Timothy Birdnow

Tyler Durden is wrong; nuclear weapons can indeed be vest sized. We and the Soviets both had "suitcase nukes" which could be so adapted. But it's doubtful the Iranians could build such a device.

A "suitcase nuke" isn't small enough to fit into, say, a briefcase but it would be backpack sized. And if detonated in the right place (like Manhattan) it could indeed kill tens of thousand of people (such devices would only take out multiple blocks, not the whole of New York City).

For instance, the Swift nuclear device weighed about a hundred pounds and had a maximum yield of 0,19 kilotons, not much for a nuclear weapon but plenty for an attack in a very densely populated area. A hundred pounds is heavy for a backpack but not extremely so and anyone in good shape should be able to carry it. I carried backpacks that heavy myself (not that I enjoyed it). The Swift was from the mid '50's and no doubt the U.S. military got them even smaller.

So while I appreciate Durden fact-checking Vance I would say his fundamental premise is wrong.

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