Did You Know Jimmy Carter Diffused This Nuclear Accident? [Video]

As the nation laid to rest former President Jimmy Carter, they remembered him for a slew of his accomplishments in office but one nuclear moment from before his presidency is sure to shock you… no pun intended.

Back when Carter was an officer in the U.S. Naval Academy, he was part of the development of the nation’s first nuclear-powered submarines, per The New York Times. Prior to that, he got an up-close glimpse of a nuclear energy source up in Canada. As the story goes, back in 1952, there was a mechanical failure on the core of the NRX reactor held at the Chalk River Laboratories on the Ottawa River.

The device was said to have a capacity of 30 megawatts. However, the report says on Dec. 12, 1952, workers shut down the reactor to inspect its cooling system when a mistake by one worker and a supervisor led to confusion …