Mannequins in a home near the Trinity Nuclear Test site in New Mexico, US in 1945. Most initial atomic bomb testing was done inside the continental US in the desert, usually in New Mexico, Arizona or Nevada. The US military built towns, adding all normal amenities of the time to each home, and then put mannequins in to try and determine the damage such an atomic bomb would cause if ever detonated on civilian population. As the weapons became more powerful and the radiation and dangers became better understood, testing was stopped inside the continental US and moved to islands by the 1950s. All the test sites still have significant radiation and cannot be visited for extended hours without suffering from exposure.