If there are extraterrestrial civilizations within a reasonable distance capable of detecting our unintentional transmissions, there exists a possibility, albeit small, that among the initial signals they intercept, they could receive the commencement of the 1936 Olympic Games. Therefore, in the unlikely event that they do receive these signals, we might come across a speech by Adolf Hitler during our first encounter with an alien species.

“Naturally, this was not the initial transmission,” clarified Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at SETI, during an interview with RealClearScience. “However, it was emitted at a sufficiently high frequency to penetrate the ionosphere.”

In the movie Contact, this ultimately became the initial communication that mankind received from an extraterrestrial society. The entities promptly returned the signal to Earth, unaware of the profound consequences that transmitting broadcasts of Adolf Hitler from outer space would have on the targeted species they were endeavoring to establish communication with. It is similar to greeting a random person and then unintentionally reciting a chapter from Mein Kampf.

Fortunately, it is highly likely that we won’t encounter this issue because extraterrestrial civilizations shouldn’t be able to distinguish the signal strengths.

“The power consumption would have been minimal, and the antenna used would not have had a specific direction,” Shostak elaborated. “The notion that extraterrestrial beings might intercept it is highly improbable.”

However, it is possible that we may receive significantly more alarming initial communications, as individuals have been deliberating on X (Twitter) and Reddit.

What would be the scariest message humanity could receive from outer space? pic.twitter.com/HKEzb7JBnI

— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) April 21, 2024

It appears that people are primarily focused on receiving warnings from extraterrestrial civilizations right now, possibly as a result of a recent unnamed television series.

What would be the scariest message humanity could receive from outer space?
byu/silly_vasily inAskReddit

"Be quite they will hear you!"

— Adam Taylor (@ATaylorFPGA) April 21, 2024

According to certain proposed resolutions to the Fermi Paradox, which ask why we haven’t detected any signs of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, the explanation is that these civilizations are intentionally concealing their presence due to the apprehension of their own annihilation.

Another concern is the possibility of receiving an unclear message that extraterrestrial beings will provide us with limited information, apart from the fact that they are en route.

What would be the scariest message humanity could receive from outer space? pic.twitter.com/HKEzb7JBnI

— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) April 21, 2024

What would be the scariest message humanity could receive from outer space?
byu/silly_vasily inAskReddit

One theory, called the Zoo Hypothesis, is related to this topic. The theory posits that extraterrestrial beings possess knowledge of our existence but deliberately confine us within a designated “zoo” to allow for our evolutionary and societal development. This parallels humanity’s practice of preserving certain areas as nature reserves and refraining from engaging with uncontacted tribes. Based on this hypothesis, it is possible that we may receive contact once we have reached a satisfactory level of technological and societal development and potentially be accepted into a community of other galaxies.

Although there is a prevailing apprehension that initiating communication with an extraterrestrial civilization will probably elicit fear due to humanity’s historical tendency to fear the unfamiliar, there is a potentially more alarming notion.

Movies and TV shows depict space stations as sterile and immaculate environments. However, wherever humans are present, they inevitably carry along with them a multitude of bacteria. Bacteria have colonized various habitats within the International Space Station (ISS), and due to their rapid evolutionary capacity, a particular species has been observed diverging from its terrestrial counterparts.

The bacteria in question are specific strains of Enterobacter bugandensis. This pathogen is classified as an opportunistic pathogen, which indicates that it can only cause disease in individuals who are already “perturbed” or experiencing a disruption in their health, such as those who are already battling another disease or have a weakened immune system. The bacteria is renowned for its multidrug resistance, rendering multiple antibiotic treatments ineffective in combating it. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend the characteristics of this bacteria in space.

In 2018, researchers discovered five different variations of this bacterium on the International Space Station (ISS). Recent findings now indicate that there are a total of 13 distinct variations of this bacterium present on the space station. The first analysis showed some similarities, but the more in-depth genetic study suggests that the ISS strains may have gone through multiple mutations in response to the unique environmental stress, creating genetic and functional differences from E. bugandensis found on Earth.

