Our World – Super Facts

Child mortality has declined Globally yet Five Million Children Die Annually

Super fact 137 : Child mortality has sharply declined in all world regions. Despite that fact, five million children die every year. Most of these deaths are preventable.

The graph shows the child mortality rate steadily declining curve going from 22.7% in 1950 to 3.6% in 2023. There is a significant uptick in 1960. | Child mortality has declined Globally yet Five Million Children Die Annually — Child mortality rate worldwide. Share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five. Data source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – Learn more about this data. OurWorldinData.org/child-mortality | CC BY

The graph above shows the probability a newborn would die before reaching the age of five if the year’s age-specific mortality rates stayed unchanged. It is not the share of an actual cohort that has been observed dying. As you can see, the child mortality worldwide has gone from 22.7% in 1950 to 3.6% in 2023. That is more than a sixfold improvement. The significant uptick in child mortality in 1960 is because of the Great Leap Forward in China.

The graph below shows that the sharp decline in child mortality exists across all regions of the world. The graph depicts the child mortality rate for Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern America, Europe and the whole world. You can play around with the graph and select your own regions and countries by clicking here. Note that Africa is the region with the worst numbers. However, the decline in child mortality still goes from 32.7% in 1950 to 6.3% in 2023, a fivefold decline.

The graph shows the child mortality rate from 1950 to 2023 for Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern America, Europe and the whole world. The graphs have different colors. The decline in child mortality for Africa goes from 32.7% in 1950 to 6.3% in 2023, a fivefold decline. — Child mortality rate. Share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five. Data source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024). OurWorldinData.org/child-mortality | CC BY

If you look further back in time the numbers are not as accurate, but they are a lot more impressive. In the maps below you can see that the child mortality rate in the 1800 is estimated to be between 30% and 60% everywhere in the world. If you look at the bottom map, you’ll see that the countries that are the worst off with respect to the child mortality rate in 2015 have a child mortality rate of 14%. That means that the worst off country in the 21^st century is much better off than any of the countries were in the 1800. You can read more about this map and related information here.

The picture includes three world maps with the continents and countries outlined. They correspond to 1800, 1950 and 2015 respectively. The different colors indicate the child mortality rate. The worst child mortality rate is between 30% and 60% and is indicated in red. The top map for 1800 is all red. The map for 1950 features some countries in Africa that are red. In 2015 there are not countries indicated in red. | Child mortality has declined Globally yet Five Million Children Die Annually — Child mortality in 1800, 1950 and 2015. The share of children (born alive) who died before reaching their 5th birthday. Data: Our World in Data based on Gapminder for 1800, and United Nationas Population Division (2017) for 1950 and 2015. Licensed under CC-BY by the authors Hannah Ritchie and Max Roser (2019).

However, a child mortality rate of 3.6% still means that nearly five million children die every year before the age of five. The UN estimates that 990 million children have died globally since 1950. Most of these deaths are preventable. Infectious diseases and birth disorders (primarily preterm births and neonatal suffocation) dominate deaths among children under five. The impressive and almost steady decline in the child mortality rate across all regions in the world is a positive but surprising and important fact.

However, the fact that despite the success in reducing the child mortality rate five million children still die, and those deaths are preventable is a surprising but less positive fact. That’s why I consider this a super fact.

Look at the bottom half on the following page for details about the original sources.

Additional Child Mortality Rate Graphs and Maps

The pictures show two world maps side by side. The map on the left is for 1950 and the map on the right is for 2023. Red in the map indicates a child mortality rate between 20% and 50%. In the map for 1950 most of Africa, south and east Asia, and Latin America are red. No country is red in the 2023 map. — Child mortality rate 1950 vs. 2023. Share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five. Data source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) OurWorldinData.org/child-mortality | CC BY

The pictures show two world maps side by side. The map on the left is for 1985 and the map on the right is for 2023. Red in the map indicates a child mortality rate between 20% and 50%. In the map for 1985 a few countries in Africa are red. No country is red in the 2023 map. | Child mortality has declined Globally yet Five Million Children Die Annually — Child mortality rate 1985 vs. 2023. Share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five. Data source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) OurWorldinData.org/child-mortality | CC BY

In the graph below notice that Japan shows a decline in the child mortality rate from 9% in 1950 to 0.2% in 2023, which is quite impressive.

