Were bomb drills practiced in the 60s?

Question

Were bomb drills practiced in the 60s?

Answer 1

my mom is still freaked out by the whole "duck and cover" thing she had to do in middle school. did they honestly think that would protect them in a nuclear explosion!!!?

Answer 2

We did in the mid 60's

If you look at schools built at that time you will notice that they are spread out as opposed to the newer and older schools that were all pretty much in one building

That was to limit the amount of damage and student death in the event of a bomb

It wasn't all about a fear of just nuclear bombs back then but I gre up knowing that Cuba had nukes pointed right at me

Answer 3

Coasty wrote:

"Yes they were. I was in grade school in 1960 and remember the old Duck and cover drills in the classroom and the playground. People laugh now but they were real."

Yes, very real. Of course, some of us (excuse me -- some of the kids)  would joke that the reason to tuck your head between your legs was so that you could kiss your butt goodbye when the big one went off. :=)

Answer 4

I do not recall bomb drills in the 60's but I definitely remember them from the early to mid 50's.  People believed that they could survive a nuclear blast, and they taught children to "duck and cover" (which meant crawling under your school desk, covering your head with your hands, and staying crouched).  Of course, we have come to realize that it was all idiotic.  It served only to frighten a lot of small children, and had there really been a nuclear blast, those who were killed outright would have been the lucky ones.

Answer 5

Yes we practiced them all through school in the 50's and at least to the Mid 60's while I was in High school.  We carefully filed out of our classrooms and lined up facing the wall in a protected area of our high school.  The idea was to protect us from objects flying around even in the protected part of our school.  Our school was built into a hillside.  They did not want us in the classrooms under the desks due to injuries from shattered glass windows.

Answer 6

Yes they were. I was in grade school in 1960 and remember the old Duck and cover drills in the classroom and the playground. People laugh now but they were real.