Neatorama

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• Two Forgotten Nuclear Accidents in Ontario
• At Home with the Toilet Paper Bears
• Jane Goodall Gets a Barbie Doll

Two Forgotten Nuclear Accidents in Ontario Posted: 14 Jul 2022 06:54 PM PDT During World War II, the Université de Montréal set up a secret nuclear laboratory to do experiments for the Allies and to produce plutonium for a nuclear bomb. After the atomic bombings that ended the war, Chalk River Laboratories went public, announcing they would do peacetime experiments. They also supplied uranium and plutonium to the US military for tests. The state-of-the-art 20-watt reactor was a mecca for nuclear scientists from all over the world. But compared to today's nuclear laboratories, there were quite a few opportunities for trouble. On December 12, 1952, a lab worker reset two buttons by mistake and initiated a sequence of events, fueled by panic and confusion, that led to the world's first nuclear reactor core meltdown. When it was over, 4.5 million liters of contaminated water flooded the facility. The cleanup took 800 employees plus military personnel from both Canada and the US. The meltdown wasn't kept a secret, but the press downplayed the damage -and the danger. By 1957, a newer 200-megawatt reactor was built nearby. In 1958, another accident occurred when a crane tried to remove damaged fuel rods which melted and caught fire. This time, 1100 people took part in the cleanup. A couple of decades later, those who worked during the cleanup operations were suffering from cancer at much higher rates than the general public, but it took until last year to get an agreement for compensation. Read about these two Canadian accidents and their fallout (meant both figuratively and literally) at The Walrus.  -via Damn Interesting (Image credit: Canadian Nuclear Laboratories)

At Home with the Toilet Paper Bears Posted: 14 Jul 2022 06:37 PM PDT This cartoon by Joel Haver never says the word Charmin, but you know who these bears are, even if they don't look like bears at all. They look like rotoscoped people. But that's all beside the point. The family has their purpose, and that's toilet paper. And don't even think about doing something else! This scene is a family sitcom moment featuring a ridiculous but strangely successful advertising premise, and it gradually turns into a pun fest. Warning: bathroom humor. -via reddit

Jane Goodall Gets a Barbie Doll Posted: 14 Jul 2022 09:53 AM PDT Just in time for World Chimpanzee Day, Mattel has unveiled the latest Barbie doll in the Barbie Inspiring Women Collection, modeled after primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall. Goodall is world-renowned for her work in studying and advocating for chimpanzees since 1960. The Mattel company worked with the Jane Goodall Institute to make the doll come alive. It is the first in the series to be made with 90% recycled plastic, and is shipped in a sustainably manufactured box. The Jane Goodall doll is quite recognizable, as she wears khaki shorts, carries a notebook, and sports her iconic ponytail. It also comes with a figure of David Greybeard, the first chimpanzee that trusted Goodall in her early work in Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Goodall is pleased with the doll, saying she has always wanted a Barbie in her likeness because the doll was so girly-girly in her youth and she thought girls needed choices. The Jane Goodall Barbie doll is now available for $35. -via Mental Floss

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