#Fallout #NuclearBlast #MushroomCloud #RadiationSafety
Hey there, fellow wasteland wanderer! π Have you ever wondered about the urban legend that says if your thumb is bigger than a mushroom cloud in Fallout, you can outrun the radiation and blast radius? Let’s dive deep into the science behind this myth to uncover the truth!
### The Reality of Nuclear Blast Radius and Radiation Exposure
#### Nuclear Blast Radius
When a nuclear bomb detonates, it creates a fiery mushroom cloud that expands rapidly, destroying everything in its path. The size of the mushroom cloud can vary depending on the type of bomb and the altitude of the explosion. However, the idea that the size of your thumb compared to the cloud determines whether you can outrun it is simply a myth. The blast radius of a nuclear explosion is much larger than the cloud itself, making it impossible to outrun the devastation.
#### Radiation Exposure
Radiation is a major concern in the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. Exposure to high levels of radiation can be deadly and have long-lasting health effects. Trying to outrun radiation by comparing the size of your thumb to a mushroom cloud is not a valid safety measure. It is crucial to seek shelter immediately and follow proper safety protocols to minimize radiation exposure in a nuclear event.
### Real-life Examples and Fallout’s Representation
While Fallout is a post-apocalyptic game that blends reality with fiction, it is important to separate the game mechanics from real-world science. In the game, holding your thumb to a mushroom cloud may offer a creative way to gauge the danger, but in reality, it is not a reliable method for assessing the risk of a nuclear blast.
### Conclusion
In conclusion, the notion that comparing the size of your thumb to a mushroom cloud can determine whether you can outrun a nuclear blast is not scientifically accurate. When faced with a nuclear explosion, it is crucial to follow emergency procedures, seek shelter, and prioritize safety measures to protect yourself from the devastating effects of radiation and the blast radius.
Remember, safety first in a post-apocalyptic world! Stay informed, stay safe, and stay prepared for whatever challenges may come your way. π₯ππ #NuclearSafety #FalloutMyths #StaySafeInWasteland
No it’s not true scientifically, if you can see the mushroom cloud you are doomed by radiation, but that is not a mistake by the show it is intended as something that seems like it’s true but it’s not to mock the commercials from the Cold War era where they “advised” people on what to do in case of a nuclear war, things like going behind a table, none of them would actually help but it was an attempt to try to calm society down since the fear of a nuclear war was clear and present, those advices helped to give them a little sense of control in a hopeless scenario
Itβs just Cold War era bullshit like duck and cover
It’s not scientifically accurate, but it was a thing you might have heard during the post WW2 nuclear age. Fallout plays a lot with nuclear age americana, and that is something my dad (about 65 years old) legitimately heard in his youth in the 60’s.
A literal rule of thumbβ¦
All these folks saying it was actually advice youβd hear during the Cold War are wrong. Itβs 100% just something someone made up as an explanation of Vault-Boyβs signature thumbs-up and wink. Itβs an urban legend thatβs been bouncing around the Fallout fandom for ages, the show just decided to make it canon.
No oneβs ever found proof this advice actually existed before it started being passed around the Fallout community.
Edit: Iβd love to be proven wrong, though, so if you have proof, please post it. The fandomβs been looking for proof for years.
Talk to anyone who lived through the Cold War, theyβll tell you the advice they received, if any, was to look *away* from the blast. No one with half a brain would tell you to look at it to determine how irradiated youβre about to be. Thatβs useless info not worth the risk of blinding yourself and wasting time you could be using to get to better cover, lol
BS. If you see a mushroom cloud your supposed to stop drop and roll.
If you see a mushroom cloud, you’re supposed to squat down, bend over, and kiss your ass goodbye.
If is almost never NOT in your best interest to run from an explosion. Either you die running or you live, it’s a “free” move.
[Kyle Hill already covered this](https://youtu.be/ctuZ54MwVZU?si=EptziguyHwTGkt_n)
Thumbs come in different sizes
It doesnβt really matter. If you see a mushroom cloud you should prolly start running. Not holding your thumb towards it and going βseems far enough away, letβs just watchβ.
Looking around online –
1) It’s something of a rumor created by Vault Boy’s signature pose **from Fallout 3** onward. The pose that has his thumb up. This wasn’t something from the original Fallout as he didn’t have a pose like that (and there was a lot less artwork of him).
2) It was not a thing before Fallout – duck and cover, run, look away from the explosion, etc. were common propaganda of the era that Fallout is based on. It was mostly meant to soften panic responses to potential nuclear war.
