Overnight Open Thread

Welcome to the Monday.

Anniversary of the Nagasaki Bombing

65 years ago the US set off an atomic bomb 500 meters above Nagasaki. It was a plutonium-based implosion device which led to its spherical shape and nickname of 'Fat Man'.

Nagasaki doesn't get the same coverage as Hiroshima but it's more meaningful to me since it's the only nuked city I've ever visited. Today it's a completely modern city and other than the memorial around ground zero, you'd never know anything unusual ever happened there. You can read more of my thoughts on Nagasaki here.

Interestingly just 5 months later the US Marines held a football match at the site of the Nagasaki explosion - the Atom Bowl of 1946. Because of broken glass they used two hand touch instead of tackling. In retrospect it probably wasn't such a great idea to hold a game there but it also points out that these cities were hardly atomic wastelands at that point.

Here's some footage of 'Fat Man' being prepped and the actual explosion over Nagasaki along with appropriate eerie music.

Rifqa Bary Won't Have To Return To Her Parents
Mainly because she turns 18 in a few days. Normally I favor parent's rights over their kids but in this case as a convert from Islam to Christianity she faced a non-trivial chance of being killed by her parents or other muslims. It also turns out that her parents are here illegally and that she's currently suffering from uterine cancer. What a mess.

'The Breakfast Club' 25 Years Later
Meh. I never cared for The Breakfast Club even as a teenager. To me the characters (both the kids and the adults) were pretty much all stereotypes and the outcome seemed contrived. Even the most stereotypical 'group' kids in my high school seemed a lot more interesting and nuanced than these characters. But hey a lot of people love this movie so opinions differ I guess.

How Much Do Top Athletes Make?
A lot but most of it is from endorsements rather than salary/winnings. Interestingly Peyton Manning is the only NFL player to make the top 10.

Capitalism and 'Raper's Row'
The Anchoress tweeted. this story as the ugly underbelly of the free market. And yeah it's not pretty or admirable, but then the behavior of people living on the edge usually isn't very pretty or admirable either. Everyone in the story seemed to be getting what they wanted for the price they were willing to pay so from that point of view it maximized everyone's utility. So as a critique of capitalism I think the story failed.

How To Make Your Own Soda
Okay this site is for people who want to make their own soda literally from scratch. Which I'm sure is good and all. But if you just want to make soda at home to save money or avoid having to lug home 2L bottles every week, do what I do and get a Sodastream kit.

The 9 Hottest Female Former Child Stars
Usually child stars don't age well but these seem to be the exception.

The group thingy. You can figure out the rest.

Tonight's post brought to you by the warning leaflets dropped on Nagasaki prior to the bombing:

Notice: Posted by permission of AceCorp LLC. Please e-mail overnight open thread tips to maetenloch at gmail. Otherwise send tips to Ace.

posted by Maetenloch at 09:50 PM

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