Brian Klaas

He sort of was seduced by the city and the sort of beauty of it, the history of it. And he also didn't want to have, you know, this destruction of this cultural heritage site. So the generals start to call it his pet city because he starts talking so much about how they can't bomb it. They must not bomb it. And he twice meets with President Truman to convince him to take Kyoto off the list.

He sort of was seduced by the city and the sort of beauty of it, the history of it. And he also didn't want to have, you know, this destruction of this cultural heritage site. So the generals start to call it his pet city because he starts talking so much about how they can't bomb it. They must not bomb it. And he twice meets with President Truman to convince him to take Kyoto off the list.

He sort of was seduced by the city and the sort of beauty of it, the history of it. And he also didn't want to have, you know, this destruction of this cultural heritage site. So the generals start to call it his pet city because he starts talking so much about how they can't bomb it. They must not bomb it. And he twice meets with President Truman to convince him to take Kyoto off the list.

And eventually Truman relents. And so the first bomb goes to Hiroshima instead of Kyoto because of this vacation that was taken 19 years earlier. And the second bomb is supposed to go to Kokura. That's the primary target on August 9th, 1945. And because of a passing cloud where they basically couldn't see the target site, they end up going to the secondary target, which is Nagasaki, of course.

And eventually Truman relents. And so the first bomb goes to Hiroshima instead of Kyoto because of this vacation that was taken 19 years earlier. And the second bomb is supposed to go to Kokura. That's the primary target on August 9th, 1945. And because of a passing cloud where they basically couldn't see the target site, they end up going to the secondary target, which is Nagasaki, of course.

And eventually Truman relents. And so the first bomb goes to Hiroshima instead of Kyoto because of this vacation that was taken 19 years earlier. And the second bomb is supposed to go to Kokura. That's the primary target on August 9th, 1945. And because of a passing cloud where they basically couldn't see the target site, they end up going to the secondary target, which is Nagasaki, of course.

And, you know, there's a sort of element where when you look at the Miyako Hotel on the target plans, they drew up bombing sort of target maps and so on. And the bullseye for where they plan to drop it is the rail yards right next to where the Miyako Hotel still is today. And so you sort of wonder, you know, the psychology of this moment where Stimson is looking at these maps.

And, you know, there's a sort of element where when you look at the Miyako Hotel on the target plans, they drew up bombing sort of target maps and so on. And the bullseye for where they plan to drop it is the rail yards right next to where the Miyako Hotel still is today. And so you sort of wonder, you know, the psychology of this moment where Stimson is looking at these maps.

And, you know, there's a sort of element where when you look at the Miyako Hotel on the target plans, they drew up bombing sort of target maps and so on. And the bullseye for where they plan to drop it is the rail yards right next to where the Miyako Hotel still is today. And so you sort of wonder, you know, the psychology of this moment where Stimson is looking at these maps.

He's remembering this trip with his wife 19 years earlier. He chooses to act. And so we don't know what would have happened differently if they had bombed Kyoto and Kokura instead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But one thing that we do know is it would have changed the fate of science.

He's remembering this trip with his wife 19 years earlier. He chooses to act. And so we don't know what would have happened differently if they had bombed Kyoto and Kokura instead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But one thing that we do know is it would have changed the fate of science.

He's remembering this trip with his wife 19 years earlier. He chooses to act. And so we don't know what would have happened differently if they had bombed Kyoto and Kokura instead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But one thing that we do know is it would have changed the fate of science.

And I didn't put this in fluke, but it's an interesting aspect of it, is that if you've ever heard of, for example, the F scale for tornadoes, that's named after Ted Fujita. And he was in the bombing site that was supposed to be dropped yesterday. at the time, likely been incinerated. So, I mean, there's all these ripple effects, right?

And I didn't put this in fluke, but it's an interesting aspect of it, is that if you've ever heard of, for example, the F scale for tornadoes, that's named after Ted Fujita. And he was in the bombing site that was supposed to be dropped yesterday. at the time, likely been incinerated. So, I mean, there's all these ripple effects, right?

And I didn't put this in fluke, but it's an interesting aspect of it, is that if you've ever heard of, for example, the F scale for tornadoes, that's named after Ted Fujita. And he was in the bombing site that was supposed to be dropped yesterday. at the time, likely been incinerated. So, I mean, there's all these ripple effects, right?

The science of tornadoes and one of the main figures of modern meteorology probably would have been incinerated. Of course, we don't know who was incinerated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that might have changed the course of the 20th century. And so that's the sort of great what ifs is that Japanese history would have been different. Of course, the U.S. probably would have won the war either way.

The science of tornadoes and one of the main figures of modern meteorology probably would have been incinerated. Of course, we don't know who was incinerated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that might have changed the course of the 20th century. And so that's the sort of great what ifs is that Japanese history would have been different. Of course, the U.S. probably would have won the war either way.

The science of tornadoes and one of the main figures of modern meteorology probably would have been incinerated. Of course, we don't know who was incinerated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that might have changed the course of the 20th century. And so that's the sort of great what ifs is that Japanese history would have been different. Of course, the U.S. probably would have won the war either way.

But the course of Japanese history and the ripple effects, when you swap 180,000 people out for a different 180,000 people, it changes the future. And all of it can be traced back to this one tourist couple's decision and a passing cloud on August 9th, 1945.

But the course of Japanese history and the ripple effects, when you swap 180,000 people out for a different 180,000 people, it changes the future. And all of it can be traced back to this one tourist couple's decision and a passing cloud on August 9th, 1945.