The term “Nuke the Fridge” still carries the weight and impact as it did when it was first coined almost five years ago. The former in vogue catchphrase “jump the shark” has fallen by the wayside and lies in the gutter gasping for air. Nuke the Fridge refers to the moment in a film series that is so incredible that it lessens the excitement of subsequent scenes that rely on more understated action or suspense. Such moments are felt to mark the beginning of a low point in the quality of the franchise, as it attempts to explore more absurd avenues. “Nuke the Fridge” is a reference to a scene in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” wherein the title character survives a nuclear blast by climbing into a lead-lined refrigerator. The fridge is blown hundreds of feet into the sky, and, when it lands, Indiana Jones opens the door and walks away completely unscathed and apparently unaffected by any radiation sickness that would surely result from being in such close proximity to a nuclear blast.
Recently, web series “Reel Physics” examined the scene in question from “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” to determine if surviving a nuclear blast in a lead-lined refrigerator was feasibly possible. Through calculations and formulas the two hosts came to the conclusion that indeed Indiana Jones could survive the blast and distance traveled, if the refrigerator weighed approximately 1,500 lbs. No discussion was made of the low melting point of lead and the intense heat from an atomic explosion within a one kilometer radius from ground zero. Disproving the flying refrigerator overtaking the car as cinematic liberty, the two physicists concurred that surviving the blast is in fact plausible. Check out the video for yourself!
So, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg can breathe a sigh of relief. However, the only way to prove something can happen is to actually test it out in the same conditions as they were observed. Would anyone like to volunteer? How about George Lucas? After all, we’ve been surviving here for almost five years!
Source: CinemaBlend, urbandictionary