The Manhattan Project (1986 film) and Deterrence

[@ThePaintballer1994]

Feral Historian Lore is WILD

[@ellugerdelacruz2555]

Huh, he was classmates with the Nuclear Boy Scout.... _~The More You Know~_

[@benjackson1454]

I thought you were exaggerating when you said it was similar to your high school experiences. Also congrats on 2k

[@johnecoapollo7]

Having "discovered" John Lithgow through his portrayal of Churchill in The Crown, I am increasingly discovering that he was in practically everything in the 80s. Also the plot twist at the end... excellent 🤣

[@cavemanjoe79]

John Lithgow is awesome in Ricochet with Denzel Washington and he did a really good job in Cliffhanger. I grew up seeing him play Dad characters like in Harry and The Hendersons, so seeing him play two complete psychopaths in those movies was quite a shock.

[@mightybluespider]

I remember women hitting on me and me being too stupid to act on it. Now they no longer hit on me and I don't how to ask them out because they used to do all the... proactivity

[@jonofthehill]

Feeling you hard there bud. Eight years after I graduated I reunited with and then married a gal that I had dated briefly in high school. Between her and a gal I was never interested in but stayed friends with I found out I pretty much could have asked out every girl I crushed on and gotten them, but I was way too shy at the time.

[@SP4D3-s69]

Suffering from success

[@peterhessedal8539]

A couple things I remember from that movie. John Lithgow's character writing 7 using the German style with a hash through it, which I emulated because I thought it was cool. Also the 4 marble puzzle that he gives the kid at the start of the movie, my mom gave me the same puzzle and I solved it in the same amount of time. She was somewhat disappointed that I did it so fast.

[@Philistine47]

I'm not more than ordinarily prescient, but I remarked to a friend 10-12 years ago that I was _very_ glad my years as a stupid teenager came before the Internet was in common use, let alone social media. It's bad enough that _I_ remember some of the dumb stuff that came out of my mouth back then; I really do not need it immortalized in digital form, waiting to re-emerge from the mists of the past and claim yet more pounds of social flesh any time things seem to be going well.

[@joshcarter-com]

I observed with my daughter (now in college) that she quickly learned to self-filter what she commits to writing. Now many teens won’t be honest and forthright-and say the occasional really dumb thing. They simply won’t say anything that they fear would get them “canceled.”

[@Generalfund]

4:21 - So glad you brought this up. As a Gen - X kid you had to put in some extra work to be 'edgy' and noticed by females if you were not an athlete, beaury queen, mega student, or an actual cool person. Some friends of mine in the art community made red t-shirts with the big sicle and hammer on the front with Lenin on the back and "Commie Boy" written underneath him. This was meant to be a satire of Tommy Boy a popular brand for college age kids at the time being Tommy Hillfger(sp). I can remember my friends dad politely pointing out that all of us wearing our shirts together on memorial day was maybe a bad look (unintentional) I can definitely see his point better now. At the time I quipped "their meant to be sarcastic and they fought for my right to wear whatever I want" lol. This was all funny to me because I had spent most of high school obsessing over WW2 and hated communism, but who could know that, duh? The male brain truly does not mature till 25

[@MrBlueBurd0451]

25? I'm about to turn 31 and my brain still operates on 14-15 year old mode.

[@Generalfund]

@@MrBlueBurd0451 lol

[@lloydritchey]

The Anakin cut was...*Chef's kiss.* Well done, man! ALL of my High School friend group would be in Gitmo by today's standards. (Where all the recent Presidents belong.)

[@springbloom5940]

'I remember it differently 😒' Felt that one

[@jonofthehill]

For some reason I find it pretty awesome that you went to school with the nuclear boy scout. It's also awesome that you were the same nerd class as I was, sci-fi novels and toying with my rudimentary Chemistry 1 skills to explo- I mean, 'break stuff' ;)

[@scienceme9794]

This reminds me of The Mouse That Roared, an amusing 1959 comedy about a small European microstate that declares war on America in an attempt to take advantage of Marshall Plan dollars. They accidentally win the war by capturing the world's most powerful nuclear bomb from a research institute

[@gbixby3453]

I remember watching this one back in the day... I had almost completely forgotten about it. At the time, I didn't entirely understand why he activated the bomb...eh, I was young.

