Cold War “Time Capsule”

National Geographic news is reporting that a “Time Capsule” has been found in the Brooklyn Bridge that was evidently built in preparation for the Cold War. It is not known if this was intended to be used as a fallout shelter, but it was full of previsions.

In a dank and dingy vault underneath the Brooklyn Bridge, a routine structural inspection last week unearthed a veritable Cold War time capsule, city officials announced this week.

The New York City bunker is stockpiled with decades-old provisions that were meant to be used after a nuclear attack.

City inspectors were astonished to find water containers, medical supplies, and hundreds of thousands of calorie-packed crackers.

The article is an interesting read and the find is a grim reminder of a bleak period in our not so distant past. In fact some of the items are even dated:

Two of the dates stamped on many of the boxes 1957 and 1962 hold particular significance. In 1957 the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite. 1962 was the year of the Cuban missile crisis.

It is amazing to think that back then people even thought that shelters such as these would have aided in survival. Shelters were built to help keep out fallout, but never would have sustained in an actual blast. I am not sure if most people understood this back then as it is estimated “that there may have been 200,000 shelters created [in backyards].” Yet

In 1959 a federal report concluded that two hydrogen bombs dropped near the Brooklyn Bridge would kill at least 6.1 million people, the New York Times reported.

But at least back then we knew who are enemies were, not like now where terrorists strike while hiding behind innocent civilians including woman and children, my how times have changed.