The Manhattan Project, the Rosenbergs, Bikini Atoll and blast tests with innocuous codenames such as Joe-1 and Mike signalled the post-World War II escalation from atomic to hydrogen bombs.

With the constant threat of Russia's missiles trained on the average American living room, children were taught to "duck and cover" and many were issued with dog tags. Fallout shelters sprung up like mushrooms and Family Radiation Survival Sets, recommended by the Federal Government, could be purchased for $24.95. Rugged, reliable and pocket-sized, these sets measured radiation fallout and let you know when it was safe to leave your shelter after a nuclear blast.

America lived under a thermonuclear shadow as the superpowers flexed their might and ushered the world to the edge of its worst nightmare during the Cuban Missile Crisis.