Almost Everything in “Dr. Strangelove” Was Based on Fact
Young folks today just don't believe how downright surreal (and scary) the cold war was to live through.<p>Look, just read this wikipedia entry about the British Blue Peacock nuclear device, and boggle:<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Peacock" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Peacock</a><p>Yes. It's a <i>chicken-heated</i> atomic landmine. <i>Not</i> a joke: it was a Real Thing.<p>And so was this:<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_%28nuclear_device%29" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_%28nuclear_device...</a><p>The M-29 Davy Crockett tactical nuclear recoilless rifle. (Jeep-mounted, no PALs, the rocket's flight range was less than its lethal radius of effect: the crew were supposed to fire it over a hill then dive under their jeep for cover.)<p>People not only imagined these things, they built them and deployed them in the stone-cold expectation of using them in anger.