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You've Probably Passed A Nuclear Weapon On The Highway And Didn't Even Know It

Screenshot: Oppenheimer (2023) / Universal
Screenshot: Oppenheimer (2023) / Universal

If you’ve spent much time traveling the United States using the country’s vast network of interstates, it’s entirely possible that you’ve driven alongside or past a nuclear warhead and didn’t even know it. There are 5,244 of Uncle Sam’s nukes hiding around the world, most within the bounds of this nation’s borders, and they don’t always stay in the same place. More often than you’d think, these mass genocide devices get loaded into trucks and taken in for routine maintenance.

Screenshot: Half As Interesting on YouTube
Screenshot: Half As Interesting on YouTube

Okay, so they aren’t just regular trucks. The vehicles, known as U.S. Safeguards Transporters, are specially equipped to protect the bomb, and innocent Americans, from accidental detonation. USSTs look like regular semi trucks on the roadways, but they are equipped with trailers made of bulletproof and fireproof 12-inch thick steel. There are special tires built to prevent blowouts, axles that lock up if someone tries to steal the truck, and quick expanding foam prevents the bomb from impact if the truck tips over. Oh, and they’re allegedly built to electrocute anyone trying to access the truck without permission, and there’s a “robotic gun turret” in the back in chase someone does get in.

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