Dear Dr. Nucleus,

Since you have written so much about nuclear power, I was wondering whether you could answer a history question for me? The development of the first atomic bombs in the US was called "The Manhattan Project." Why did they call it that?

Curiously,
Lint

Dear Lint,

As you must know, Dr. Nucleus is a source for Scientific and Scientific History answers. I would be happy to help.

Most laymen believe that "Manhattan" was chosen as a clever pun: Man-hat-tan. This would refer to J. Robert Oppenhiemer who always wore a hat and had a splendid tan (mostly from his work with beta emitting nuclides). Oppenhiemer was the Scientist in charge of the Manhattan Project until hats went out of fashion as men's wearing apparel in the mid-50s.

Dr. Des Z. Arnez has a seminal work on hat wearing vs. career advancement in the entertainment industry. Do not confuse his work to that of his brother, Dr. James Arnez, whose publication only bears reading if you are interested in the freezer shelf life of vegetables. After all, True Scientists abstain from any vegetable consumption except for microwave popcorn.

The actual reason that it was called "The Manhattan Project" goes farther back than that. Remember that the island of Manhattan was purchased from the Native Americans for a few beads. If something went wrong in the laboratories (what we Scientists call "learning experiences" but the foolish public calls "meltdowns" and "annihilation of all life on the planet"), the property values around the Manhattan Project would revert to that of the original Manhattan Island purchase.

I hope that sheds some coherent light on the subject for you,
Dr. Nucleus