Backyard Bomb Shelters
In spite of the massive destruction suffered by Hiroshima and Nagasaki, throughout the 1950s the U.S. government led the public to believe that, with a little planning, atomic warfare was survivable. As schoolchildren were trained to ‘duck and cover,’ Americans from coast to coast built backyard bomb shelters, like this 1955 model designed to safely house a family for up to five days. Well-equipped bomb shelters boasted canned food and water, a sterno stove, battery-operated radio and chemical toilet.
Photo: Library of Congress