What is "duck and cover"

vb. (context intransitive English) To duck under a surface and cover one's face with his hands.

"Duck and cover" is a method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear explosion. Ducking and covering is useful at conferring a degree of protection to personnel situated outside the radius of the nuclear fireball but still within sufficient range of the nuclear explosion that standing upright and un-covered is likely to cause serious injury or death. In the most literal interpretation, the focus of the maneuver is primarily on protective actions one can take during the first few crucial seconds-to-minutes after the event, while the film by the same name and a full encompassing of the advice, also caters to providing protection up to weeks after the event.

The countermeasure is intended as an alternative to the more effective target/city-wide emergency evacuation when the latter would no longer be viable due to time constraints. Maneuvers similar, but not identical, to Duck and Cover also find use during the event of a sudden earthquake or tornado when preventive emergency evacuation is not an option, again, due to time constraints. In these cases, Drop, Cover and Hold on can likewise prevent injury or death which may otherwise occur if no other safety measures are taken.

As a countermeasure to the lethal effects of nuclear explosions, it is effective in the event of a surprise nuclear attack, and during a nuclear attack of which the public has received some warning, which would likely be a few minutes prior to the nuclear weapon arriving.

Duck and Cover is an American civil defense film. Film production started in 1951 and it gained its first public screening in January 1952 during the era after the Soviet Union began nuclear testing in 1949 and the Korean War (1950–53) was in full swing.

Funded by the US Federal Civil Defense Administration, it was written by Raymond J. Mauer, directed by Anthony Rizzo of Archer Productions, narrated by actor Robert Middleton and made with the help of schoolchildren from New York City and Astoria, New York.

It was shown in schools as the cornerstone of the government's " duck and cover" public awareness campaign, being aired to generations of United States school children from the early 1950s until 1991, which marked the end of the Cold War.

The US government contracted with Archer to produce Duck and Cover. The film is now in the public domain, and as such is widely available through Internet sources such as YouTube, as well as on DVD.

Duck and Cover are a hard rock band from Pretoria. Duck and Cover have established their presence in the local South African music scene during 4 years of gigs, festivals, concerts and publicity. The band relies on 70s rock and metal, as well as more contemporary rock music influences to guarantee a diverse crowd at every performance. Duck and Cover have played at most large South African music festivals and concerts and established their identity by playing regularly alongside acts such as Springbok Nude Girls, Fokofpolisiekar, The Narrow, Soil7t7, The Fake Leather Blues Band, ATFN, and many more of South Africa’s leading bands.

Duck and cover is a safety drill taught during the Cold War.

Duck and cover may also refer to:

• Duck and Cover (film), the nine-minute training film for this method of self-defense, later a cult hit
• "Duck and Cover" (The West Wing), episode twelve of the seventh season of the NBC original series, The West Wing
• "Duck and Cover" (The Wire), the eighth episode of the second season of the HBO original series, The Wire
• "Duck and Cover", a song by Glen Phillips on the album Winter Pays for Summer
• Duck and Cover (South African band), a South African rock band
• Duck and Cover (German band), a German avant-progressive rock band
• Duck and Cover (album), a Mad Caddies album

Duck and Cover is the second full-length release from the Mad Caddies.

"Duck and Cover" is the eighth episode of the second season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by George Pelecanos from a story by David Simon & George Pelecanos and was directed by Dan Attias. It originally aired on July 20, 2003.

Duck and Cover was a compilation album featuring 13 bands doing cover songs.

Duck and Cover were a multinational avant-rock septet founded in Germany in 1983, comprising Chris Cutler (UK), Heiner Goebbels ( GER) and Alfred Harth (GER) from Cassiber; Tom Cora (US) and Fred Frith (UK) from Skeleton Crew; Dagmar Krause (GER) from Art Bears; and George Lewis (US) from the ICP Orchestra. The ensemble was initially commissioned for the 1983 Moers Festival at the request of festival director Burkhard Hennen to Alfred Harth.

Duck and Cover performed a 45-minute musical piece entitled "Berlin Programme" at the Berlin Jazz Festival in October 1983 in West Berlin, and again at the Festival of Political Songs in East Berlin in February 1984. Both performances were recorded and broadcast nationally. An edited version of the East Berlin broadcast was released in September 1985 on one side of the Rē Records Quarterly Vol.1 No.2 LP record.