ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI | 10 Things You Didn't Know Right now, is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. They are the first and only instances in history of nuclear weapons being used in warfare. Actually this isn’t my first video on the topic. A few months back, I did a video on how my grandpa survived the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb. If you’re interested, please check out the link. https://youtu.be/WJTiMgAzVEg Alright let’s get into it! 1) Godzilla Let’s start of with something seemingly unrelated. Godzilla or Gojira, the giant Japanese dinosaur-looking monster, a worldwide pop culture icon; who’s been in numerous movies. The latest one in 2014, also starring Heisenberg, Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver! Why am I mentioning this? Well, Godzilla owes its existence to the atomic bombs. In the aftermath, with the devastation still fresh in the Japanese consciousness, Godzilla was created as a metaphor for nuclear weapons and their destructive capabilities. 2) The Korean Casualties The atomic bombings of the two Japanese cities didn’t just have Japanese casualties. An enormous number of Koreans also perished in the blast. In fact, around 25% of casualties were Koreans, that’s a quarter of the lives lost. Korea was under Japanese rule at the time so there were many drafted or conscripted Koreans in Hiroshima & Nagasaki. It’s unfortunate that the Korean victims of this tragedy have often been neglected. 3) Close Call Kyoto Today’s Kyoto landscape would have been greatly altered, and not for the better, if the Americans had gone about their original plan. The targets were in fact supposed to be Hiroshima & Kyoto. However, the US Secretary of War at the time, Henry L Stimson, insisted on sparing the so called City of Ten Thousand Shrines, as he had fallen in love with Kyoto while on his honeymoon decades earlier. Unfortunately for Nagasaki, they were the target replacement. 4) The Pamphlet Warnings Just prior to dropping the Atomic bombs, the US Airforce released pamphlets or leaflets from their planes warning Japanese citizens of the impending destruction. They were largely ineffective. 5) The Little Boy & The Fat Man These were the American codenames of the two atomic bombs. 6) The American Casualties 12 American airmen were captured, then taken to the Chugoku Military Police Headquarters in Hiroshima, where the American weapon of mass destruction indiscriminately took them out. And they were probably not the only American POWs on the ground that day. 7) Go An important Go tournament was held in the suburbs of Hiroshima, about 5 km or 3 miles from ground zero; and on August 6th 1945, a pivotal match up was ongoing between champion Hashimoto and the challenger Iwamoto. When the atomic bomb went off, people were injured, buildings were damaged, and the game came to an immediate halt. Fortunately no one died as tournament officials had earlier moved the game away from the blast radius after coming across the American pamphlets. The players took this opportunity to have a quick lunch break. Afterwards on the same day, they finished the game. White won. 8) Operation Meetinghouse As devastating as the atomic bombs were, it didn’t even rank as the most destructive bombing event of WW2. That title goes to the deathly firebombing of Tokyo by the US Air Force, also known as Operation Meetinghouse. This was estimated to be the single most destructive bombing attack not just in Japan, but in history. 9) The Flame Of Peace The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park was built in dedication to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack. In the park, sits The Flame of Peace which has burned continuously since 1964, and will remain lit until all nuclear weapons are removed from the world and the planet is free from nuclear threat. 10) The Improbable Survivor Tsutomu Yamaguchi worked for the Mitsubishi company, and on August 6th, 1945, he was away from home on a business trip in Hiroshima. He witnessed the Little Boy dropping from the sky and the explosion ruptured his eardrums, blinded him, and left him with serious burns. But he was alive. The very next day, he dragged his body to a station, made his way out of Hiroshima and back to his hometown. At home, he finally received treatment for his wounds. Two days later, despite being seriously injured and heavily bandaged, he informed Mitsubishi that he was back from his Hiroshima business trip and ready to report to work. So, he went to work, as if nothing major had happened. Yamaguchi was lucky to have survived the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb. However, he was unlucky that he went back home.. ..to Nagasaki.. Thanks for watching! And if you enjoyed this video, don't forget to LIKE, SHARE & SUBSCRIBE ^^ SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentobento2015 Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kento-Bento/1541570546113993

• published: 07 Aug 2015
• views: 31