Fukushima Memes

Nothing like a good dose of radiation panic to boost those ratings! The meme highlights the classic disconnect between scientific risk assessment and media coverage. When Japan released treated Fukushima wastewater that meets international safety standards (and is actually more dilute than what's already in your tap), journalists suddenly became nuclear physicists. The irony is delicious - we're swimming in a sea of much more dangerous everyday chemicals that never make headlines. Remember folks, the dose makes the poison... and apparently, the clickbait too.

Nuclear meltdowns as a personality test! The meme shows corium (that molten radioactive nightmare fuel that forms during nuclear reactor meltdowns) personified as three-headed dragon. Chernobyl and Fukushima are portrayed as terrifying beasts, while Three-Mile Island is the derpy cousin who didn't quite commit to the whole "catastrophic disaster" thing. For the nuclear nerds: corium is what happens when reactor fuel, control rods, and structural materials melt together into a lava-like mass that can burn through concrete and steel. Chernobyl's version (nicknamed "Elephant's Foot") could kill you in minutes just by standing near it. Fukushima created its own hellish blend. Meanwhile, Three-Mile Island had a partial meltdown but contained most of its radioactive material—hence the goofy, relatively harmless face. Nothing says "we've mastered atomic energy" quite like creating substances that can melt through the Earth while giving you radiation poisoning through a concrete wall. Progress!