Remembering Cold War Atomic Toys and Games

During the Cold War showdown with the Soviet Union, the prospect of nuclear armageddon seemed imminent.

This sparked a fascination with all things atomic, as people pondered the benefits and threats associated with harnessing the atom.

The Strong Museum of Play, in Rochester, N.Y., has accumulated an array of atomic-themed games that provide insight into people's thoughts during the Cold War.

There was also a strong tolerance for risk on those days of omnipresent cigarettes and unemployed seat belts, as demonstrated by the Atomic Energy Lab, which contained actual radioactive isotopes!

But is may have been the final screen of Missile Command that best summed up the jangly nerves of the atomic cold war era.