[@tragedy_and_farce6488]

“If you consistently treat peaceful people as a threat, they can be backed so far into a corner that they become threatening.” Incredibly insightful and happens all too often.

[@zamoragera13]

I remember this movie. I liked it.

[@gishman5539]

With Lizardo mentioned is there any chance we’ll ever get a video about Buckaroo Banzai?

[@feralhistorian]

The odds are high.

[@RCAvhstape]

Hey New Jersey, where are your spurs?

[@Lorem_ipsum_dolor_sit_amet]

If you 'tilt at windmills' long enough, you end up creating the very dragon you've been pretending to fight. Or in simple terms, treat someone like they're a piece of shit long enough and they'll eventually live up to your expectations, often to your own shock and horror.

[@ericjohnson2024]

Paul stole plutonium from a government research facility and used it to build a functional thermonuclear weapon, but let's blame the Army guy who doesn't want Upstate New York incinerated with atomic fire. Makes a lot of sense.

[@DavidBrown-wo9ip]

A light colonel, part of Delta Force in the mid eighties, without a Combat Infantry Badge, (not even an Expert Infantry Badge), now that requires suspension of disbelief.

[@HungNguyen-sy4oz]

"Treat someone like a monster long enough and they'll become one." - Amanda Waller, Suicide Squad.

[@BurningMonkey]

you can tell the movie is from a way different era, cause in one of the stills on IMDB, the highschool kid is sitting on the couch with his highschool girlfriend and she is smoking a cigarette. :D

[@Hagashager]

Very prescient conclusion when put in context of the lionizing of Luigi Mangione. Agree with his actions or not, he serves as an example of someone pushed to a limit and then exposing, whether he meant it or not, the deep seated hatred most Americans feel towards his alleged victim.

[@RCAvhstape]

No he doesn't. He murdered a man in cold blood and represents a new generation of self righteous fools.

[@johnarpin8760]

Just finished reading "The Radioactive Boy Scout". Not a bad read.

[@vociferon-heraldofthewinte7763]

The second amendment doesn’t preclude anyone from privately owning nuclear weapons. ASAMOF, at the time 2A was enacted, private individuals owned high tech, for that time, weapons such as long range cannon artillery and even warships.

[@sbeaber]

Yeah. But as much as I love the 2A I don't want access to nukes

[@StruggleoftheOutsider]

Good luck to anyone invoking that when the hammer comes down.

[@KS-PNW]

Federal law does though

[@vociferon-heraldofthewinte7763]

@@KS-PNW Most Federal law is unconstitutional.

[@KS-PNW]

@vociferon-heraldofthewinte7763 I mean I don't necessarily disagree but that won't keep you out of prison..

[@mightybluespider]

So the reason that the Feral Historian has no accent, to my ear, is because he comes from here. That makes sense.

[@billlowery1658]

That's what accents are for. They identify outsiders even when they look like you

[@TheJohnnyCalifornia]

This and WAR GAMES were kinda a two movie genre of nuclear war high school adventure movies. When I read up on the nuclear strategy of the time, it was strange how much War Games was based on a few actual events in the Cold War.

[@RKingis]

Supposedly, Wargames was gonna be canned, because they thought no one think it was possible to havk a government computer. But there was a computer that was hacked in some other country, and apparently the president realized how real a threat it could be.

[@RCAvhstape]

By coincidence, there were 3 things in 1983 that almost started a nuclear war, the same year the film was released.

[@Lyze]

'John Lithgow is always Dr. Lizardo'. God damn right.

[@dagon99]

I'm glad to see new uploads.

[@owenturley6214]

Fascinating anecdote Feral. But somehow in my memory The Manhattan Project was very different 80's film. I think it was an action film about a US battleship from WW2 teleported into the present or maybe it was the other way around. I distinctly recall scenes of sailors being merged into the decking and screaming. It all had something to do with the atomic experiments being done at the end of the war. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm the one from the past.

[@henryburby6077]

The Philadelphia Experiment

[@owenturley6214]

@@henryburby6077 Ah, thank you! I was close.

