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Nuked Coral Reef Bounces Back

Posted by samzenpus on from the that's-one-big-clown-fish dept.

sm62704 writes "I found this New Scientist article interesting, as I was actually alive (albeit very small) when Bikini Atoll was H-bombed. The article says that the reason the reefs are now flourishing is because they are mostly undisturbed by humans, who are afraid of the radiation. Background levels there are now 'similar to that at any Australian city,' while nearby islands haven't been so lucky.'When I put the Geiger counter near a coconut, which accumulates radioactive material from the soil, it went berserk,' says Maria Beger of the University of Queensland in Australia."

20 of 332 comments (clear)

  1. obvious next step by evwah · · Score: 5, Funny

    now we just have to bomb the shit out of Australia so our scientists can proudly proclaim "these coral reefs are far LESS radioactive than any Australian city!"

    1. Re:obvious next step by Marbleless · · Score: 4, Funny

      ... and nuking them would be considered as major improvements to some of our cities ;)

      --
      --I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.
    2. Re:obvious next step by kramulous · · Score: 3, Funny

      Great! I might get the day off work. Perhaps a little island hoping will be in order.

      --
      .
    3. Re:obvious next step by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      There's the Australian work ethic for you :P

  2. berserk? by polar+red · · Score: 5, Funny

    When I put the Geiger counter near a coconut, which accumulates radioactive material from the soil, it went berserk. How did You defend yourself from that coconut?
    --
    Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
    1. Re:berserk? by zoogies · · Score: 5, Funny

      We gripped it by the husk. It's a simple matter of weight ratios, really.

    2. Re:berserk? by Jesus_666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Luckily the coconut had panicked the turn before and dropped its weapon - and as everyone knows, nonhuman combatants are unable to pick up a weapon once they've dropped it. The researchers proceeded to use the Stun Rod on the coconut, but it later died because the base didn't have a Containment Unit.

      (Okay, so most /.ers are not going to get that one. Who cares?)

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
  3. Re:Really? by snkline · · Score: 4, Funny

    Or they could be rated AA-grade! Maybe the radiation pre-tenderizes them. Sorta like they have been cooking really really slowly their entire lives.

  4. Re:Radiation similar to that at any Australian cit by cheater512 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Its not too bad but it does cause some interesting side effects.

    What? You thought kangaroos were natural? :P

  5. Oblig: by Cryacin · · Score: 3, Funny

    You put the lime in the coconut, and drink it all up... Then die of radiation poisoning.

    --
    Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  6. Yeah but.. by PinkyDead · · Score: 5, Funny

    With the giant mutant anemones and sponges with teeth and the crushing and the laser eyes!

    To people of Japan, your cities are no longer safe. Run for your lives. The coral is back, and this time it's pissed .... and mutant.

    --
    Genesis 1:32 And God typed :wq!
  7. Re:Coconuts migrate on their own... by moosesocks · · Score: 4, Funny

    Even without husk-gripping, coconuts move... they're supposed to, thats how they get from island to island...

    I think this is a note to self: do NOT eat coconuts that you find on the seashore. I wonder if anyone's realized that little issue... This is only true if the island's swallow population is sufficiently large.
    --
    -- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
  8. It's cool by 2.7182 · · Score: 4, Funny

    that we totally defeat the Bikini Atoll in a nuclear war!! Woo go USA

    It was silly though, back when US sentiment was so against Bikini Atoll, that everyone decided to change the name "Bikini" to "Freedom suit."

  9. Re:Coconuts migrate on their own... by LordLucless · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, if they weren't before the nuke testing, now's their chance.

    --
    Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
  10. Re:vacation by mh1997 · · Score: 5, Funny

    When I put the Geiger counter near a coconut, which accumulates radioactive material from the soil, it went berserk,
    Seeing a coconut go berserk because a giger counter was near it would scare the crap out of me. No wonder nobody wants to go there. Would the coconuts act in a calm and mature manner if a tourist didn't bring a geiger counter?
  11. Re:vacation by frisket · · Score: 4, Funny
    Antecedent Object references the direct object (Geiger counter), not the indirect (coconut).

    A Giger counter presumably counts paintings.

  12. Swallows could make it worse by BiggerBadderBen · · Score: 5, Funny

    I imagine that a pair of swallows, either African or European, could take one of these coconuts quite far.

  13. Re:Radiation induced changes to coconuts by jollyreaper · · Score: 3, Funny

    Studying the effects of high background radiation on coconuts is hardly going provide much insight into the effects on, say, human brains. But what if they've become migratory? I think that would be of some interest.
    --
    Kwisatz Haderach
    Sell the spice to CHOAM
    This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  14. Re:That may happen by electrictroy · · Score: 4, Funny

    >>>"Background levels at Bikini Atoll are now 'similar to that at any Australian city,'"

    Note to self:
    Don't visit an Australian city.

    --
    The government is not your daddy. Its purpose is not to raid middle-class neighbors' wallets and give it to you.
  15. Re:That may happen by batquux · · Score: 4, Funny

    Coconuts tend to be blown off of trees during storms. Then they float a LONG distance. Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?