@history.hatched: In January 1947, the U.S. War Assets Administration disposed of approximately 20,000 pounds of surplus metallic sodium left over from World War II in Lake Lenore, Washington. Because the drums had deteriorated and commercial carriers considered them too dangerous to transport, the containers were rolled onto the frozen lake and punctured. The highly reactive sodium then came into contact with water, producing heat, hydrogen gas, and explosions. The lake was selected partly because its highly alkaline waters were described at the time as devoid of fish, although it later became a habitat for stocked Lahontan cutthroat trout. Sources: Edmondson, W. T. The Uses of Ecology: Lake Washington and Beyond. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991. Footage courtesy of Universal Newsreel, “War Hazard Eliminated,” (January 13, 1947). Internet Archive. #History #historytok #ww2 #educational #fyp

History Hatched

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Tuesday 20 October 2026 22:22:07 GMT