@griffxx I really wish people had smartphones back then. There would have been footage of the phenomenon. Spooky, but yet so much better than just words.
I've known about Chernobyl since I was young, my town here in the UK is part of the Chernobyl Children's Project which was set up to help the families and children effected by the disaster. Pripyat does indeed look fascinating.
Wow..very interesting and sad for the people who lost everything .The black bird legend sound very similar to the "mothman" story here in the U.S and how the sightings caused a tragedy.
Great Blog! :) Ive watched 1 or 2 movies about it (of course mostly creepy and fake stuff) and also you reminded me that I should play Fallout sometimes :D Oh and the pictures from the link at the end are quite good!! I have't seen them before. Thanks!
Fascinating stuff. I was 9 and remember it being on the news constantly....once the Soviet authorities admitted to the world what had happened, that is. Not too long afterward, there was an article, in Reader's Digest if memory serves, about the helicopter pilots who flew missions to dump lead and sand on reactor 4. I couldn't (and still can't) imagine the suicidal bravery of someone who would fly over a nuclear reactor that had melted down, knowing they were being exposed to potentially lethal levels of radiation. Unbelievable. Fast forward to today, the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan is still leaking radiation into the Pacific Ocean even as we speak.
I recently heard about some of the elderly women who still live in the exclusion zone... They outlive their compatriots who agreed to evacuation! Very interesting place!
A gripping tale for eternity! I remember this day very well, shocked by the incredulous facts, and afraid of the unknown. We had our own disaster here in US only a little distance from me called Three Mile Island. The public was of course told "no danger" at first... but weeks and even years later the true toxic plume levels were revealed. Perhaps the scientists realized it was already too late to reverse the damages, and chose not to create riots of panic. Nearby farm fields still are contaminated but decades of crop rotations with soil enriching variations have helped. Milk production had items already in the food chain then and soon after, and sadly many children developed chronic thyroid issues. Thyroid and lung cancers spiked about a decade after but have since leveled off. If we put as much manpower and resources into the technology instead of wars and hatred it would be a good thing (I agree with your other blog thoughts completely on that!) if you hopefully do find your way to US please give a shout to the Bluesman. Peace my dear 😎
@robertbluesman oh wow! When something like that happens it's always sad. And I guess you're right. If something is inevitable, why create the panic? I will try to let you know if I'm ever in the US again :)
