One Scary Mother

I once had an exclusive interview with Edward Teller, the Hungarian born theoretical physicist often referred to as "father of the hydrogen bomb."

He denied paternity. In fact he wouldn't talk to me at all if I was going to call him the father of anything.

I kept my promise. Playing interview excerpts on the air, I introduced him as the hydrogen bomb's mother. And one scary mother, too.

You see, it was really Enrico Fermi who suggested a weapon based on nuclear fission could be used to set off an even larger nuclear fusion reaction. He's the Dad. Teller is Mom, because Fermi's seed took root in him, and he nurtured it to life after the Soviets' fission bomb test.

And Teller, known both for his scientific ability and his difficult personality, is considered one of the inspirations for the character Dr. Strangelove in the 1964 movie of the same name.

Like I said, Edward Teller was one scary mother.