I just read this Wikipedia article regarding the scuttling of the German fleet of WWI at Gutter Sound. Interesting article in many ways, but the thing I found most remarkable was that the wreck of the Kronprinz Wilhelm was used as a source of radiation-free steel for the construction of delicate radaition-sensitive instruments. Apparently these require metals to be used that were forged prior to Earth’s first atomic explosion in 1945 because all metal forged on Earth since 1945 contains radioactive isotopes that will harm these instruments.
If this article is correct and if I understand what it is saying then more than a half-century after the blast, that detonation has left Earth’s atmosphere a radiological ringing bell and every ounce of iron forged on that bell picks up the tune. That blows my mind.
It terms of blowing my mind with the smallness and interconnectedness of our planet it’s right up there with the fact that every glass of water on Earth contains molecules from George Washington’s body.