I remember it became a thing around the time Fallout 4 came out to say that’s why he has his thumb out – and it **might be** why they reason his thumb is that way.
Or he could just be winking while saying “good job” lol
The internet likes to find meaning where there is none. BUT NOW – it’s in the show, so it’s become “canon” for the universe lol
Funny to see this here, lol.
I literally just watched a video yesterday where [Kyle Hill analyzed this very question](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctuZ54MwVZU).
Spoiler: >!No, it’s not accurate. You could be MUCH closer than this “rule of thumb” indicates, and still survive the prompt effects of a nuclear weapon. If it IS smaller than your thumb, all you have to worry about is wind direction and figuring out if it was a surface burst that’ll produce fallout… but even if it’s bigger, you shouldn’t just give up. !<
>!More to the point, if you see a flash, you need to be seeking cover, not standing there like a dumbass with your thumb in the air. Worry about assessing the size and distance of the blast AFTER you’ve survived the thermal pulse and the blast wave.!<
If you really want to deep-dive some actual info on this, go check out Cresson Kearny’s Nuclear War Survival Skills. He was a consultant for the government and wrote the manual for Oakridge National Lab back in the 70s and 80s.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_War_Survival_Skills](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_War_Survival_Skills)
[https://oism.org/nwss/](https://oism.org/nwss/)
The Myths and Facts chapter alone is pretty fascinating reading.
This was a myth that was started by Fallout gamers and somehow propagated itself into the show. It’s not true, for a lot of the reasons people gave here, but also in the first game they do that classic thumbs up pose while looking away from an atomic bomb in the game’s manual.
I heard this a lot a few years ago so I looked it up and all I could find was Fallout gamers being the origin of this myth but no actual science behind it
If you saw nuclear explosion you are probably now completely blind.
My thumb or yours?
Either way it’s not going to help the multitude of all the other shit either about to hit or on it’s way to the fan.
Iβd say itβs a good rule of thumb.
This is stupid. You can hold your thumb one inch in front of your eye and youβre safe.
A lot of old advice like this comes back from the 1950s when it hadn’t really culturally set in that if there was a nuclear war that everyone, including you and your family, were going to die. There’s no real validity to this, the point was that people would hear tips like this and not go into a panic after realizing how dangerous the situation really was. The nuclear taboo also hadn’t fully developed yet as well so it’s not even like later on in the cold war when at the very least the US and USSR both knew with reasonable certainty that nobody was going to randomly start nuking people; MacArthur wanted to start dropping bombs all over the Korean Chinese border.
I wonder what happens if the wind is blowing in your direction?
Someone asked a nuclear scientist at some point somewhere, [Source forgotten] but no. If you can see the mushroom cloud, you’re dead.
NUCLEAR BOMB RULES:
very close: vaporized
close: killed
far: killed after a day or 12.
very far: die from cancer.
I have absolutely no idea but is the show any good?
Just film it, cameraman never dies.
The proper answer is to put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye
In the Fallout world, they use how we thought radiation worked in the 40βs-50βs.
The same way βthe world of tomorrowβ videos from that era showed nuclear power in homes and cars and robots helping us.
To answer your question, if you can see the mushroom cloud, youβre gonna have a bad time.
I would call this bunk. There are many hazards from a nuclear detonation, but fallout isn’t as deadly as people think. The main concern is ingesting or inhaling alpha emitters. Since atmospheric conditions can vary wildly (as can yields), the cloud being a certain size doesn’t say much.
Even if the wind is blowing toward you, it would take quite a while for fallout to reach you, possibly hours. Most of it settles close to ground zero anyway. The farther you get, the better off you are.
The real problem is material settling in the following days, and then being disturbed as you walk along or touch things.
If you’ve survived the initial concussion, thermal and radiation effects, you should always get as far away from a detonation as possible.
It’s not accurate, but it is real advice that was given during the cold war and it’s where fallout gets the iconic vault boy giving the thumbs up
Wasn’t it the opposite? If the cloud is bigger than your thumb then don’t bother running cause you are going to die anyway?
Thank god we all have identically sized thumbs and arm lengths!
No. I think that’s a joke. Too many variables. Bert the Turtle says to duck and cover, wait until shock waves pass, and seek shelter in the middle of a large building. Prompt fallout will start within 24 hours. Rad count should be ‘survivable in 2 weeks.
Since we don’t have a sheltering plan don’t bother looking for a fallout shelter. where you will die of radiation sickness, burns orr starvation.
I donβt know, in the 50s they said you were safe under your school desk too.