That’s a chilling but fascinating piece of history — a grim reminder that biological weapons can be even more devastating than nukes, especially long-term. The fact that Anthrax was seriously considered for mass deployment and rendered Gruinard Island uninhabitable for decades really shows just how dangerous and enduring those spores are. “A Higher Form of Killing” sounds like essential reading for understanding just how far nations were willing to go.

Yep — big difference:

UK (Gruinard Island):

Tested anthrax in WWII

Publicly acknowledged

Quarantined for decades

Decontaminated by 1990

USSR (Vozrozhdeniya Island):

Secretly tested smallpox, anthrax, plague

Denied everything

Caused a deadly smallpox outbreak in 1971

Covered it up for years

One island had warning signs. The other had a cover story.> The UK, meanwhile, made it very very clear which island they used for their anthrax testing in WW2.