Japan shows a decline in the child mortality rate from 9% in 1950 to 0.2% in 2023. However, all graphs show a significant decline in the child mortality rate. — Child mortality rate in selected developed countries from 1950 to 2023, including the United States, Canada, France, Australia, Germany, Sweden and Japan. Share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five. Data source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) OurWorldinData.org/child-mortality | CC BY

United States (0.6%), Canada (0.5%), France (0.4%), Australia (0.4%), Germany (0.3%), Sweden (0.2%) and Japan (0.2%). — Child mortality rate in selected developed countries in 2023, including the United States, Canada, France, Australia, Germany, Sweden and Japan. The child mortality rate is represented as bar graphs. Share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five. Data source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) OurWorldinData.org/child-mortality | CC BY

The bar graph shows the child mortality rate for North American countries in 2023. From best to worst, Canada 0.5%, Cuba 0.6%, United States Virgin Islands 0.6%, Puerto Rico 0.6%, Northern America 0.6%, United States 0.6%, Costa Rica 0.8%, Mexico 1.2%, Bahamas 1.3%, Nicaragua 1.5%, Paraguay 1.7%, Guatemala 2.1%, Dominican Republic 3.2% — Child mortality rate in North American countries 2023. Share of newborns who die before reaching the age of five. Data source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024 OurWorldinData.org/child-mortality | CC BY

The Death of Five Million Children

Five million children die every year — what do they die from?

44% died from infectious diseases including pneumonia, influenza, covid-19, malaria, rotavirus, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, encephalitis, measles, whooping cough, and meningitis, STDs, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. It may come as a surprise that 118,000 children died from measles in 2023 and 95,600 children died from whopping cough in 2023.

42% died from birth disorders including preterm birth, neonatal asphyxia, heart abnormalities, neonatal sepsis, etc. The remaining 14% were cardiovascular diseases, digestive diseases, genetic blood disorders, malnutrition, cancers, accidents such as drowning and transport accidents. You read the details and check the graphics here.

Related Super Facts

To see the other Super Facts click here

There are more than 100 million forcibly displaced people

Superfact 118: There are more than 100 million forcibly displaced people in the world, including more than 30-40 million refugees, 9 million asylum seekers, and more than 70 million internally displaced persons. The number of refugees in the world has almost tripled since the year 2000 and the number of internally displaced persons is estimated to have more than ten doubled since the year 2000.

Aerial photo of thousands of mostly blue tents on a background of mountainous terrain. | There are more than 100 million forcibly displaced people — Drone footage of thousands of Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan, Pakistan border, refugee camp, Torkham Border. Nangarhar, Afghanistan 8 November 2023. Shutterstock asset id: 2385658471 by Waheedullah Jahesh.

According to Wikipedia the number of refugees is 41.6 million worldwide, 72.1 million internally displaced persons, 8 million asylum seekers and 122.6 million forcibly displaced people in total globally. The number of refugees in the year 2000 was 12,129,600 and the number of internally displaced persons in the year 2000 was 5,998,500.

According to the refugee council of Australia there were 117.8 million forcibly displaced persons in 2025 including 34.4 million refugees, 9 million asylum seekers, and 73.5 million internally displaced persons. According to Our World in Data a record 83 million people globally were living in internal displacement at the end of 2024.

A large number of Ukrianian school children sitting on a patio. — Internally displaced children from other parts of Ukraine in the Zakarpattia Oblast of western Ukraine. UNICEF Ukraine from Kyiv, Ukraine, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.

I should explain that a refugee is someone who has been forced to flee their home country to escape war, violence, or persecution. A refugee who acquires a new citizenship or returns to his country stops being a refugee. An internally displaced person is an individual who was forced to leave their home or place of residence but did not cross an international border.

It should be noted that World War II was the largest forced displacement event in recorded human history. 65 million people were forcibly displaced in Europe alone according to the Imperial War Museum. The partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 resulted in 12-20 million people being forcibly displaced according to this article. The Afghanistan war resulted in around 10 million people being forcibly displaced according to this article. Today most refugees (65%) come from just five countries Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Sudan.

Having tens of millions of refugees and forcibly displaced persons is nothing new. What may come as a surprise to many is first of all the size of the numbers and the fact that despite the reduction of causalities from wars in the 21^st century compared to previous centuries; the refugee and forcibly displaced persons problem has grown significantly larger over the last couple of decades. Since this is an important but surprising reality, I consider it a super fact.

Where Are the Internally Displaced Persons ?

