many advancements in medicine and technology, Including energy production which it would be very useful in if people like you weren't the ones in charge and refuse to develop nuclear power because of ignorant fear and demonization of anything nuclear.

[@g2.a6]

@@LoponStormbased Nuclear weapons =/= Nuclear reactors. One can supply energy(if it's taken care of correctly), the other brings death in an apocalyptic scale. Also just because that research brought good, doesn't mean the original use of them wasn't awful.

[@LoponStormbased]

@@g2.a6 Nuclear reactors wouldn't exist without Humanity "Playing with nuclear weapons" that's the point. Obviously they're not the same thing.

[@g2.a6]

@@LoponStormbased that still doesn't mean that the weapons part of it isn't bad and that humans should play with them even further though

[@LoponStormbased]

@@g2.a6 Yes it fucking does.

[@tellurium3754]

Exactly today in 1946 the screwdriver dude had his accident

[@brandonobaza8610]

RIP "Screwdriver Dude." We hardly knew ye.

[@cocosloan3748]

Exactly 7 days ago was same date he made the experiment!

[@martind349]

And then Bob Lang slept there

[@deliverus6856]

Das tuff

[@j.peters1222]

This core is highly unstable and could go critical if mishandled negligently... "Anyone got a screwdriver I can use to inspect this thing?"

[@suprememasteroftheuniverse]

Just how elders say: to poke the tiger with a short stick.

[@brainchasm]

The core was fine. Surrounding it with neutron-reflective materials was...ill-advised.

[@rustyshackelford9156]

Strange how that was even allowed, you'd think their would be more stringent protocols for everyone's protection.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Mine was the 666th _"Like"._ Anybody got a flat blade screwdriver? 😝

[@jojo-zd6rr]

i have a driver box label: caution 193reward activated now my eyes see nothing and my 25 ears are planning to become 26

[@breac7387]

Love this channel!

[@davidj.thompson]

I have seen the "Demon Core" covered by other KZbin creators, so I was glad to find it on your channel. I know you usually cover disasters caused by, quite often stupid, accidents. I have a question, though, if I may ask: during the Manhattan Project, were there any times the humans were irradiated in the names of "science"?

[@unflexian]

oh yeah, people from the age of 4 to 70 were injected with plutonium without their knowledge to see what would happen, including the largest radiation dose a human was exposed to and lived in all time. he has a video on it.

[@GalileoAV]

I get it, you've been working with the nuclear material for years and know what you're doing...but really? A screwdriver and nothing more stopping half the room from dropping dead if your finger slips? That's some next level "hold my beer" stuff, right there.

[@Luchingador]

theres no precedent for what you are doing, there are no health and satefy standars xd

[@barneyrubble4293]

@@Luchingador They weren't even trying to be safe, that's the problem.

[@JohnDoe-on6ru]

If the guy in charge of that was holding a beer in the first place I'd be very worried

[@billysgeo]

That's the roaring 50s....

[@nachtkind46]

@@JohnDoe-on6ru to be honest, it sounds like the screwdriver guy was holding a beer while trying to do the experiment.

[@MG-ks1qg]

Demon Core? Nah. Spicy ball? Hell yes

[@DethGaleX]

"Plutonium is just spicy Lead."

[@eliwixson8863]

Ouchiesphere

[@kharnifex]

Auuuuugh! The Core! The Core is blue hot! Screwdriver you rat, you weren't stabilizing the Beryllium sphere, you slipped and gave me the ol Spicy Ball! How could you give your own scientist, Slotin, the spicy ball !?!

[@paulocuento9949]

What if these scientists were given DMT or LSD while exposed to the nuclear radiation? what could probably happen to their state of mind? i was curious as to the term "state of confusion" the scientist felt after being exposed.

[@chocolateex1907]

👌

[@Rookie5k473r]

Absolutely crazy story. Thanks for the history lesson.

[@Littlefighter1911]

"Gordon doesn't need to hear all this, he's a highly trained professional!"

[@nick281972]

A screw driver! What next, clearing a minefield with a pogo stick?

[@lifeisa.smalllesson4607]

Nope, just your sewing kit needle....

[@megaglock22]

I have a very visual imagination, and after reading your comment; and the picture I conjured up in my mind of some idiot bouncing around on a pogo stick and getting launched by a landmine, literally had me laughing my fucking ass off! Thanks!

[@KevinSmith-tq3gm]

@@megaglock22 I hope you can figuratively reattach your ass.

[@KingSlimjeezy]

somebody has never worked in a lab... Science can get super messy/sloppy. Its a big problem honestly...

[@DashedSimpusMaximus]

Average dude "I got this bro" Literally one second later. Hell created. Perfect hahahaha

[@werewally3156]

Dont spit into the wind, dont tug on Superman's cape, and never, ever tickle the tail of the dragon.

[@armandowillem3694]

were wally I thought it was "don't piss into the wind" or is that why your shoes are wet? Lol Jk

[@Fisthammet]

Also never pat the head of the tiger and try to braid their whiskers.

[@drinkthekoolaidkids]

@@Fisthammet or try to brush its teeth

[@KhaiJbach]

and "don't provoke the borg!"

[@johnladuke6475]

Don't knock the hat off the ol Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with Jim...

[@mauricedavis8261]

I enjoy all of your videos!!!🙏👍😎

[@tommunyon2874]

My late partner's mother was a nurse in attendance for the man who died from exposure from "tickling the dragon's tail". The hospital was roughly where the new public library now stands in Los Alamos.

[@briandbeaudin9166]

The "demon core" didn't take their lives, complacency, recklessness and outright foolishness did.

[@meowbeats7496]

No I'm pretty sure the core got the points for that one

[@normie2716]

That and a heaping bowl full of piping hot, delicious radiation.

[@youtubesucks3882]

@@meowbeats7496 Is it the gun that kills people, or the person handling the gun?

[@pugasaurusrex8253]

@@youtubesucks3882 Well in this case it’s more like someone set up the gun on a swivel, gave it a spin, then slipped a pin off that was holding the trigger.

[@kaotikord]

Well, if you want to get technical, the radiation killed them

[@rever4217]

Tickling the tail of the dragon? More like poking a stick up its ...

[@theglitchinthematrix3213]

Ass

[@Burgisan]

*A screwdriver

[@pigeondamigion569]

owo

[@Niskiss]

cloaca?

[@jarskil8862]

Slit?

[@gordonmorrow]

Really cool video. I loved it.

[@bellshapedhead]

Loved the documentary. Did you notice the date discrepancy(s) in the document shown starting around 4:26? Note: I am assuming this was a single document and not a combination. The document talks about the accident that occurred on the 21st of August. It also speaks about the years after 1946 as being "carried out with remote control systems", yet the date on the bottom is August 8th, 1945. Curious.

[@comradedyatlov4143]

"So we want someone to deal with an extremely fragile item that could kill you if you made a mistake. How will you hold it apart?" _"Okay hear me out. Screw..."_ "Continue.." _"Driver."_ "You're hired!"

[@jamesflames6987]

Better than the last guy who was just stacking up bricks!

[@LordVader1094]

@@jamesflames6987 Or they could've just used the wedges as intended