The Worst Radioactive Ideas in Nuclear History by BlueJay - Reaction

[@jtfbreedlove]

I believe Einstein himself once said, "Only two things are infinite, human stupidity and the universe and I'm not sure about the universe". Kinda surprised that orion drive wasn't mentioned.

[@brigidtheirish]

Look, some *scientists* played Russian roulette by poking a 14-pound ball of plutonium with a screwdriver. A bunch of us decided it'd be a great idea to strap themselves to a pillar of exploding gas to an airless waste. *Multiple times.* Many of us enjoy jumping out of airplanes or off buildings, parachute optional. We're all *insane.*

[@ThePandoraGuy]

Ah yes. The famous Demon Core accidents, Part 1 and 2.

[@brigidtheirish]

@@ThePandoraGuy Or, what happens when you let a bunch of young men with doctorates in a "throw it against the wall to see if it sticks" stage scientific field play with the unused components of a bomb designed to level *cities.*

[@TheGallantDrake]

Ah yes, *literally all of space exploration*.

[@brigidtheirish]

@@TheGallantDrake Yep! Have you *seen* clips of failed test launches? And people still decided to get in those things!

[@johankaewberg8162]

The Plutonium game, is the idea that the guy who misses the poke gets radiation poisoning?

[@marcelostalker]

If you are wondering about that little blue pill at the start, it was meant to be heart medication. They just happened to find out that, IT JUST SO HAPPENS, it was very good for something else, something else that can't be said on youtube videos. So, if your heart medication doesnt get the job done, but helps you "get the job done", you might as well sell it, right?

[@playbetter7937]

I saw a blue pill and immediately thought of Viagra

[@marcelostalker]

@@playbetter7937 You thought right!

[@thelordofthelostbraincells]

*BONER PILL*

[@prestonjones1653]

Fun fact, it actually is still prescribed as heart medication... for women.

[@fg09403]

ah yeah, a fun little detail left out about the slam is that it was proposed that rather then just making a straight line to its final target, it could zig zag erratically across the soviet union to dust as much of it as possible with radiation. fun.

[@mobiuscoreindustries]

Makes sense, the thing is after all cappable of flying for weeks at minimum. worst part is this is all accounting for an unshielded solid fuel core, which isn't really very efficient at this task and therefore burns itself out quite fast. Oakridge national labs were able to design a liquid fuel reactor version of the nuclear thruster for jet bomber applications and actually suceeded in making it work, and unlike the SLAM, that would could push the months of operation if not more. Which honestly makes me think of potential applications of this, as crazy as it may sound. Not on earth, but on other planets. Most planets are radioactive AF as is, and a liquid fuel reactor would not really release its radioactivity in the exhaust anyways. A nuclear powered jet drone would be able to zip around entire planets and investigate places like Titan where the tick atmosphere blocks observation from orbit. And unlike a normal jet engine it could not care less about there not being oxygen.

[@duelgundam]

I think it was included, in the form of the "plays connect the dots across the USSR" joke

[@bkjeong4302]

Followed up by it crashing while spewing nuclear waste in every direction.

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

supersonic cruise missile Mach 3 with the farthest range belongs to Russia with a range of 3000 km but if you replace it calmly nuclear the range can beat icbm.and can circle the earth 5x

[@alexisjuarez9858]

A nuke launching Nuke is the most American thing I have ever heard in my life, second only to the American battleship that took two nukes at point blank & refused to sink.

[@OldManReacts]

MURCIA

[@TinyCactus7628]

21:15 “Saw what happened, when we dropped two of these on a city and thought. Might replace the shovel”😂 That is my favorite quote of this month 😂

[@40kconquest10]

The reason the aliens won't talk to us is because our primitive wifi is full of porn

[@dinodude6992]

I mean, atleast they won't have to abduct some humies to figure out how we breed

[@DemitriVladMaximov]

Listerine was originally floor polish. Oh and if you thought this was bad, look up the girls who had to put radioactive paint on wristwatch hands by wetting the paintbrushes with her lips.

[@bthsr7113]

Those poor girls. Heard about that one too.

[@Geographus666]

Viagra was originally intended as heart-mediaction but while it did not work as intended, during clinical trials male test-subjects reported ... other effects.

[@nick3xtremegaming212]

"Oh my god we're stupid!" Yes yes we are, its a miracle we gotten this far

[@BrandonSwinney-j2v]

this is my favorite line in the video

[@supersaiyandiclonius3056]

21:40 I'm sorry, mind repeating that Commissar? I don't think the Inquisitor heard you.

[@bluelick7578]

So wait. HOLD ON a second.. They made a nuclear powered engine successfully, they scrapped the project since the weapon design was an obvious out of this world madman project... but what about space rocket? Launch the rocket into space by conventional mean, then activate THAT engine to go where you want to... oh right, air. Nvm I'm an idiot.