[@bernardocoto8519]

Heard about this case a while ago, impressive the ease and lack of security that allowed him to get some of the stuff he needed. Really sad the way he ended up

[@Gonboo]

Boy this video is a lot more relevant now than it was a year or so ago.

[@shermanium7834]

my new favorite channel

[@anomalytm05]

2:37 A civilian(kid, even worse) has a 50k ton nuclear bomb... and they literally let him go at the end of this bs...

[@nug1903]

Have you ever watched the british tv series "The Prisoner" as if not you might find it well worth a watch and if you have a rewatch. As the show is about an individual who isn't conforming to the society they are in and the pressures that society then exerts to get that person to conform, or at least that is one way to read part of what is going on in it.

[@feralhistorian]

It's been a long time since I've seen the Prisoner, but yes, I do want to cover that at some point.

[@mahatmarandy5977]

@@feralhistorianoooh! Yes! Please do!

[@oneproudbrowncoat]

​@@feralhistorian Great! Be seeing you!

[@Sedgewise47]

😯 OMG!! I’d actually *forgotten* about this film! (One of my first “real” films seen on our then-new “cable” channels!…)

[@everybodygotthat]

Dude, you buried the lede..... Good story. Thanks.

[@Weariedsteam85]

That last point is a good one. Making war on good people is bad for the soul. And society.

[@Oilburnerful]

Wow, listening to this and flashing back to all the stupidity i did and said in my teenage years. I had to stop listening and calm myself down.

[@anomalytm05]

I hated the ending, ngl. The dude made a nuke that could level a small town all for a 'science fair' or shit. Just for him to be treated as some kinda 'hero'.

[@sheets75]

I wish I had interesting stories to tell about old classmates but we seem to have been a thoroughly mediocre, unmemorable bunch.

[@Sudo_Nimh]

"OH come on, the baker's migrated like a foot and a half"

[@dubuyajay9964]

And then a kid tried to make an actual nuke reactor irl...

[@garyv2498]

I suppose every mid 80's-90's high school had some version of the Nuclear boy Scout every few years. I'd even bet some adults thought it could have been me. But I know I wasn't nearly smart enough for that level of stupidity.

[@charlesmaurer6214]

Noticed I hadn't seen the film since the 80's or any reaction reviews but yours. Suspect it has been next to blacklisted for fear of copycats and like you said the powers that be are so interested in making enemys they can't ever take a look in the mirror at the real threats.

[@billlowery1658]

AH, I didn't recognize you. Time is a cruel chisel

[@SongSparrow1]

What’s less believable? A kid making a nuclear bomb, or the feds running away in humiliation?

[@KNS1996DFS]

0:43 Wow, Cyntia Nixon.

[@mojrimibnharb4584]

It really was another world.

[@alexnovak2669]

Wait, that guy was from Clinton Township? Ok I grew up there and never looked into details of the kid building a nuclear reactor. Now I will.

[@seand.g423]

6:49 uh... "have to play _Fallout 76". Get it right._

[@benjaminconnor6640]

hey that kid did become the Youngest person to ignite a Nuclear Reactor at 23. Of course this was a few years ago from where I am, 2016 maybe? but he never did give on nuclear science

[@RCAvhstape]

It wasn't a real fission reactor.

[@benjaminconnor6640]

@@RCAvhstape Still counted, he's in the Atomic Commissions Hall of Fame

[@Sedgewise47]

😯You were a classmate of the “Radioactive Boy Scout”?(!!)

[@feralhistorian]

Yep. Like I said, I didn't really know him but we knew some of the same people. There were a lot of crazy little projects going on.

[@jplopp7388]

​@feralhistorian isn't that how it always goes? I did a little lookup of old friends from school and was shocked that half are in prison for some strange stuff. Looking back, the signs were there but we didn't even consider them back then. The innocence of youth comes to mind.

[@robertlehnert4148]

@@jplopp7388 I have a friend whose in yearbook pictures with Jeffrey Dahlmer.

[@MrBenMcLean]

Wow, this movie is like WarGames except ... exactly like WarGames!

