Atomic Tattoos
99% Invisible16 Tammi 2019

Atomic Tattoos

In the early 1950s, teenage students in Lake County, Indiana, got up from their desks, marched down the halls and lined up at stations. There, fingers were pricked, blood was tested and the teenagers were sent on to the library, where they waited to get a specialized tattoo. Each one was in the same place on the torso, just under the left arm, and spelled out the blood type of the student.

This experimental program was called Operation Tat-Type. It was administered by the county and the idea was simple: to make it easier to transfuse blood after an atomic bomb. At the age of 16, producer Liza Yeager's grandmother, who went to school in Lake County, was permanently marked in anticipation of a nuclear catastrophe.

Atomic Tattoos

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.

Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(778)

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Twine

Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Twine

Vivian Le is on a mission that requires equal parts science, philosophy, and daring, in search of something that’s been hotly contested for decades: the world's largest ball of twine. Goodness Graciou...

17 Heinä 201941min

Built on Sand

Built on Sand

Sand is so tiny and ubiquitous that it's easy to take for granted. But in his book The World in a Grain, author Vince Beiser traces the history of sand, exploring how it fundamentally shaped the world...

9 Heinä 201936min

The Universal Page

The Universal Page

Reporter Andrew Leland has always loved to read. An early love of books in childhood eventually led to a job in publishing with McSweeney’s where Andrew edited essays and interviews, laid out articles...

2 Heinä 201938min

Life and Death in Singapore

Life and Death in Singapore

When Singapore gained its independence they went on a mission to re-house the population from densely-packed thatched roof huts into giant concrete skyscrapers. In 1960, they formed the Housing and De...

25 Kesä 201933min

The Anthropocene Reviewed

The Anthropocene Reviewed

The Anthropocene is the current geological age, in which human activity has profoundly shaped the planet and its biodiversity. On The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Green rates different facets of the hu...

18 Kesä 20191h 4min

The Barney Design redux

The Barney Design redux

All over Oakland right now people are wearing Warriors shirts and flying their Warriors flags from their cars, and as much as we like our hometown team here at 99pi, we've been following these NBA fin...

11 Kesä 201925min

The Automat

The Automat

The inside of a Horn & Hardart Automat looked like a glamorous, ornate cafeteria -- but instead of a human handing you hot food over a counter, you would push your tray up to a wall of little glass cu...

4 Kesä 201935min

Depave Paradise

Depave Paradise

Mexico City is in a water crisis. Despite rains and floods, it is running out of drinking water. To solve the scarcity issue, the city began piping water in from far away as well as from aquifer belo...

28 Touko 201936min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
rss-rahapodi
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahamania
taloudellinen-mielenrauha
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
herrasmieshakkerit
rahapuhetta
juristipodi
rss-draivi
rss-sami-miettinen-neuvottelija
asuntoasiaa-paivakirjat
rss-lahtijat
rss-seuraava-potilas
rss-paasipodi
pomojen-suusta
rss-h-asselmoilanen
rss-rikasta-elamaa
rss-markkinointitrippi