The Atomic Cake

Posted by Alex in Food & Drinks, Pictures, Weapons & War on August 17, 2008 at 12:55 pm


The bomb will not start a chain-reaction in the water converting it all to gas and letting the ships on all the oceans drop down to the bottom. It will not blow out the bottom of the sea and let all the water run down the hole. It will not destroy gravity. I am not an atomic playboy, as one of my critics labeled me, exploding these bombs to satisfy my personal whim.

- Vice Admiral William "Spike" Blandy

That’s "Atomic Playboy" Vice Admiral William "Spike" Blandy, his wife (in the matching hat!), and Rear Admiral F.J. Lowry, celebrating the end of Operation Crossroads in 1946 with an ominously shaped cake. The photograph, titled "Atomic Age Angel Food" drew heavy criticism from around the world, presumably not because it wasn’t delicious.

Operation Crossroads [wiki] was a series of nuclear weapon tests, conducted by the United States in the Bikini Atoll, to study the effects of thermonuclear
explosion on warships.

Two weeks later, French fashion designer Louis Réard trademarked the name "bikini" for his latest swimwear collection. Bikini became famous shortly afterwards, because "like the bomb, the bikini is small and devastating" and the realization that "atom bombs reduce everybody to primitive costume."

Photo spotted at Ectoplasmosis


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COMMENT

3 comments to "The Atomic Cake"

  1. Yum-Yum
    August 17th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    I remember my US History book had this picture in it.

    What's even better is how the woman's hair matches the cake!!

  2. William Francis
    August 18th, 2008 at 1:13 am

    atomicplayboy.org updated with photograph. Thanks!

  3. Jaycatt
    August 18th, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    I know it's a cake, but I do wish it contained mushrooms.


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