“Nuclear war can spoil your whole day”

“One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day” and “Nuclear war can spoil your whole day” are anti-nuclear sayings that have been printed on many images.
   
“Tom Carpenter, a member of the Alliance for Survival, presented him with a bumper sticker that declared, ‘One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day’” was printed in the Los Angeles (CA) Times on September 25, 1981.  “One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day” (T-shirts by the Orange County Alliance for Survival) was printed in the Los Angeles (CA) Times on May 3, 1982.
   
“Maggie Kuhn, wearing a button that read ‘Nuclear War can spoil your whole day,’ zipped into town yesterday to talk about the future” was printed in the Minneapolis (MN) Star and Tribune on September 24, 1982. “USING THE MOTTO ‘Nuclear war can spoil your whole day,’ Kuhn called on her female audience” was printed in the Windsor (ON) Star on November 17, 1982. Maggie Kuhn (1905-1995) founded the Gray Panthers.
 
The words “ruin” and “spoil” sometimes switch slogans. “S. Barry Lipin just returned from California, where his favorite bumper sticker was ‘One Nuclear Bomb Can Spoil Your Whole Day’” was printed in the Chicago (IL) Tribune on February 20, 1983. “A nuclear war can ruin your whole day” was printed in the Centre Daily Times (State College, PA) on March 31, 1983.
 
         
Newspapers.com
25 September 1981, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “Brown Assails Reagan Policies” by Jeffrey Perlman, pt. 2, pg. 12, col. 1:
Tom Carpenter, a member of the Alliance for Survival, presented him with a bumper sticker that declared, “One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day.”
 
Newspapers.com
3 May 1982, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “A-Bomb Foes Take the Necessary Steps” by Karl Schoenberger, pt. 2, pg. 4, col. 1:
Nearly 150 people hiked a 15-kilometer course in Irvine Sunday to raise money for the Orange County Alliance for Survival, an anti-nuclear activist group.
 
People of various ages, many with bright yellow T-shirts saying “One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day,” gathered shortly before noon at Irvine’s Heritage Park for a pre-walk rally.
 
Google Books
July 1982, Mother Jones, pg. 60, col. 3 ad:
ONE NUCLEAR BOMB CAN RUIN YOUR WHOLE DAY
T-Shirts - Bumperstickers
Orange County Alliance for Survival
       
Newspapers.com
21 July 1982, Fresno (CA) Bee, “Ah so, old amigo” by Eli Setencich, pg. B1, col. 4:
UNDERSTATEMENT of the week, offered on a bumper sticker on sale at the weekend meeting of the state Democratic Party: “One Nuclear Bomb Can Ruin Your Whole Day.”
   
Newspapers.com
24 September 1982, Minneapolis (MN) Star and Tribune, Barbara Flanagan column, pg. 1B, col. 6:
Maggie Kuhn, wearing a button that read “Nuclear War can spoil your whole day,” zipped into town yesterday to talk about the future.
 
Newspapers.com
17 November 1982, Windsor (ON) Star, “Reagan blamed for woes of aged” by Janice Vansickle, pg. D7, col. 4:
USING THE MOTTO “Nuclear war can spoil your whole day,” Kuhn called on her female audience, as progenitors of future generations, to seek a halt to arms spending.
(Maggie Kuhn, Gray Panther founder.—ed.)
 
Newspapers.com
20 February 1983, Chicago (IL) Tribune, “Gold & Sneed Inc.,” sec. 1, pg. 2, col. 4:
Another day shot…
S. Barry Lipin just returned from California, where his favorite bumper sticker was “One Nuclear Bomb Can Spoil Your Whole Day.”
   
Newspapers.com
31 March 1983, Centre Daily Times (State College, PA), “Twyla Tharp Dancers Litter Stage” by Paul Hertelendy, pg. D-2, col. 4:
Now she is back with a 75-minute dance drama, “The Catherine Wheel,” which is a simplistic nuclear protest piece reminiscent of the understated Californian bumper-sticker, “A nuclear war can ruin your whole day.”
 
Newspapers.com
24 April 1983, Sunday Call-Chronicle (Allentown, PA), “Earth Day: A refrain is echoed” by Randy Kraft, pg. B-13, col. 1:
At one of the outdoor booths, a guy sold buttons with slogans like ‘Nuclear war can ruin your whole day’ and ‘A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle’.
 
Newspapers.com
13 November 1983, The Sunday News (Agana Heights, Guam), “Facing nuclear reality” by Ellen Goodman, pg. 11, col. 2:
But this nuclear doomsday has no deadline. So we pay homage to it in grim jokes and bumper stickers—“One Nuclear Bomb Can Spoil Your Whole Day”—and go about our daily business.
 
Newspapers.com
26 July 1984, St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch, “No Nuance In ‘Eng’ Language” by Harry Levins, pg. 2E, col. 6:
Sometimes, I’m passed by a bumper sticker that says, “One Nuclear War Can Ruin Your Whole Day.”
 
Google Books
Helicon Nine
Issues 10-15
University of Minnesota
1984
Pg. 141:
Now a woman with short frosted hair, an umbrella, and a tight black dress with a “One Nuclear Bomb can Spoil your Whole Day” button pinned onto it is rushing toward me.
 
newspapers.com
10 June 1990, Times Colonist (Victoria, BC), “Bumper billboard tackle any subject” by Norman Gidney, Drive sec., pg. 3, col. 3:
... A Nuclear War Can Spoil Your Whole Day.
   
Reddit—Politics
Posted by u/jeanlucpikachu November 5, 2010
“One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day” - nuclear terrorism less likely than previously believed
hlswatch.com/2010/1…
 
Museums Victoria—Collections (Melbourne, Australia)
Item SH 870483
Badge - One Nuclear Bomb can Ruin Your Whole Day, circa 1970s-1980s
Summary
Alternative Name(s): button
This badge with the slogan ‘One Nuclear Bomb can Ruin Your Whole Day’ was made circa 1970s-1980s. This message featured on many bumper stickers in the 1980s, but its source is unknown, as is for the vast majority of political slogans. It belongs to the extensive folklore of the anti-nuclear movement that abounds with witty one-liners. The tongue-in-cheek message betrays the unique combination of light-heartedness and serious issues representative of the radical activism of those decades. It is a variation of another popular slogan and design also found in the Museum Victoria Collection bearing the message ‘Nuclear War can Spoil your Whole Day.’
     
OCLC WorldCat record
Badge - ‘Nuclear War Can Spoil Your Whole Day’, Northern Sun Merchandising, circa 1960s-1980s
Author: Northern Sun Merchandising (Manufacturer)
Publisher: Museum Victoria
Edition/Format:   Image : Graphic
Publication: Museum Victoria
Summary:
Circular badge. Laminated front with red background; black inscription. Silver coloured metal back with wire pin and loop
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Just one nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day
Author: Ilkin Huseynov
Publisher: Madrid, Spain : RIOT Books, 2014.
Edition/Format:   Print book : English
Summary:
“This book is about how and why first nuclear bomb was born; its also a Manifest about a world disaster and how wrong decisions can turn out into a human tragedy.”—Website: https://josefchladek.com/book/ilkin_huseynov_-_0000000.
 
Twitter
Paulå S. Mørgan 🌻🥁🌌
@SquirrelyGrrl
Replying to @Mr_Completely @DrFunkySpoon and @Cirincione
“One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day” is more than just a catchy bumper sticker.
7:30 PM · Mar 25, 2022·Twitter for Android
 
Twitter
Andita Indrawati
@anditaindrawati
A nuclear war can ruin your whole day…
7:29 PM · Apr 26, 2022·twittbot.net