Nuclear Testing: What Are the Effects of the Atomic Bomb?

The House in the Middle is a bizarre Civil Defense film makes the hilariously dubious claim that good housekeeping is the key to nuclear safety. During tests at the Nevada Proving Ground, miniature houses were built, then put into various states of cleanliness and disarray in order to test the effect of bomb blasts and heat on houses. The narrator attests that the house with the fresh coat of white reflective paint that was free of trash and other combustibles was the safest house to live in during the Cold War, because "a house that's neglected is a house that may be doomed in the atomic age." A far cry from an honest assessment of the true effects of nuclear radiation, and similar films would clutter American military history. Since this film was produced in conjunction with the National Paint, Varnish, and Lacquer Association, it is not surprising that so much weight is placed upon something as useless as painting your house in order to protect against a nuclear bomb. Absurd to the point of uproarious laughter, The House in the Middle is a Cold War relic which provides appalling evidence of the spread of illegitimate Cold War propaganda.