Sobering News About Surviving a Nuclear Disaster

 photo by kconnors, morguefile

Dang!  That silver lining we all thought we'd found in the event of an Atomic Armageddon?  You know, "Operation Teapot", the government study that told us it would be okay to drink the beer after a nuclear event?  Discovery News has put a damper on that  'end of times' bright spot.  Seems like the scientists back in 1955 got it wrong - in fact we had better steer clear of beer, and soda if we want to survive a nuclear holocaust.

photo by kconnors, morguefile

Evidently, metal cans, silicate bottles, and beer that may have picked up coppers and other contaminants in the brewing process are all much more susceptible to holding on to radiation than pure H2O in carbon-based plastic.  Reyco Henning, an assistant professor of physics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill., told Life's Little Mysteries "if a bomb fell tomorrow, "I would go for the purest water you can make stored in a plastic bottle," said Henning.  "Beer I would probably not drink under any circumstance ." So we'll have to face the end of the world as we know it  - and that long nuclear winter - stone, cold sober.  Dang!

It's not just any water, either, that will be all right to drink.  According to Mongabay.com  , the safest sources  of potable water after radiation fallout will be from springs, wells and other underground feeds.  Site-founder and Environmentalist Rhett Butler provides tons of interesting facts and tips on how to survive such a disaster.  The information though - while good to know - does little to diminish the disappointment I feel at the prospect of a teetotaling  apocalypse!  Can't someone design a still that does not use copper...I don't want to spend my end time sippin suds that glow in the dark!