Mar 22, 2006

Cold War survival supplies found in Brooklyn Bridge

Find includes 350,000 "Civil Defense All Purpose Survival Crackers" from 1962.
Concealed in the depths of the bridge's Manhattan side, the sealed tins of crackers are dated 1962 - when the Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear conflict.

Other items are stamped 1957, the year the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite.

Boxes of paper survival blankets are marked "For Use Only After Enemy Attack".

A box of tags is provided for people to write down their name, address, next of kin and type of medical help needed.

The city has said it will turn over the space to the Civil Defense Museum and historians after an inspection by health officials.

It is still not known whether the supplies were intended to be used at the bridge or were merely placed in storage there and forgotten.

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