# 80 years ago today, a dragon's tail was tickled. (It didn't go well.)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80-years-ago-today-a-dragons-tail-was-tickled-it-didnt-go-well/1030293>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 21, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80-years-ago-today-a-dragons-tail-was-tickled-it-didnt-go-well/1030293 "2026-05-21T20:29:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80-years-ago-today-a-dragons-tail-was-tickled-it-didnt-go-well/1030293/1 "2026-05-21T20:29:05Z")

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May 21st 1946 was the fatal Slotin screwup with the demon core.

> **[Demon core](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_core)**
>
> The demon core was a sphere of plutonium–gallium alloy that was involved in two fatal radiation accidents when scientists tested it as a fissile core of an early atomic bomb. It was manufactured in 1945 by the Manhattan Project, the U.S. nuclear weapon development effort during World War II. It was a subcritical mass that weighed 6.2 kilograms (14 lb) and was 89 millimeters (3.5 in) in diameter; the core was prepared for shipment to the Pacific Theater as part of the third nuclear weapon to be...

I’m wondering what would have happened if the cover hadn’t been removed from the core after it fell? Would the core have melted? How long would it have taken?

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**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80-years-ago-today-a-dragons-tail-was-tickled-it-didnt-go-well/1030293/2 "2026-05-21T22:12:18Z")

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[![](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/scary_names.png) ](https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/scary_names.png)

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**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80-years-ago-today-a-dragons-tail-was-tickled-it-didnt-go-well/1030293/3 "2026-05-21T23:50:17Z")

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It was 80 years ago today  
Louis Slotin made a big mistake.  
Held beryllium in his bare hand,  
But he slipped and then that was the end.  
So let me introduce to you,  
Made out of pure plutonium,  
Louis Slotin’s scary Demon Core!

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**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2026, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80-years-ago-today-a-dragons-tail-was-tickled-it-didnt-go-well/1030293/4 "2026-05-22T11:22:53Z")

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Golf clap.