The Beauty and the Bomb: Sally McCloskey

During the 1950s, the people of Las Vegas, Nevada, decided to unite the two things the area was famous for: Atom bomb tests and showgirls. Casinos would host parties where people could watch the mushroom clouds rise, at which they'd also crown beauty queens that were usually picked from among their staff, and North Las Vegas even held a beauty competition where they crowned a Miss A-Bomb.

One of the more curious "Beauty and the Bomb" events involve the day photographer Donald English shot pictures of ballet dancer Sally McCloskey performing an interpretative dance with a mushroom cloud in sky above the test grounds.

For some context and information about the photo shoot, click here. Also, here's a copy of a feature some of the pictures were used in (click to enlarge and read the text):