CAMELOT Theatrical Special Effects

I thought that "Spiderman 2" was loads of fun, especially when Doc Ock's fission reactor got out of control (see the movie), but as always, truth is stranger than fiction! In the early 1990's, in a suburb of Detroit, a 17-year-old Boy Scout named David Hahn commenced the construction of a nuclear breeder reactor in a backyard garden potting shed and ended up creating a radioactive nightmare that required the Environmental Protection Agency to dismantle and clean up after putting 40,000 residents at risk. The story was kept under wraps until Harper's Magazine published the story, by Ken Silverstein, in November 1998. It's the kind of story that gives the Department of Homeland Security the heebie-jeebies just thinking about!

What has this got to do with Theatrical Special Effects?
1. Nothing.
2. Warning: Don't Try This At Home!
3. As a teenager, I built a linear accelerator in our basement (didn't you?) Special Effects geeks are drawn to stories like this, so read and enjoy, especially about David's dedication and his talent for scrounging hard-to-find materials and skill at improvisation.
4. I expect to see this story become a major motion picture. They'll use lots of special effects.

posted by C. J. # 5:33 PM