[@defies4626]

That... is known as a nuclear thermal/fission fragment rocket depending on the context. That is something that was developed, is currently being practicalized, and is expected to be used in the next 20-30 years. It is *VERY* metal.

[@bthsr7113]

Well what they built for SLAM requires an atmosphere to operate. Jets don't work in space. But yes, we are looking at nuclear rockets, and have been for a while.

[@iplaygames8090]

Project orion. Aka detonating nukes infront of a push plate to proppel a massive space vessel (larger then any constructed so far) they tested it with conventional bombs and found it worked perfectly OK. Its just they signed a treaty about not testing nukes.

[@alphaandomega4422]

To quote the late Dwight D Eisenhower, "Beware the Military Industrial Complex"

[@spartana1116]

17:40 because as a species were more interested in making our weapons deadliest with more range to kill our Rivals then solving everyday problems

[@mobiuscoreindustries]

its funny you mention this, because a similar crazy project (the nuclear powered jet bomber) spawned a nuclear reactor so incredibly efficient, safe yet simple that it almost solved the energy crisis before it had even begun. But it lost to the much more dangerous FBR project (that, for reference, needed to use fucking SODIUM as a medium) because that one could make a fuck ton of bomb material. There is many cases of deadly weapon research actually solving everyday problems.

[@themalcontent100]

The thought emporium shut down several MODERN companies that had radioactive items like wellness badges and eyemasks for sleeping.

[@bthsr7113]

Did they know about the radioactive bracelets advertised to protect against 5g? Because if that's not legally beaten into the ground, then there is something wrong.

[@kabob0077]

8:07 Old Man, the Cold War was truly a fucking WILD time for weapons development.

[@bthsr7113]

One of the ones that stood out to me was trying to have jet fighters hang on walls before deploying. Kind of like a bat. Not the most overkill or a covert deployment method for espionage/first strikes, but just.... odd.

[@kabob0077]

@@bthsr7113 There was also the Lockheed CL-1201s, the design study for flying nuclear powered transports and one flying Aircraft Carrier.

[@bthsr7113]

@@kabob0077 the CL-1201 is new to me, but there's also the old plans to modify 747's (Who were also considered for containing several racks of cruise missiles) for carrying microfighters and the Ocean skimming monster dreamed up by Bartini.

[@MacKnight]

Olds man horror, while correct, was very entertaining to watch :)

[@DeHerg]

And he didn't even need to mention project Orion or the even more insane nuclear saltwater rocket. BTW this gives me an idea to suggest something related in the discord about a even more brilliant idea the Soviets had about something radioactive. 😀

[@Isolder74]

Well that was only proposed. No one managed to try and build and rest one.

[@jbark678]

Ah yes nuclear fracking, because filthy ground water isn't enough, it needs to be an order of magnitude more deadly.

[@DeHerg]

And having a nuke go off next to a massive pocket of flammable gas sounds like such a great idea too.

[@kristiankepley5944]

Yes! More blue jay! Love his stuff!

[@TheSimmr001]

On the suez canal plan their are three routes suggested, but their is fear of destroying the local ecosystem and causing tectonic issue's.

[@bthsr7113]

When I saw Bluejay's video, I knew most of these already. The world of nuclear ordinance is scary. Like that time a Russian silo left a training program in for resuming regular operation. A training program simulating a full scale nuclear attack by the US. Fun Fact, TNT and dynamite are both basically the same thing. Nitroglycerin with a stabilizing agent. Though the ratio of boom to stable is different. I will not play the Russian mil sim. I will play the Netherlands post apocalyptic machine hunter or the Canadian space ninja demigod simulator...... though the latter's parent company was bought by Tencent. Ugh. Yeah, Project Pluto. It's also known as the Flying Crowbar. Hi, momentary pic of Shego. They didn't build it, but they tested the idea, and seriously considered going further. Pluto/SLAM was basically designed for MAXIMUM casualties. The article I read said after using up all the VLS H-bombs, it would fly a grid over the USSR until eventually crashing somewhere. With its unshielded reactor. It is my go to example of the psychopathic madness that was cold war weapons design. Sure, we also looked at using depleted uranium nosecones on MIRV's to increase fallout without sacrificing yield, but that's not quite as spectacularly over the top for trying to kill every last person and ensure the land is forever tainted. Yeah, like arsenic before, and Asbestos after, the initial lack of understanding meant some seemingly useful products would cause horrible problems for the customer base and workers. Then later nuclear was trendy, so.... The real sad thing is the radioactive jewelry being marketed as protecting people from the radiation of 5g towers. Because we could well be a lost people. 14:46 Oh, don't forget the red tinted testicle tanning Fox was hawking. I don't know that it emitts nuclear radiation beyond standard background, but men are still trying to light up the junk to feel more confident. I mean, in the end, the actual leaders shot the Project Plowshare type stuff down. Though one guy in particular really was obsessed with it. Practically a Metal Gear Villain waiting to happen. He wasn't a politician or general thankfully. Two particularly batshit ideas he didn't cover are 1: setting off a nuclear bomb to boil an underground lake for power. Thankfully the heat didn't hold as much as they wanted, so that was scrapped. The second and more insane one was dropping an A-bomb behind a massive metal plate attached to the rear of a spacecraft with a spring. So by the force of repeated nuclear detonations a plate would slam a spacecraft forward. I repeat, the idea was to fly through space on rapid succession nuclear shockwaves.

