Fallout in the Real World

[StaceyPowers]

Fallout is pretty surreal, but it is of course full of real-world references, many of them obvious, others less so.

Anyway, I was reading up on gambling history the other week, and that brought me around to Las Vegas history, and I learned about the atomic bomb parties.

Basically, in the 50s and 60s when they were testing nuclear weapons near Vegas, the tests brought in an influx of curious tourists. They would watch the tests and party all night—because atomic detonations seemed cool, I guess?

Apparently during this time, there was a lot of atomic-themed stuff marketed as a result—like you would see in a Fallout game. One such item was a beverage named the Atomic Cocktail.

And that of course is a beverage in Fallout: New Vegas.

I thought that was some pretty cool trivia, and it really highlighted how a world like that featured in Fallout isn’t that far-fetched (disturbingly).

I was wondering if anyone else has some similar cool trivia to share with links between Fallout and real life?

 

[DylanC]

I remember reading about the Salton Sea in California during the early 20th century. Basically, it was a man-made lake in the middle of the desert that lots of people flocked to as a holiday attraction. Unfortunately, pesticides destroyed the lake and all that's now left is a huge graveyard of dry, arid land and a bunch of old fish bones. The pictures and land look very Fallout-esque.