Most People Are Completely Unaware Of This Insane Part Of Mississippi's History
By Daniella DiRienzo|Published December 10, 2017
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Daniella DiRienzo
Author
Though Daniella was born in New York and has lived in a couple of other states, Mississippi has been her home for more than 30 years. After graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Daniella began to hone her writing skills through various internships. In the years since, she’s had the privilege of having her articles appear in several publications, such as the Mississippi-based Parents & Kids Magazine. She’s also had the honor of interviewing actress Sela Ward for The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience.
Mississippi has a lively history that includes many notorious events. It also includes several lesser known happenings, such as the nuclear tests of the 1960s. Known as Project Dribble, the tests involved detonating two nukes. Since the explosives were set off underground in a secluded location, the government expected the testing to go unnoticed; however, it didn’t exactly work out that way. Read on to learn more about this insane part of Mississippi’s history (and make sure to check out the video below).
Nuclear test sites may seem like something that exist only on remote islands or in faraway wastelands; however, there’s one located 28 miles southwest of Hattiesburg.
The tests were conducted in the midst of the Nuclear Test Ban because the US government wanted to find out if other countries could defy the ban by doing underground tests that would be undetectable.
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The first of the two detonations took place on October 22, 1964.
Code named Salmon, the bomb was placed 3,000 feet below the Earth’s surface into the Tatum Salt Dome (an underground supply of salt left over from the Mesozoic Era when the area was covered by the sea).
Inconvenienced residents were paid $10 per adult and $5 per child for their trouble; however, many were unhappy with that amount when they returned home to find collapsed shelving, cracks in their ceilings, and wells that had run dry. Those who didn’t evacuate said they felt "three separate shocks, during which the soil rose and fell like ocean waves."
According to records, effects of the blast were felt up to two miles away.
Though just one-third as powerful as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima decades earlier, the bombs tested in Mississippi were still strong enough to cause tall buildings in Hattiesburg to sway for several minutes. More than just physical, the effects were visible as well – the shockwave shook pecans from pecan trees, while the churned-up silt caused rivers and streams to run black.
Check out the video below for actual nuclear test footage, including an up close view at the damage caused by the massive bombs.
So, did you know these nuclear tests were conducted in Mississippi? Did you or someone you know live in the area while the testing occurred? Tell us in the comments section.