[@kabob0077]

Ah, Project Orion.

[@bthsr7113]

@@kabob0077 I just.... What were they on that made nuclear warhead generated pressure waves seem like the go to propelling force?

[@kabob0077]

@@bthsr7113 It was the 50's and 60's, there's no telling what they were or weren't on!

[@bthsr7113]

@@kabob0077 That's certainly true. Clearly they had toto much or not enough of something.

[@kabob0077]

18:18 It'd be the one time everyone in that region would agree on something.

[@iplaygames8090]

Yeah nuking israel would probably be very acceptable to the arabs

[@mikulasnevidal5032]

the missile sound like something the Orks would make

[@Eliphas_Leary]

Welcome to the insanity of the Cold War. If you want further education about how crazy people were back then, we recommend you watch "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb". Slim Pickens is the bomb in that one.

[@prestonjones1653]

8:14 "Screw the Soviets!" Yes, I'm sure this is why they built the S.L.A.M. systems in the first place.

[@Isolder74]

That idea was more of a case of screw everyone.

[@iplaygames8090]

5:05 like 2 years ago the russians had one of theese explode when they were retrieving it after a test.

[@johankaewberg8162]

The Radium girls (clock painters) had their jaws literally falling off all the time.

[@comradedog4075]

He didn’t even mention all the shenanigans the Soviet’s where up to

[@kabob0077]

To be fair, he only briefly touched the very surface of what America was up to...

[@comradedog4075]

@@kabob0077 nuclear powered aircraft anyone? What about cars, maybe tanks?

[@bthsr7113]

@@comradedog4075 Okay, the Plane kind of made sense, though it would make any plane that crashed or was shot down potentially much more exciting. Thankfully, we got aerial refueling down pretty good.

[@bkjeong4302]

They actually built a working nuclear ramjet for the SLAM before they realized they had no way to test the thing safely.

[@hakonsgaming535]

Note that radium is generally safe so long as you don't ingest it, it is radioactive but it radiates alpha particles which don't penetrate the skin you're in more danger from staying out in the sun too long. There's radium paint you can put on gun sights for night visibility and it's in a lot of clocks and watches and it's completely safe in those applications, the people eating it and drinking it are totally fucked though because alpha particles are dangerous to soft tissue and once radium gets in your bloodstream through digestion it's just irradiating all of your insides until all your blood is replaced...

[@Seer_Of_The_Woodlands]

you can actually see how faith in humanity disappeared from the face during the video.

[@benjamies4136]

Much like the internet and the age of "information" everyone knew it would be important, but no one knew how or why, or most importantly the dangers

[@benjamies4136]

These are the things we know about that happened, imagine the things that have been destroyed... or "missing" files

[@gregorysiegel1178]

As you always say, good times rhymes with war crimes

[@Prophetofthe8thLegion]

Good times rhymes with CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY!!!

[@oliversherman2414]

Stuff like this makes me lose faith in humanity

[@mattroxursoul]

Why would they do it? For science of course. We do what we must because we can.

[@tusken9669]

For the good of all of us, except the ones who are dead.

[@40kconquest10]

5$ bet that all if these were used on krieg during the Civil war

[@bthsr7113]

SLAM really does fit right at home in 40k.

[@zacmason3593]

Scp 682: See I told you

[@thanquolrattenherz9665]

how can someone get stuck in a laundry maschine?

[@discountplaguedoctor88]

So which aliens does Old Man want to speak with? Because we have another 28k years before the Fall of the Eldar (that Empire REALLY had it coming), the Tau won't show up for another 38k years (and we all know how much he hates the Tau, overdone memes aside), nobody in their right mind wants to meet the Tyranids, the Orks are terrible conversationalists, and the Necrons are slumbering. This is without getting into the aliens from series like Mass Effect (just what are those tentacle-looking things that Asari have on their heads? Is that supposed to be their version of HAIR?) or The Xelee Sequence.

[@Gfish17]

The Empower approved.

[@lop90ful1]

Amaziing reaction i suggest more Bkuejay videos

[@Seer_Of_The_Woodlands]

great video!

[@Shadybish]

This guy REALLY shocked and asking why American scientist did this dangerous and dumb stuff back then? Really?

[@themalcontent100]

Radioactive jockstrap. This explains a lot about American culture today.

[@EC23331]

Hell yeah!

[@catosicarius3027]

Ha bomb

[@Yazig_chaosForged]

hi

[@Sidraughen]

Everything here seems very smrt.