Duck & Cover

Wow.  WOW.  My folks got some device a long time ago (I forget what it was), and it came with a DVD that included this 1950 public safety message.  Last night we popped it in and were subjected to learning all about Duck & Cover.  First watch the video (it's 4:48), then come back to see my commentary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixy5FBLnh7o

     "We all know the atomic bomb is very dangerous.  If it may be used against us, we must get ready for it, just as we are ready for many other dangers that are around us all the time."  OK, so, when teaching Isaac (my ~11 mo. old first cousin once removed, for those who don't know) the basics to ensure a good life, ensure he understands early:

1. don't talk to strangers
2. don't play with sharp objects 
3. always be prepared for a nuclear attack

     "It is such a big explosion, it can smash in buildings and knock signboards over and break windows all over town.  But, if you duck, and cover, like Bert, you'll be much safer."  OK, so let me see if I'm following the train of thought here... this force can knock buildings down, but if I just lay down and cover my head with my arms, I'll be safe?  IT'S THAT EASY???  Then why all the concern?  
     "... and her teacher is explaining there are two kinds of attack, with warning, and without warning."  Or, put another way, you'll die scared, or you'll die happy.
     I just love the guy who is so amazingly prepared for a nuclear attack, that at a moment's notice, he can jump off his tractor and lie face-down.  That'll keep him safe.  He's been hard at work preparing for this.
     "The next important thing to do after that is to stay covered until the danger is over."  Which'll be roughly 24,000 years or 4.47 billion years, depending on whether the bomb used plutonium or uranium as the radioactive source.  And we don't mean at all that you'll be safe at that time, that's just about how long it'll take to roughly cut the effects of the radiation in half.  Why, you gotta be somewhere?
     Wow were we dumb in 1950.

And can anyone click on first cousin once removed and tell me who my first cousin once removed actually is?  How dumb is that-- a term that could mean this person, but it could also mean this totally other person...  I mean, if they're gonna do that, why not have "dad" mean your father, but also mean the guy down the street?