The map indicates that there are several million internally displaced persons in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia. | There are more than 100 million forcibly displaced people — Internally displaced people, 2024. Internally displaced people had to leave their homes because of violence or disaster and have not crossed an international state border. This counts all individuals who are currently displaced, regardless of how many times they have been displaced. Data source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (2026) OurWorldinData.org/migration | CC BY

You may wonder how come there are internally displaced people in countries such as Japan and the United States. The reason is that natural disasters can also be a source of internal displacement. In fact, my in-laws were internally displaced persons after a tornado devastated our neighborhood in Dallas in October 2019. Notice that the Africa is where you have most of the internally displaced persons.

Where are the Refugees ?

The graph shows the number of refugees in three countries Iran, Turkey and Germany, over the period 1951 to 2024. Other than the sharp uptick for Iran in early 1990 the graphs are sharply increasing over the last 15 years. — Refugees by country of asylum, 1951 to 2024. People who fled their country of origin because of serious threats against which the authorities of their home country cannot or will not protect them. This includes all refugees, not just those who arrived that year. Data source UNHCR (2025). OurWorldinData.org/migration | CC BY

The three countries with the most refugees are Iran (3.49 million), Turkey (2.94 million) and Germany (2.75 million). Next comes Uganda, Pakistan, Chad, Poland, Ethiopia, all Bangladesh, all with more than one million refugees. Iran has a lot of refugees because of the refugees from Afghanistan pouring into the country, and Turkey has a lot of refugees because of the refugees from Syria, and Germany has a lot of refugees because of their generous immigration and refugee policy. The big spike in the number of refugees in Iran around 1991 was due to the Gulf war and the Afghanistan war.

As for other Western countries, France has 722 thousand refugees, United Kingdom 516 thousand refugees, the United States 435 thousand refugees, and Spain 429 thousand refugees. By clicking here, you can play around with the graphs and compare all countries in the world.

To read a real eyewitness account from the persecution and genocide of the Rohingya people, click here – The Friday I Never Returned Home: A Rohingya Survivor’s Story from June 8, 2012

To see the Other Super Facts click here

Scandinavian Mythology

Since it is Halloween I thought I’d make a fun post (not a super fact) about Scandinavian Mythology or folklore. I live in Texas, but I am originally from Sweden so the various beings I’ll describe or mention below are beings that I grew up hearing about. When I was a kid, we kids used to scare each other with stories about these beings.

I should also point out that it is not ancient Viking mythology but more recent folklore that some people still believe in. I am focusing on Swedish folklore and Norwegian folklore since it is similar to Swedish folklore. Danish folklore is a little bit different, but it has many similarities to Swedish and Norwegian folklore. Denmark is a Scandinavian country, but the post would be too long if I included folklore that is specifically Danish.

I am providing one or more pictures for each being. These pictures are either in the public domain, for example via Wikipedia, or shutter-stock pictures (I have a subscription), or pictures I generated with the help of ChatGPT with varying success. The beings covered are Tomte, Vittra (Vitter folk), Elf, Skogsrå/ /Tallemaja/Huldra, Näcken/Fossegrim, Troll, Myling, Storsjö odjuret (the north Swedish equivalent of the Loch Ness monster), Kraken, and Skvader. Finally, Blodstämmare is not a being but a north Swedish magical practice that you use to remotely stop the blood flow in a person.

Tomte

Tomtar (plural of Tomte) or Nisse in Norwegian is a type of small magical people, or gnomes, related to Vitter folk (described below). They are friendly and is the inspiration behind the Swedish version of Santa Claus, which is therefore a bit different from the Disney version of Santa Claus that has become so popular.

For one thing, the Disney version of Santa Claus works alone while delivering presents and therefore needs to move faster than the speed of light to cover all the good children. A Tomte may help you with your projects and duties if you are nice to them. They may help you with your farm and your animals, warn you of danger, and bring you gifts for Christmas if you in return put out food for them, such as porridge. As mentioned, there are many Tomtar, often one Tomte per house.

A Tomte wearing a red hat in a snowy winter forest. | Scandinavian Mythology — An illustration of a Tomte. Shutterstock ID: 2060057882 by PLIMPLUM.

