Mississippi Was Nuked in 1964

Mississippi doesn't often make the news; and when it does, often the news is bad.

Still, saying "Mississippi" slowly is a nice way approximately to count seconds: "One Mississippi, two Mississippi....etc."

It was news to me to read that back in 1964 they had actually done some atomic testing in Lamar County, Mississippi! To be sure, these were little nuclear devices; but A-Bombs nonetheless!  The purpose of this testing was to see if underground atomic testing could be detected by seismic recording devices.

What were they thinking? It was not as if the area was unpopulated; and Hattiesburg, MS was only 21 miles away! And, depending on what way the wind happens to blow, Biloxi, New Orleans, and Mobile might also have been affected by radiation.

This testing somehow escaped notice at the time.

[By the way, al.com is a reliable site for Southern news that's quite accurate. Something about their having a dog in the fight ....] 

See also Nuclear Blasts in Mississippi.