Well into the Cold War, certain members of the U.S. scientific community decided it might be a good idea to have standardized plans to build fallout shelters for the nation. In 1959, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had fleets of bombers that could drop atomic weapons anywhere in the United States. Even Dublin, California, which housed the scientists experimental field station, could be a target. So, one scientist in the U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory decided not only to design a (relatively) inexpensive fallout shelter, but to test it to see if it was feasible to live in it.
Thus, in December 1959, over one hundred men climbed down a steep stairway to live underground for two weeks in a 100 by 30 foot hemi-spherically shaped, corrugated steel structure just below ground level. They hoped everything had been thought through: ventilation, food, water, sanitation, entertainment. But who would voluntarily choose to take the time for such an experiment? Thus came about another bright idea. Why not offer the opportunity to 90 prisoners incarcerated at the nearby Santa Rita County Jail? With time off for good (?) behavior 90 prisoners did in fact volunteer, along with an appropriate number of unarmed guards. (A guard with a shotgun sat outside during the entire experiment.) A number of scientists and assistants joined the guards to monitor, and then evaluate, the experiences. And to author the requisite scientific paper afterwards.
From all reports, the two weeks went off relatively well. Although in hindsight that probably shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. Most of the men underground were already pretty used to the idea and reality of living confined. (In fact, a couple of the prisoners’ jail terms expired during the experiment and they were given the opportunity to leave. They chose to stay underground for the remainder of the test.) And the guards were pretty experienced guarding a bunch of prisoners in somewhat confined circumstances.
So that’s how America’s first purpose build relatively inexpensive nuclear fallout shelter was tested and evaluated. However, the scientists weren’t satisfied with the results. Thus came about another crazy idea: what would happen if we tested the shelter on our families? But they only tried it for a weekend.