An old illustration of a Tomte conversing with a sitting cat. — A Tomte or a Nisse, about as big as a cat, Erik Werenskiold, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Tomte with a beard wearing a red pointed hat | Scandinavian Mythology — Tomte generated by ChatGPT

Vittra

Vittra or Vitterfolk are supernatural spirits or small invisible people who have a lot in common with people as well as Tomtar. They own cattle and they sometimes interact with people. Usually, they stay out of your way, but if you hurt them, for example by throwing hot water out the window without warning them first, they may take revenge on you and burn down your house. Vittra are not evil but not friendly either.

The belief in Vittra is especially prevalent in northern Sweden. On the Swedish island of Gotland, they are often referred to as “Di små undar jordi” in the Got/Goth dialect, or “De små under jorden” in proper Swedish, or “the small ones below ground” in English. They are sometimes depicted as looking similar to Tomtar, gnomes or elves, and sometimes as invisible, or near invisible little spirits. Below are some depictions of Vitter folk.

A Vitter is sitting on a log in the forest and baby cow is standing in front of him. — A Vitter and his mini calf. Generated with the help of ChatGPT

Elf

An elf, or elves in plural, is a type of human like supernatural being in Germanic folklore and especially Nordic/Scandinavian folklore. Since elves have been popularized around the world it is a well known being. In Scandinavian mythology they were initially often considered bad news but because of popular culture, such as Tolkien’s books, they have been redeemed into something positive. The first picture below is from a Swedish children’s book written in 1910. I read this book when I was a child. The wispy creatures are elves and the small kids with mushroom hats are Tomte children. In this book the elves are depicted in a Nordic pre-modern fashion, but they are nice.

Wispy spirit like elves are sitting on a log. The Tomte children are standing next to them and talking to them. The Tomte children are wearing red mushroom hats. | Scandinavian Mythology — Little älvor, playing with Tomtebobarnen. From Children of the Forest (1910) by Swedish author and illustrator Elsa Beskow. Elsa Beskow, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Around 20 white dressed female elves are dancing on a meadow. — Ängsälvor (Swedish “Meadow Elves”) by Nils Blommér (1850). Nils Blommér, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A female elf in the forest. She is holding a lantern. | Scandinavian Mythology — A female elf that I generated with the help of ChatGPT

One male elf and three female elves standing in a clearing. — Four elves (one male, three females) standing in a forest glade. I generated this picture with the help of ChatGPT.

Skogsrå, Tallemaja, Huldra

Skogsrå or Tallemaja in Swedish folklore is a seductive female creature who lures men with her beauty or beautiful singing and then kills the men. The Skogsrå / Tallemaja typically has a tail and a hollowed out back, which you can’t see if you are facing each other. In Norwegian this creature is called Huldra (Hulder in plural).

It should be noted that I read that if you meet a Huldra in the forest and you treat her with respect she will not kill you. She would just enjoy your company for a while, talk to you, sing to you, show you the beauty of the forest, and then she would let you go. It is only the rude and selfish men who don’t respect her boundaries whom she kills.

An image AI-illustration of a Huldra — Imagining how a Huldra would look like. Stock AI-generated image ID: 2400845203 by Shutterstock AI Generator.

Two lightly dressed huldras / nymphs resting by a creek in the forest. | Scandinavian Mythology — Huldra’s Nymphs (1909) by Bernard Evans Ward, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A Tallemaja with pointed ears and red hair. She is wearing a green dress, and she is standing in the forest. — A Skogsrå, Tallemaja or Huldra that I generated with the help of ChatGPT

A Skogsrå with pointed ears and red hair. She is wearing a green leafy dress, a crown of leaves, and she is standing in the forest. | Scandinavian Mythology — Another picture of a Skogsrå, Tallemaja or Huldra that I generated with the help of ChatGPT.

A Tallemaja with long hair. She is wearing a brown dress, a pointy hat, and she is standing in the forest. — A Tallemaja that I generated with the help of ChatGPT.

Last summer (a bit more than one year ago) we visited Sweden and Norway. One day we took a tour into the Norwegian mountains and fjords. We took a two-hour cruise on Sognefjord and after the cruise we took a train to the top of the surrounding mountains. Along the way we encountered a Huldra by a waterfall. She sang to us in her beautiful voice, and she seduced us all, both men and women, to take photos of her with our phones and posting them on social media. It was a tourist ploy of course. You can read more about our trip here .

A waterfall in the mountains. A woman in a red dress is standing to the right of the waterfall. — My photo of the Huldra (in red) by the waterfall in the Norwegian mountains. She seduced us all into taking photos of her for Facebook. Her seductiveness was feared in medieval times, but in modern times we refer to the seductiveness of the Huldra as a “tourist trap”.

