The first issue of the National Geographic Magazine, without
photos, was published on September 22, 1888, eight months
after the Society was founded.
In September 2022, the magazine laid off six of its top editors
and In June 2023 laid off all of its staff writers, shifting to an
entirely freelance-based writing model, and announced that
beginning in 2024 it would no longer offer newsstand issues.
The POW/MIA flag was first recognized on August 10, 1990.
On September 19, 1957, the United States detonated a 1.7-
kiloton nuclear weapon in an underground tunnel at the
Nevada Test Site, a 1,375-square-mile research center
located 65 miles north of Las Vegas.
The test, known as Rainier, was the first fully contained
underground detonation and produced no radioactive
fallout. A modified W-25 warhead weighing 218 pounds
and measuring 25.7 inches in diameter and 17.4 inches
in length was used for the test.
Rainier was part of a series of 29 nuclear weapons and
nuclear weapons safety tests known as Operation
Plumbbob that were conducted at the NTS between
May 28, 1957, and October 7, 1957.
