In 1950s Vegas Exploding A-Bombs Were Cause For a Party

Amazing, I would never have thought commercialization would reach these levels. Interesting to see what majority of American population thought of the nuclear bomb in general and what studies if any were done by the government in terms of the harmful effects of nuclear radiation.

The picaresque novel "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me" by Richard Farina (classmate of Tom Pynchon's) has an incredible scene where a traveling student drinks martinis in Vegas with rich oilmen as they watch the bombs go off before dawn. At first I thought this was pure fiction, but it's incredible to know that scene was based on a terrifying reality.

In Wright Morris&#x27;s novel <i>Ceremony at Lone Tree</i>, a fellow driving from Baja California to Nebraska stops off at a motel where the clerk notes him down as &quot;Wake before Bomb&quot;, i.e. to be awakened in time to see a test. In the event, the test is canceled.