The authors stated in the paper that they have identified specific genes that are only found in organisms associated with the ISS and not in their counterparts on Earth.

Gaining insight into the evolutionary processes of bacteria in space is crucial for safeguarding the well-being of astronauts and developing alternative strategies to combat these harmful microorganisms. With regards to these recently developed strains, their ability to adjust to microgravity could potentially conceal their vulnerabilities.

The authors further stated that these genes have the potential to be effective targets for therapeutic interventions against harmful microorganisms in the distinct environment of the IS.

The research team acknowledges certain constraints in the genetic analysis, preventing them from definitively attributing the characteristics of these strains solely to space. There is, however, a lot of strong evidence that these strains have become part of different bacterial communities, including those made up of opportunistic pathogens that are resistant to many drugs.

The coexistence of these organisms may have contributed to their ability to adapt and thrive in the challenging conditions of the ISS, characterized by low gravity, high radiation, and elevated levels of carbon dioxide.

The research is published in the scientific journal Microbiome.

Walton Goggins’ character, who plays someone in the first episode of the new TV series Fallout on Amazon, mentions a “rule of thumb” when it comes to nuclear explosions.

According to the character known as “The Ghoul,” he learned in military school that if you raise your thumb and extend your arm toward the blast, you can tell if you are going to live or die. According to the rule, some Americans will be safe from the radioactive fallout if the mushroom cloud is smaller than their thumb. If the mushroom cloud is bigger than their thumb, they won’t be as lucky.

Many other survivors will probably ask you why you’re giving a mushroom cloud the big thumbs up. Is it worth it?

The idea has been looked into a bit thanks to the Fallout video game series, which caught the attention of physicists in their first year at the University of Leicester. They had heard a false rumor that the show’s mascot, Vault Boy, was giving a happy thumbs up to show support for the thumb rule. They wanted to find out if the rule was true.

The team looked at smaller blasts that would fit with the setting of the show and chose a 15-kiloton blast, which is the same size as the blast that happened when the US dropped “Little Boy” on Hiroshima. The first thing the team did was figure out how far away you would have to be from the mushroom cloud for your thumb to cover the blast. They came up with a number that was about 12.6 kilometers (7.8 miles).

“Assuming the detonation occurred on the ground, the radius for avoiding all burns is 4.67 km [2.9 miles] away from the blast center, and the radius for radiation sickness symptoms is 1.56 km [0.97 miles],” the team said in their paper. “This would mean that you would be safe from the initial blast effects of radiation and burns.”

Even though you just saw a nuclear explosion nearby, that doesn’t mean you are safe. And that’s before you worry about nuclear winter. The radiation coming at you from the wind should be your main concern.

“Assuming an average wind speed of 24 km/h, the fallout would reach you within approximately half an hour if you were to be standing directly upwind.”

Getting caught in this wind will give you enough rads to make you sick. One more rule, though: run like hell. This might help you lower your dose.

“This investigation showed that if a 15-kiloton nuclear bomb was to detonate and your thumb extended at an arm’s length just covered the blast, you could survive most negative radiation effects by running laterally in the direction of the wind for a minimum of 1.65 km [1 mile] in half an hour, given that you are standing directly upwind from the blast,” the team said.

But this only works for a blast much smaller than the weapons the world has now. And even for smaller blasts, the rule probably won’t help because of the radiation that is released into the air and the fact that the wind can change quickly. Ruth McBurney, who is the executive director of the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors in Frankfort, Kentucky, told Inverse that “shelter is the best thing to do if you think you might be in a place where fallout might be present or coming.”

More plans call for temporarily taking refuge in whatever is available, and then moving to better nearby shelters about 30 minutes after the blast. There are, of course, official rules about what to do during a blast. In short, you should stay inside and away from windows, wash your hands, and wait for more instructions. Please don’t condition your hair while you’re doing that.