When we reflect on iconic images of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and
their nuclear devastation, one of the first to come to mind is
inevitably a mushroom cloud. Few people, by comparison, will
stop to reflect on what the bombs responsible for razing these
cities to the ground — codenamed Little Boy and Fat Man,
respectively — looked like, themselves; or that they existed, at
one point in time, undetonated — but chillingly patient. In
1945, this photograph [hi-res available here] of Fat Man on its
transport carriage stood for many things. It was emblematic of a
nation at war; the peak of technological and scientific
innovation; and the future of international conflict. Today,
however, it serves as a powerful reminder — of the lives lost;
of humanity's enduring relationship with warfare and weaponry;
and of an ongoing history of mutually assured destruction.
Spotted on The Atlantic. Image via Wikimedia Commons.