Blurry image of a Huldra dressed in red standing on a mountain side. | Scandinavian Mythology — A close up of the Huldra we encountered. Sorry, my phone camera is the best and it was at a distance.

Näcken, Fossegrim

Näcken, Strömkarlen, or Fossegrim in Norwegian is a male creature who lives by the water, creeks, rivers, ponds and lakes. He plays a harp or a violin He lures children and others to their death. In southern Sweden (Scania) he seduces people by skillfully playing a violin thus creating irresistible music.

Greenish statue of Fossegrim standing in a small waterfall playing a harp. | Scandinavian Mythology — Bjørn som tegner, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Näcken or Strömkarlen is sitting on a rock in a creek playing a harp. | Scandinavian Mythology — A picture of Näcken that I generated with the help of ChatGPT

Troll

Troll, or Trolls in plural, are large ugly creatures with magical powers. They typically live in caves and sunlight is dangerous to them. They are typically hostile to humans and may kidnap people, including children, to work in their mines. Trolls are called Trolls in both Swedish and Norwegian.

A troll standing in the forest — A picture of a troll that I generated with the help of ChatGPT

A troll standing in the forest | Scandinavian Mythology — Another picture of a troll that I generated with the help of ChatGPT

A very ugly troll standing in the forest — A picture of a troll, a slightly different style, that I generated with the help of ChatGPT

Myling

Before modern contraception, infanticide was one way for parents to limit the number of children they had. Unwanted and out of wedlock children were often killed. It is part of our human dark history. These babies were not baptized and in old Scandinavian mythology they became restless spirits seeking revenge on the mother or both parents. Alternatively, they caused mischief until they could convince someone to at least bury them properly. These restless baby spirits are referred to as myling or mylingar in plural.

Storsjö odjuret

Storsjöodjuret is a large sea serpent like Swedish lake monster like the Loch Ness monster. It resides in a lake in northern Sweden. The English translation of Storsjö odjuret is the monster of the Great Lake. Storsjö / Great Lake is not far from where I grew up. I should say this monster has been hundreds of times since 1635 and seems to have been depicted on a rune stone from the 11^th century.

A runestone with runes and a picture of snake like creature. — The Frösö Runestone from the mid-11th century. Frösö is an island located in the middle of Storsjö. In the legend from 1635 Storsjöodjuret is said to be the serpent depicted on the stone. Andreaze, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Depicted is a large sea serpent like creature with a horse like head and a fish tail. | Scandinavian Mythology — A picture of storsjoodjuret that I generated with the help of ChatGPT

Kraken

Kraken is a gigantic octopus that can bring down entire ships. It is more of a Norwegian creature but also Swedish.

An old illustration of a giant octopus climbing all over a ship. — Pierre Denys de Montfort (1766–1820) / Étienne Claude Voysard (1746–1812.), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Skvader

The skvader is a Swedish fictional creature that looks like a mix of a wood grouse and a hare. It started with a taxidermist creating a mixture of the two animals, taking a photo, and a rumor spread that it was real. I am remember watching debates on Swedish TV on whether the creature was real or not. People love to believe strange things. Yet another reason we scientifically valid evidence.

A photo of animal that looks like a mix of a wood grouse and a hare. — Unknown photographer, Copyrighted free use, via Wikimedia Commons

Blodstämmare

This is not a creature but a very common superstition in northern Sweden. There are people, blodstämmare, who can stop the flow of blood by uttering magical phrases while focusing their minds on the person in question. This power is usually used for helping people who are bleeding. It can also be used for evil, like black magic, to stop the blood flow in someone’s heart. This superstition is based on Sami (indigenous north Scandinavian people) Shamanism and north Swedish Christian fundamentalism (Laestadians). It is respected enough that some north Swedish hospitals have used blodstämmare in emergency situations.

The father of a close friend of mine called a blodstämmare when he had a bad nosebleed, and it worked. I know anecdotes are not valid scientific evidence. It is just a good story.

Happy Halloween

To see the Super Facts click here

We Exploded Thousands of Nuclear Bombs

Super fact 48 : Since 1945 we have set off more than 2,000 Nuclear Bombs corresponding to a yield of an estimated 42,000 times that of the Hiroshima Bomb.

