Until I heard this crazy loud thunderous sound that I thought at first was... thunder. But then I thought maybe a sonic boom? And then I thought that usually they warn people about that. And at this point I was kind of out of ideas and didn't really care that much.
Plus my kids were awake soon after that (possibly because of the noise) so the noise itself kind of got put on the back burner of my mind.
It wasn't until the next week that Jesse asked me if I'd heard THE BOMB explode?
What???
Apparently, it is not uncommon for unexploded bombs to be found from WWII! You can read a brief article here and here about this bomb in particular.
They used a controlled explosion to destroy the bomb that was found during construction. THIS explosion was the sound I heard!
The real kicker is when I figured out that it was almost an hour away from here!
It really put into perspective for me what it might have been like to live in Germany (or anywhere else in Europe) during the war. And while you would think it must have been absolutely terrifying, I recently came across a section of a book that discussed the concept of "desirable difficulty." Malcolm Gladwell discusses how it was reported and studied all across Europe that the frequent bombings, which everyone thought would throw civilians into absolute panic, actually produced a resiliency that astounded researchers. He says that "A near miss leaves you traumatized. A remote miss makes you think you are invincible."
I wonder if that's what it was like to live in Germany during WWII and periods of heavy bombing. You surely heard the explosions on a regular basis. Maybe it was less traumatizing than I once imagined.
I guess I'll never know! In the meantime, I'll be perfectly okay with NOT hearing any more bombs being exploded nearby.
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Amazon affiliate link to Malcolm Gladwell's book David and Goliath
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what a good read! that concept was totally new to me but makes so much sense. thanks to J, I think I've read most of MG's books now. only thing is I can't remember which thoughts are contained in which books! now to the BOMB- half hour or not- way unsettling...
ReplyDeletelove you Jess
xoxoxoxoxo
I have the same problem Toni! I only remember this particular part belonged in David and Goliath because I was reading it at the time and it reminded me that I hadn't blogged about the bomb! Yikes!
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