On the cover of the February 1951 issue of Popular sciencethe headline read: “Can ‘Death Sand’ Win Battles?”
Author Alden F. Armagnac wrote about the potential for the U.S. military and its allies to use their evolving knowledge of nuclear weapons to go beyond fission bombs and thermonuclear devices. One such weapon was ‘Death Sand’, a radioactive powder that spreads from a crop duster like agricultural pesticides.
To understand how we ended up at Death Sand, we must go back in time to examine the evolution of human violence and war. In the latest video from our Popular science On YouTube channel we tell not only the story of Death Sand’s failure to reach the battlefield, but also the story of warfare and how we use fear to gain power.
If you’re interested in more lesser-known stories from history, check out our other original videos, including:
See you in the future.