Sunday, August 16, 2009

Monday Musings

Looking on Youtube yesterday, my husband found this video.  Yee hoozier haa, it is a hoot.  

YouTube - The House In The Middle (Nuclear Attack Protection)







My husband was looking for this above picture of folks in easy chairs watching a test bomb (not easy to find but I did find it hours later on Google Images).

My first reaction to the short was anger.  But it is listed as comedy by its poster, NODDINGCAT.  So I had to loosen up!

After you have now watched the 1954 video - please know that in 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed this short as "culturally significant" and it has been preserved in the National Film Registry.  

This film explains a lot about my mother and probably Ananda's mother, too!  There was a lot of pressure on the women to save their families from nuclear destruction.  No wonder my mother sometimes just melted down.  This is too much pressure!

Supposedly the short was produced by the Federal Civil Defense Administration for the National Clean Up - Paint Up - Fix Up Bureau, but it was really produced by the National Paint, Varnish, and Lacquer Association.

How's that for Truth in Government -er Advertising - er Government - er?

Happy New Week to all!

10 comments:

  1. The clean, painted house may remain standing, but the owners would be charcoal. I supposed the government could resell the properties after the bodies are trucked away. I love this stuff, thank's for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amazing video! I don't recall as much about nuclear attacks as I do about air raid! When I was 3 we lived near the air strip that the Navy jets used in practice from Lemore Air Force Base. The air raid sirens wailed several times a day during training sessions and we would all run for the closets or scoot under the beds to hide. I vividly recall seeing the jets and running for cover. They scared the holy snot right out of me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AlienCG - I suppose the government did resell the properties and a school was built on the spot!

    Thanks for veiwing and commenting!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ananda - I remember being scared by a commericial that talked about Russia burying me in a forest.

    I also remember bomb shelters being sold in the Sears parking lot. My dad told me they would do no good.

    What fun times we grew up in!

    Thanks for viewing and commenting!

    ReplyDelete
  5. and you must not forget to 'duck and covr'...haha

    ReplyDelete
  6. The Cold War...yeah, good times :-) That video and it's message seemed quite odd to me...interesting. Thanks, C4C.

    ReplyDelete
  7. YELLOWDOG - always duck and cover! Thanks for visiting and commenting!

    ReplyDelete
  8. laura b - the video was very wierd to me - i could not beleive it! that's why i had to share it with my blogger friend! Thanks, laura!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Crazy times indeed back then. Just like doctors telling everyone it was OK to smoke. You just wonder what we are going to look back on in 50 years and ask ourselves, "What were we thinking"?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mr. Shife - It was crazy! My parents smoked in the house and in a closed car. I am sure I was never in a car seat. Not all cars had seat belts. It is a wonder that anyone survived!

    ReplyDelete