How ‘Project Plowshare’ Planned to Use Nuclear Bombs for Excavation
The insightful animated video series Kurzgesagt recounted the tenets of “Project Plowshare”, a rather frightening United States government program that began in 1957 and planned to use nuclear bombs for excavation purposes in the name of progress.
In the 1960s, the US planned to nuke Israel with hundreds of thermonuclear bombs. And Panama. And Alaska. All in the name of progress, driven by a mad scientist, to use the most destructive use of weapons to build things. This was Project Plowshare.
Project Plowshares was formed at the beginning of the Cold War with the purpose of using nukes to save money and time on such projects as digging canals, creating new waterways, and breaking up land. After several test failures, however, Project Plowshares was discontinued in 1977.
Project Plowshare was a bold attempt to use atomic explosions for more practical purposes: from digging canals and creating harbors to reshaping entire landscapes. This project was designed to push the limits of what seemed possible, but instead turned into an environmental disaster.
