“Which Japanese city was flattened by a bomb called ‘big boy’?”
That was one of the questions in a local pub quiz last night. The correct answer to this question was apparently Nagasaki…
I’m not sure if my team’s correct answer of Hiroshima (Little Boy) or Nagasaki (Fat Man) was awarded any points (it’s only a fun pub quiz, and I resisted the urge to give the quiz master a quick history lesson on the Manhattan Project), but it did get me thinking.
One quick web search later and the source of the error has been revealed. The questions in the pub quiz were taken from that website. As well as five questions on bombs, there was a round of darts questions, which pretty much sealed our fate.
Still, we didn’t come last, and the free Sausage and Chips were very nice 🙂
What a strange combination. Nuclear bombs and darts.
Atomic Bomb Little Boy – Original Footage
Little Boy was the codename of the atomic bomb which was
dropped on Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945 by the 12-man crew of
the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul more…
Tibbets of the United States Army Air Forces. It was the first
atomic bomb ever used as a weapon and was dropped three days
before the “Fat Man” bomb was used against Nagasaki.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/392814/atomic_bomb_little_boy_original_footage/
Confusion on the issue of Big Boy and Fat Man and Little Boy. I have an old photograph of a Army Officer standing beside a Bomb that looks to be about 10 foot tall, holding a 2 ft long bomb, with a 3 ft long thin bomb standing on his other side. Writing on the back; “Tom and Mr big Boy & Baby Bomb.” Photograph has a # 856 stamped on back also. Was the original name Big Boy?
Ronald,
Fat Man was just over 10 foot long, and little Boy was only a little shorter (source: Wikipedia), so it seems unlikely that the bombs in your photo were atomic.
Have a look at a photo of Fat Man. It’s pretty much unmistakeable, as it’s much fatter than normal aircraft delivered bombs.
I’ve also never heard the name Big Boy used before in reference to the Manhattan Project, although there was an aborted design called Thin Man.