According to the Arms Control Association there’s been 2,056 nuclear bomb tests. According to the UN there’s been more than 2,000 nuclear bomb tests, and according to Wikipedia there’s been 2,121 nuclear bomb tests, totaling 635 Megaton. Using the typical yield estimate for the Hiroshima bomb of 15 Kiloton that corresponds to more than 42,000 Hiroshima bombs. I think most of us know about the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs and we know about nuclear testing. However, I think the number of tests and the large total yield will come as a surprise to many, at least it was a surprise to me. That is why I consider this a super fact.

Atomic bomb explosion in a city - nuclear attack on a crowded city – 3D rendering of a mushroom cloud encompassing a city with skyscrapers | We Exploded Thousands of Nuclear Bombs — Nuclear bomb dropped on a big city. Shutterstock, asset id: 2188083835 by CI Photos.

Nuclear Landscaping

It may also come as a surprise that many of these tests were not for military purposes. Another usage for nuclear bombs is nuclear landscaping. Towards the end of the 1950’s the existing Panama Canal was thought to be insufficiently large and some people, including Edward Teller, the father of the Hydrogen bomb (Thermonuclear bomb), suggested that a new wider and deeper canal could be built simply by using nuclear bombs to blow multiple huge holes across Panama. The US was also interested in creating a new harbor in Alaska using nuclear bombs.

Thus, Project Plowshare was created to achieve this. As part of the Project Plowshare 35 nuclear warheads were detonated. The Soviet Union also had a similar program named “Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy” that included 124 nuclear bomb tests. Due to concerns over radioactive fallout the nuclear landscaping projects were eventually put to rest. The last Plowshare detonation was on May 17, 1973. The book Atomic Awakening by James Mahaffey recounts the history of nuclear testing and nuclear landscaping in greater detail.

An enormous nuclear bomb explosion in the dessert featuring a huge mushroom cloud. — Hydrogen bomb test by Alones Shutterstock Asset id: 2194195335.

Project Orion

Another non-military use of nuclear bomb testing was Project Orion. Project Orion was a study conducted from 1956 to 1964 by the US Air Force, NASA, and DARPA into the viability of a nuclear pulse spaceship that would be directly propelled by a series of atomic explosions behind the craft. A thick steel pusher plate would catch the blast and accelerate the ship forward.

The “Pascal B” shot in Operation Plumb Bob in 1957 was the first nuclear weapons test of the pusher concept. The Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963 made it difficult to continue with the project. According to the book Atomic Awakening, if the design had been successfully completed, we could have created an interstellar spaceship that could have taken a crew and a large load to other planets and stars.

I can add that According to Atomic Awakening, in addition to Nuclear Landscaping and Project Orion, Nuclear Blasts were a tourist attraction.

Number of Nuclear Tests by Country

Below is a list of countries and the number of nuclear tests that they’ve performed according to the Arms Control Association and Wikipedia.

The United States – 1,030 – According to Wikipedia – 1,032
The USSR/Russia – 715 – According to Wikipedia – 727
France – 210 – According to Wikipedia – 215
United Kingdom – 45 – According to Wikipedia – 88
China – 45 – According to Wikipedia – 47
North Korea – 6 – According to Wikipedia – 6
India – 3 – According to Wikipedia – 3
Pakistan – 2- According to Wikipedia – 2

However, it should be noted that partially due to nuclear arms control legislation such as; the Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT): Signed in 1963, the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT): Signed in 1974, and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) opened for signing in 1996, the number of nuclear tests have been significantly reduced. This is illustrated by the graph below from Our World in Data. The last nuclear test was done by North Korea in 2017.

The histogram graph shows how many nuclear tests took place each year since 1945. The different countries, the portion by each country, the US, USSR/Russia, France, United Kingdom, China, North Korean, India, and Pakistan are colored differently. The histogram shows the 1961 was the year when most nuclear tests took place. The vast majority of the tests took place between 1950 and 1990 | We Exploded Thousands of Nuclear Bombs — Data Source: Arms Control Association (2024). OurWorldInData.org/nuclear weapons.

Tsar Bomba

The biggest nuclear bomb ever exploded was RDS-220, or AN602, or Tsar Bomba. It was detonated by the Soviet Union on October 30^th, 1961, on the arctic island of Novaya Zemlya, and yielded more than 50 Megaton. In other words, it was 3,300 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. According to Atomic Awakening, windows in Finland 1,900 kilometers (1,180 miles) away shattered. There are no cities large enough to match the size of the explosion. This is the kind of bomb that could obliterate states or small countries.

