Full moon and clouds. Photo:
YOU may think the US is a crazy place - but the truth is it was way crazier in the 1950s and '60s. As proof, I give you Project A119 - a top secret 1959 plan to blow up the moon.
Okay, I'm exaggerating a little - the plan was actually to detonate a nuclear missile on the moon, which probably wouldn't have destroyed it completely, just left a dirty great big hole. Why go to all the trouble of what would be nothing more than a senseless act of moon rock vandalism?
To scare the commies.
That's right - to put on a show of force so forceful, it would make the Russians think the US was … well … forceful. You think I'm making this up. Fair enough - there are plenty of other excellent stories from the Cold War that appear just as insane … and actually are insane. Let's say the existence of aliens in Roswell, New Mexico, or that those white condensation trails that follow jets are actually mind control chemicals, or that JFK was killed by flying orca whales on roller skates … or at least not by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Let's face it, America is a country that loves a good story, and really loves a good conspiracy theory. And it's hard to blame us when sometimes there are stories that should be fiction, but turn out to be true.
Like the revelation this week that Project A119, otherwise known as ''A Study of Lunar Research Flights'', actually existed, and actually got a fair way down the path to implementation. Various respectable news agencies are reporting the great science nerd Carl Sagan, a young science nerd at the time, was involved in the calculations regarding winds, and the projected distribution of dust and gas after the blast.
Apparently, the US was worried it was getting thrashed by the Soviets in the Space Race - and wanted to do something to make a splash. Successfully launching an atom bomb at the moon seemed like a nice way to counter the appearance of Sputnik, and also shake a menacing fist at the Russians.
One scientist was quoted as saying the magnificent flash from the moon would ''boost US confidence''. Hooray for us, we can blow up the moon!
But the plan was scrapped, obviously, for no specified reason … but that hasn't stopped the speculation.
There are claims no one was sure where the radioactive dust would go. Some folks were worried the missile might malfunction, and end up destroying a city here on Earth, which would in some way defeat the whole positive public relations spin of the project. I'm choosing to believe someone in the room stood up and said ''guys - this is freakin' ridiculous'', and everyone looked at each other, put down their American flag-covered slide rules, and decided that faking a moon landing would be a much better, less nuclear fallout-filled idea.
Oh no, wait, the moon landing actually happened … or did it? (It actually did, I promise).
Tim is a writer, TV producer and proud former Canberra resident who has lived in Los Angeles since 1997. Twitter @timschildberger
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