General Dynamics / Exploring the Universe / Weather Control
Erik Nitsche, Lithos R. Marsens, Lausanne
1957
DIMENSIONS
51 x 36 in. (129.5 x 91.4 cm)
OBJECT NUMBER
PH.1083
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Schweiz
CREDIT LINE
Poster House Permanent Collection
KEYWORDS
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During the 1950s, General Dynamics and other companies were researching the possibility of controlling the weather through science in order to use it against the Soviet Union. The United States even created a President’s Advisory Committee on Weather Control in 1953 to monitor these developments. Many of the proposed modifications may sound ridiculous today, including melting the polar ice caps to flood enemy territory and building a nuclear-powered dam across the Bering Straits to redirect the Pacific Ocean and cause a heatwave. Nevertheless, interest in weather control persists today, with initiatives like cloud seeding (introducing chemicals to clouds to produce precipitation) and space mirrors (satellites that reflect solar radiation away from earth) regularly making the news. In this poster, General Dynamics designer Erik Nitsche sets a beaker containing a swirl of clouds and weather patterns on top of a topographic map, indicating the hope that research could ultimately allow the harnessing of Mother Nature as a weapon. 

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