This Physicist Lost A Top Classified Document Of An Hydrogen Bomb Design In A Train Toilet

John Wheeler was a physicist best known for popularizing the term “black hole” though he was also famous across a number of fields including quantum theory, relativity, as well as nuclear fission. In the early 50s, he worked on Project Matterhorn with the aim of developing a hydrogen bomb. However, he was also known for a stereotypical “absent-minded professor” moment when he accidentally left a highly classified document on a train in 1953.

After the first Soviet atomic bomb was detonated in 1949, the US lost an important military strategic advantage. Then, in March 1951, two physicists namely Ernest Lawrence and Edward Teller came up with an H-bomb design that relied on nuclear fusion instead of fission to create a devastating explosion. The design was acknowledged as a great potential.

In late 1952, the prototype device named Mike was detonated successfully but the design was far from being ready for military use because it required 80 tons of cryogenic equipment to keep the deuterium fuel in a liquid state.

At the time, William Borden, the Joint Committee's chief of staff, was assigned to compile an official history of the development of the H-bomb for Wheeler could check the technical details. The six-page document was sent to Princeton for Wheeler.

The physicists took the extract with him on a sleeper train when he headed to Washington and read it overnight. He recalled putting it in its white envelope and placed the envelope in its manila envelope. The manila envelope was then put in Wheeler’s suitcase, which was then wedged between the man and the wall.

When awakened at 6:45 the next morning, Wheeler took the suitcase to the men’s lavatory where it was placed on the counter while the envelope containing the extract was taken to the men’s toilet stall with Wheeler. The enveloped ended up being wedged between the wall and some pipes, under the window on his right hand. However, he forgot to take the envelope when exiting the stall.

At that time, there were two other men using the washbasins while one man was using the stall. Wheeler climbed on the washstand, trying to see through the door when looking for the envelope but he saw a man on the toilet that wasn’t reading anything. The physicist watched the man until he was done and opened the door then ran in immediately to grab the manila envelope. It seemed that the envelope was not tampered with.

But as Wheeler got back to his seat and checked inside the envelope, the white envelope that contained the extract was not there. He searched the entire train but the white envelope was nowhere to be found. Even the FBI failed to find the document.

Until now, the highly classified document was never recovered and no one knows where it is or who took it. It’s worth noting that the missing document posed a life or death situation for the US, particularly American military leaders and policymakers, who were afraid that the Soviets would get the information, putting the US at an even greater risk of security and safety breach.

Despite how dangerous this mistake was, Wheeler was not punished nor did he have to take responsibility for the missing document. “He was too valuable as a scientist. They said they couldn't punish him without hurting the nuclear program.”

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