Topic: Duck & Cover, I remember doing this garbage in school.

[JazzBill]

[youtube=425,350]lW4s7TETtJA[/youtube]

[Giff me dat fill-em!]

Yeah, I remember this swill also ...
Well, I guess if you can see and THEN react to the flash by "ducking and covering", then perhaps you are far enough away from the blast to survive it, but how covering yourself with a thin cloth or newspaper would help you survive it better is beyond me. When I was in primary school (in the mid 60's), our school Principal periodically would suddenly announce over the PA "Duck & Cover!! Duck & Cover!!" and we would all be required to plunge ourselves under our school desks and clasp our hands over the back of our necks. Now that we, as school children were required to not only have the flash seen by an adult (aka - the Principal) but then have him react by announcing to "Duck & Cover" over the PA system, THEN we hapless kids would be able to avoid cats-asstrophe simply by kneeling under our desks and protecting our necks with our hands.

[JazzBill]

I have to wonder if the government really thought that hiding under a desk, or putting a newspaper over your head would  save you from a nuclear blast. I imagine they were trying to make the public feel safe. But I seem to remember even as a kid, the running joke was, "Try to stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass good-bye," while your under your desk.

[jrvass]

1960's Birmingham schools (a suburb of Detroit that Dunrobin might be familiar with...) Bloomfield Village (15 Mile Rd and Lahser, maybe 10 miles from the scene of the Eminem film "8 Mile", of a few years ago.). It's now owned by Detroit Country Day School (Brother Rice, Marion HS... motto: we buy yo' po' child', then fill our games and collection plates befo' we sen yo' boy to UM skool. (Hello? Chris Webber? Call a time out late... ly... ?)

...had 'plastic'-looking, "black out", curtains... covering the left and 1/2 the right walls. Classrooms were towards the front and/or back walls.

The curtain tags read (koff)...

"Caution: ASBESTOS"
unreadable small print...
...more lawyer...
...jibber jabber...

(koff)(koff)

Jame(koff)s

(koff)(koff)(koff) (koff)(koff)

[JazzBill]

Thats pretty scary James. I also remember back in the early 60's chasing the truck down the street when he was spraying for mosquito's. We used to like to chase each other through the fog. What did they call that stuff? I remember, it was DDT.