London
British scientists in the 1950s suggested packing nuclear land mines with live chickens, according to a document the National Archives released last week. The scientists were designing a 7-ton plutonium bomb that would be set off remotely to protect British troops if they had to retreat from the Soviet army. They needed a way to keep the detonator from freezing if a battle occurred in northern Europe, and somebody came up with the idea of including chickens, whose body temperature is 107 degrees, in the bomb casing. Avian heat would make the bomb last up to eight days, until the birds died of starvation. None of the bombs were ever actually built.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Zohran Mamdani: the young progressive likely to be New York City's next mayorIn The Spotlight The policies and experience that led to his meteoric rise
-
The best film reboots of all timeThe Week Recommends Creativity and imagination are often required to breathe fresh life into old material
-
'More must be done'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