Tsar Bomba was a so-called thermonuclear device, or a hydrogen bomb as they are typically called. Hydrogen bombs are much more powerful than fission bombs, such as Uranium bombs or Plutonium bombs. To read my related post called “Ukraine Gave up Thousands of Nuclear Warheads” click here.

Russian Tsar Bomba mushroom cloud rising high above the clouds. High quality photo realist ( 3d make ) | We Exploded Thousands of Nuclear Bombs — This is an illustration of the Tsar Bomba explosion by by mbafai Shutterstock Asset id: 2208486661. To see a photo of the actual Tsar Bomba explosion click here (it is copyrighted).

Would you pay to watch a Nuclear Bomb Test? (Nuclear Bomb Test Tourism)

To see the other Super Facts click here

Gustav Vasa

Image above by Kevin from The Beginning at Last

Today, June 6 is the National Day of Sweden (or the Independence Day of Sweden). Gustav Vasa, or Gustav I, Sweden’s hero king and the father of modern Sweden, was elected king of Sweden on June 6^th, 1523. This was after the Swedish War of Liberation from Denmark 1521 to 1523. Gustav rose to lead the Swedish War of Liberation following the Stockholm Bloodbath, where his father was executed. Gustav Vasa or Gustav I was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. Since I am originally Swedish (now living in Texas) June 6 is a significant date for me.

In the picture there muscular man holding up crown | Gustav Vasa — This picture is how I imagine Gustav Vasa at his coronation. BTW this is a submission for Kevin’s No Theme Thursday

A bearded king and his queen are marching down the middle of beautiful large building, perhaps a cathedral or a castle | Gustav Vasa — This is how I imagine Gustav Vasa’s marriage to Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg on September 24^th, 1531. This picture is also from Kevin’s No Theme Thursday

Depictions of Gustav Vasa

Kevin’s pictures above were, like I said, how I imagine Gustav Vasa. The depictions below might be closer to the truth.

Painting of Gustav Vasa with an interesting hairdo and wearing a large robe. — Painting of Gustav I Vasa. Fashion was somewhat different back in the day.

Gustav Vasa is wearing a big black robe and black beanie looking hat that is slanted on his head. — Portrait of Gustav Vasa (from Wikipedia Commons).

The Kalmar Union

In 1397 a union was formed between Denmark, Norway and Sweden called the Kalmar Union (Kalmar is a city a Sweden). The Kalmar Union came to be dominated by Denmark and there were occasional rebellions. During Gustav’s childhood, parts of the Swedish nobility tried to make Sweden independent. Gustav’s father Erik Johansson Vasa was part of that nobility.

Map showing Denmark, Sweden and Norway in purple. Iceland and Finland are also included. — The Kalmar Union. Finland was part of Sweden at the time. Ssolbergj, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

After some problematic interactions with Denmark and the Danish King Christian II, King Christian massacred 100 Swedish nobles, November 7-9, 1520, on Stortorget in Stockholm, including Gustav’s father. In 1521 Gustav led a rebellion (or a civil war) against Denmark, which ended in the deposition of King Christian II from the throne of Sweden, effectively ending the Kalmar Union. I can add that King Christian is called Christian the Tyrant in Sweden and Christian the good in Denmark.

Sweden and Denmark has had a complicated history that included a lot of hostilities and eleven wars, but you wouldn’t know it if you looked at the situation today. There hasn’t been a war between Sweden and Denmark in more than 180 years and Swedes and Danes get along very well. However, it is best not to bring up the past. That is probably true for marriages as well.

On the left, a fist with a yellow and blue flag. On the right, a fist with a red and white flag. — Denmark vs Sweden. The yellow and blue flag is the Swedish flag. Red and white is the Danish. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 1114320377 by Hasanov Jeyhun.

Gustav Vasa’s Burial Place

Gustav Vasa died on September 29, 1560, and is buried together with three of his wives (while only two are engraved) in the Cathedral of Uppsala. Uppsala is an old city north of Stockholm famous for its Viking graves/mounds. During the Viking era Uppsala was the religious center of Sweden. Later as Sweden became Christian it remained the religious center of Sweden, however, the Viking temple in old Uppsala was replaced by a Christian church. Uppsala hosts one of the most prominent Universities in the world and it also happens to be where I studied Engineering Physics.