In 1962, at 11:00:09 p.m. local time on July 8, the United States detonated a thermonuclear warhead mounted atop a Thor missile at 400 km above Johnston Island. 826 miles from Honolulu, Hawaii. That night was one that many residents of the Hawaiian Islands would never forget (Berkhouse, 1962). The operation, as the test was codenamed by the U.S. military, caused the first damage to the United States from an electromagnetic pulse created by a nuclear detonation. Although the damage was not intentional or planned, the 1.4 megaton weapon caused "the breakdown of street lighting systems, the tripping of circuit breakers, the activation of burglar alarms and damage to a security installation." telecommunications relay”. (EMP Commission, 2004, p. 4) We have all heard the conspiracy theories, conjectures and crazy rhetoric that some alarmists have been contemplating for decades. Let's put aside all the scary thoughts we've been having nightmares about and discuss the real facts about an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). With the world so closely tied to its love of all things electronic, can EMP really move our civilization from the 21st century to pre-industrial times so quickly? The facts will show that this is a serious threat and must be treated as such. The United States, as well as the world, is increasingly dependent on electronics. Everything around us runs on electricity; from the cars we drive, to our dependence on the mobile electronic devices we use, to the cappuccino machines that make our favorite drinks. We love our electronics. Last year alone, "retail sales of consumer electronics fell by just under $1 trillion in 2011," reports John Laposky of TWICE magazine, and those sales "are expected to reach 1,040 billion dollars in 201…… middle of paper… ...the threat posed to the United States by electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack - Volume 1: Executive Report. 108th Cong., 2nd session. H. Rept. Flight. 1. EMP Commission, 2004. Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack. EMP Commission, July 22, 2004. Web. February 10, 2012. .United States. Defense Nuclear Agency. Operation Dominic I - 1962. Vol. DNA 6040F. L. Berkhouse, 1962. T24298. US Department of Defense – Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Internet. February 10, 2012. .United States. Federal Trade Commission. Electronic banking. December 2006. Web. February 11. 2012. .