The United States was the only country producing nuclear weapons until 1949 when the USSR tested its first nuclear device. The perception of safety generated by US weapons superiority waned. Soon the public began to think that the US was more vulnerable than it ever had been.
The Federal Civil Defense Administration prescribed duck-and-cover exercises as a safety measure in case of a Soviet attack. Quickly every American citizen, from children to the elderly, practiced to be ready in the event of nuclear war.
The movie Duck and Cover was produced for school showings. It was thought that the main dangers of a nuclear explosion were from heat and blast damage. It wasn’t until much later that we learned that the majority of damage from nuclear weapons is long term radiation contamination. No amount of duck-and-cover will stop radiation poisoning. Sorry for the false hopes.
Watch Duck and Cover – US Federal Civil Defense Administration (1951)