[@mahatmarandy5977]

Neither here or there, but I have only walked out of about six or seven movies in my life. It’s a matter of pride with me. This movie was one of that incredibly small number. For some reason it’s smugness and showy earnestness was more than I could bear.

[@ericjohnson2024]

Yeah, the idea that we should ignore the fact that this arrogant prick built a weapon capable of incinerating half of Manhattan to prove his genius and that the Army guy is the real jerk is a bit much.

[@brocktechnology]

There's more to life than freezing toads.

[@Endless_Jaguar]

3:16 Now that you mention it, I did notice that there sure are a lot of intelligent young people, who have very strong opinions about corporations and government these days.

[@NorthForkFisherman]

Certainly about medical insurance at the bare minimum. Looking forward to seeing a comparison between some movies examining that of late and "The Adjuster".

[@klausheidlberg3006]

radioshack...ahh there is an artifact

[@jimmybusby]

You know it. I know it. The American people know it.

[@garethoneill5676]

Frasier's dad

[@stevenwhitener5623]

I remember 1992 . We had to repeat keywords like Bomb Clinton White House to catch the attention of the 5eyes 😆 🤣 Then you would tell them what you thought of them

[@iandaniel1748]

No nerd days only Geek Punk

[@gregmita]

Back when recreational nukes were not just associated with ancaps.

[@seand.g423]

*were only associated with the inconvenient sort of _actual_ Right-Wingers...

[@seanbrazell7095]

Pinball machine parts certainly can temporarily fool Iranians if you don't yet have a Mr fusion but still need to use your DeLorean time machine.

[@gregoryfrechou]

weird, I remember this movie but thought it was called 'china syndrome'

[@johngaltline9933]

That's a different movie, about a reactor melt down, that got a lot of hype because it came out just before the Three Mile Island Accident.

[@williamvorkosigan5151]

Not a Dirty Bomb! My understanding is that outside of spy novels/films, there is no such thing. It would be a bomb with an entirely unnecessary complication added. The material would be scattered no further than the explosion could throw it. If the explosion didn't kill you, the scattered material (that would be cleaned up within 48hrs) is not likely to kill you either.

[@berserkasaurusrex4233]

Don't know who told you that. Aerosolized radioactive material can spread for miles, just depends on the wind. Cleaning it up would be a real pain as well, and even an alpha emitting isotope can be deadly if inhaled or ingested.

[@kevinbourke1847]

It American remake of a Japanese movie

[@gfdia35]

In 1995 i was 18 and made a few “toilet cleaner b0ms “ was showing a pretty big group of friends how to make a bigger bang than the extraordinarily weak and legal fireworks allowed in Virginia for a fraction of the cost ( granted you're only in essence just causing a chemical reaction to happen in a 2 liter soda bottle and popping it) long story short somebody living near by called the sheriffs and they didn't arrest me but told me i had to go to court over this ,,,, ,,,, suddenly i found myself defending myself from state prostitution stating this is how the Oklahoma bmer got started and this can't be tolerated and i should be thown in jail for at least 5 years for building expl0sives 🤦. I luckily pleded to the judge at best this a misdemeanor fireworks charge and i should receive whatever that punishment was he agreed and i got 30 hours community service,,,,,,,, I moved to Florida with in 6 months of that incident and if had happened here, cops would just say stop it you're be to loud and some neighbors have complained,,,,,, I can't imagine what would have happened if that were today in Virginia with all the phones there would have been recording it 😞🤦🤦🤦

[@feralhistorian]

I often wonder if prosecutors offices and law enforcement need a robust psych eval to weed out people prone to hysterics. The legal system seems to have more than its share of them.

[@anomalytm05]

I know a kid that did the same shit in the bathroom... 2 kids from the 4th grade ended up in the hospital.

[@anomalytm05]

That said, making a 50k ton bomb should indeed be prosecuted.

[@Anon0nline]

This review turned into a weird pro-antisocial anti-intellectual rant about how words and actions don't have consequences based on age or intent.

[@melvinbrotherofthejoker436]

Your comment is a weird incel rant so..

[@Anon0nline]

@@melvinbrotherofthejoker436 Google "Appeal To The Stone" and "ad hominem" then feel bad for using two logical fallacies.