Kodak Had the Bomb? WTF?

Boy do I have a real WTF article for you! It is so far out there that I really had to wonder if it was BMU material. Well it does in a round about way have a science component and it is strange enough to qualify in some sort of way. But wow, this is really out there.

What am I going on about? Well from the Gizmodo article comes a story so weird that you have to check the date just to make sure some one isn't screwing with my head:

• Down in a basement in Rochester, NY, they (Kodak)  had a nuclear reactor loaded with 3.5 pounds of enriched uranium—the same kind they use in  warheads....

Why did Kodak have a hidden nuclear reactor loaded with weapons-grade uranium?  How did they get permission to even own it? And Kodak was allowed to set it up in a densely populated area, no less!   Whats more no one seemed to know about it.  City officials, police, fire,  no one it seems in the state of  New York, only a handful of engineers and government officials knew anything pertaining to the reactor -  and they still wouldn't had it not been for a disgruntled employee.

It seems it's main purpose was to check for material impurities and other even more obscure purposes.  But it is the whole idea that since the material and reactor was obtained in 1974 it has been a closely guarded piece of information.

In 2006 the reactor was ordered dismantled due in part to rising security concerns but still well after 9/11.  Strange goings on...

Ancient Geological Formations Were Working Reactors

In sixteen different areas in an African uranium mine are ancient evidence that at one point in distant history there were naturally occurring nuclear reactors capable of generating 100kws of electricity! What is even more astounding is that the reaction was stable for thousands of years. Now before you get yourself in a tizzy remember how powerful 100kws is. An electric heater pulls about 5kws so we are talking about 20 or so heaters. But it's how LONG they ran, now that's amazing! How can a reactor sustain itself without running away and melting down? It seems that ground water played a big part. It only ran periodically so the reaction had a chance to build and then water was introduced to inhibit runaway. So for a hundred thousand years or so this system would heat up and then water would shut it off only to start over again. I know, gross oversimplification of the process - but to be able to take place at all a few billion years ago is mind twisting!

Scientific American via Dvice blog

Chernobyl A Possible Tourist Attraction?!!!

In the quest for constant excellence (ahhhh back from the emergency room....I swallowed my tongue on that one) I have asked Tim Sayell to be my director of tourism. As we all know, Tim is good at ferreting out unusual articles, he should be equally so in this new venue.

In keeping with his new station, Tim informs me that there is indeed still places to go and things to see, even for the most jaded tourist. If you have not finalized your 2011 calendar yet, let us propose a very unusual destination for the very discriminating taste. Break out your has/mat rad suit (formal if you please) because in 2011 the Ukraine board of Tourism is opening reactor number 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant Yes the very same reactor that on April 26, 1986, spewing radiation over a large swath of northern Europe and once had a 30 mile radiation exclusion zone!

Prospective tourists are informed that "There are things to see there if one follows the official route and doesn't stray away from the group,"

Space is limited, make your reservations (and update your will and insurance) as soon as possible. FCFS


All joking aside the Yahoo News article can be found here