2011-09-17
Original: 2011-09-17 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1 (caption): In the 1960s, Dr. Louise Reiss was concerned about the effects of nuclear testing on human health. So, she conducted the "Baby Tooth Survey."
Dr. Louise Reiss (woman with brown hair and glasses): I need your baby's teeth!
Red-haired woman holding a baby: Why?
Dr. Louise Reiss: SCIENCE!
Panel 2 (caption): Parents sent her hundreds of thousands of baby teeth. The results were ominous.
Dr. Louise Reiss (reading from a clipboard, in a lab coat): The strontium-90 concentration has increased by 50 times in the last DECADE.
Panel 3 (caption): This helped lead to the nuclear test ban, and the subsequent drop in atmospheric strontium.
A man in a suit (addressing a table of officials): In light of the recent... *achem* radioactive baby teeth... we've decided to briefly take international policy seriously.
Panel 4 (caption): The moral? If you want to environmentally regulate something, all you have to do is spend ten years finding it in baby teeth.
A man with a dark tie holding a clipboard: So, our plan is to convince Congress to do the right thing.
Another person (off to the side): WAIT! There's an easier way!
Votey:
Caption: Thanks to Dr. Reiss, Tokyo is safe
A cartoonish tooth character with an angry face and a missing/chipped front tooth stands amid red and orange flames engulfing buildings.
Dr. Louise Reiss (woman with brown hair and glasses): I need your baby's teeth!
Red-haired woman holding a baby: Why?
Dr. Louise Reiss: SCIENCE!
Panel 2 (caption): Parents sent her hundreds of thousands of baby teeth. The results were ominous.
Dr. Louise Reiss (reading from a clipboard, in a lab coat): The strontium-90 concentration has increased by 50 times in the last DECADE.
Panel 3 (caption): This helped lead to the nuclear test ban, and the subsequent drop in atmospheric strontium.
A man in a suit (addressing a table of officials): In light of the recent... *achem* radioactive baby teeth... we've decided to briefly take international policy seriously.
Panel 4 (caption): The moral? If you want to environmentally regulate something, all you have to do is spend ten years finding it in baby teeth.
A man with a dark tie holding a clipboard: So, our plan is to convince Congress to do the right thing.
Another person (off to the side): WAIT! There's an easier way!
Votey:
Caption: Thanks to Dr. Reiss, Tokyo is safe
A cartoonish tooth character with an angry face and a missing/chipped front tooth stands amid red and orange flames engulfing buildings.
Alt text
A four-panel SMBC comic about Dr. Louise Reiss and her 1960s "Baby Tooth Survey." Panel 1: a caption explains she was concerned about nuclear testing's effect on human health. A brown-haired woman in glasses (Dr. Reiss) tells a red-haired woman holding a baby, "I need your baby's teeth!" "Why?" "SCIENCE!" Panel 2: caption says parents sent hundreds of thousands of teeth and the results were ominous. Dr. Reiss, in a lab coat reading a clipboard, says the strontium-90 concentration increased 50 times in the last decade. Panel 3: caption notes this helped lead to the nuclear test ban and a drop in atmospheric strontium. A man in a suit tells a table of officials that in light of the recent radioactive baby teeth they've decided to "briefly take international policy seriously." Panel 4: the moral caption jokes that to regulate something environmentally, you just spend ten years finding it in baby teeth. A man with a clipboard says the plan is to convince Congress to do the right thing, while someone offscreen shouts, "WAIT! There's an easier way!" Votey: a caption reads "Thanks to Dr. Reiss, Tokyo is safe" above an angry cartoon tooth with a chipped front tooth standing amid red and orange flames engulfing a burning city, ironically undercutting the claim.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.