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The Dropped Socket
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Science Gone WrongMay 17, 2026

The Dropped Socket

The Dropped Socket Damascus, Arkansas. September 1980. A maintenance worker dropped a heavy socket down a missile silo. It bounced and punctured the Titan II's fuel tank. Hours later, the silo exploded. The 740-ton door flew off. A 9-megaton hydrogen warhead landed in a ditch. One airman died. The warhead never detonated.

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