--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We could see the impact of an explosion…" description: "\"“We could see the impact of an explosion long before the boom, so a hill out there on the horizon, maybe a mile or two away, suddenly disappeared in a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/scott-c-johnson-68627_explosion_we-could-see-the-impact-of-an-explosion_2749781.jpg" --- # We could see the impact of an explosion long before the… ![“We could see the impact of an explosion long before the boom, so a hill out there on the horizon, maybe a mile or two away, suddenly disappeared in a raft of dust, and moments later we felt in our skulls the shattering crack arriving from across the desert. I wondered if whole towns were being…” quote by Scott C. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/scott-c-johnson-68627_explosion_we-could-see-the-impact-of-an-explosion_2749781.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/scott-c-johnson-68627_explosion_we-could-see-the-impact-of-an-explosion_2749781.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/scott-c-johnson-68627_explosion_we-could-see-the-impact-of-an-explosion_2749781.jpg) > ““We could see the impact of an explosion long before the boom, so a hill out there on the horizon, maybe a mile or two away, suddenly disappeared in a raft of dust, and moments later we felt in our skulls the shattering crack arriving from across the desert. I wondered if whole towns were being obliterated.”” [Scott C. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-c-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An explosion’s shockwave can be felt far before the visible blast, revealing how distant events can have immediate, destructive impact. **In simple terms:** Shockwaves arrive before the blast. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden dangers early. Themes science danger perception Mood alert analytical Type informative cautionary When to use this quote - military training - emergency response Key Concepts physics risk assessment environmental monitoring Questions to Reflect On - How do we prepare for unseen hazards? - What signs precede a disaster? A Different Perspective People may underestimate invisible threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desert Wondered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert-wondered-3090155/) [Explosion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explosion/) [Explosion Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explosion-long-3090154/) [Impact Explosion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact-explosion-3090153/) [Towns Obliterated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/towns-obliterated-3090156/) ## Related quotes > [If you take away the predators in the prairies and the national parks, you suddenly have an explosion of elk, and then you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/if-you-take-away-the-predators-in-the-prairies-and-the-national-parks/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“If you have children and love one more than another, work at it. They will know, even if it’s by a single atom less.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/if-you-have-children-and-love-one-more-than-another-work-at-it-they/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [As in an explosion, I would erupt with all the wonderful things I saw and understood in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/as-in-an-explosion-i-would-erupt-with-all-the-wonderful-things-i-saw/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“thundering, fulminating sound that penetrated my body as though it were coming from within me. I remember the sound. I remember the blinding flash.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izzeldin-abuelaish/thundering-fulminating-sound-that-penetrated-my-body-as-though-it/) [Izzeldin Abuelaish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izzeldin-abuelaish/) > [Wit is an explosion of the compound spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/wit-is-an-explosion-of-the-compound-spirit/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [“The mass starts into a million suns; Earths round each sun with quick explosions burst, And second planets issue from the first. \[The first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-mass-starts-into-a-million-suns-earths-round-each-sun-with-quick/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [“IN THE NIGHT, I woke up wailing. The worst thing about the explosion was how I carried it in my body—the heat, the bone-jar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/in-the-night-i-woke-up-wailing-the-worst-thing-about-the-explosion/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [The explosion of companies deploying wireless networks insecurely is creating vulnerabilities, as they think it's limited to the office - then they have Johnny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/the-explosion-of-companies-deploying-wireless-networks-insecurely-is/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [“Just as I was beginning my drift into unconsciousness, there was an explosion. Not a movie explosion but a small real-life explosion, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/just-as-i-was-beginning-my-drift-into-unconsciousness-there-was-an/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [We have experienced an utter explosion in investigative techniques. Walk the streets, look at the cameras! They are now recognising people automatically from photos;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/we-have-experienced-an-utter-explosion-in-investigative-techniques/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [With a lot of action scores, you're competing with a lot of noise. Say there's a big explosion: the music would conventionally have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-price/with-a-lot-of-action-scores-you-re-competing-with-a-lot-of-noise-say/) [Steven Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-price/) > [“But not nearly as much as the sudden explosion that sent wood, water, and pieces of the beast flying over the lot of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/but-not-nearly-as-much-as-the-sudden-explosion-that-sent-wood-water/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [I felt cheated by the way grown-ups told me that the future of the world was bleak when I became a teenager in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/i-felt-cheated-by-the-way-grown-ups-told-me-that-the-future-of-the/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [The explosion was good. It sent a message to the rest of the world that the time of the big star getting all this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-redstone/the-explosion-was-good-it-sent-a-message-to-the-rest-of-the-world/) [Sumner Redstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-redstone/) > [“This private estate was far enough away from the explosion so that its bamboos, pines, laurel, and maples were still alive, and the green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/this-private-estate-was-far-enough-away-from-the-explosion-so-that/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) ## More by Scott C. Johnson > [ “What \[my father\] didn’t say, but what was understood, was that he needed me to lie for him from then on, and lie like… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-c-johnson/what-my-father-didn-t-say-but-what-was-understood-was-that-he-needed/) [Scott C. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-c-johnson/) > [“But despite the ease, theirs was also a world of intrigue and secrets, in which wit and flashy derring-do were rewarded. In such circles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-c-johnson/but-despite-the-ease-theirs-was-also-a-world-of-intrigue-and-secrets/) [Scott C. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-c-johnson/) > [“Apparently, we flew. We were lifted high, flung about like a tetherball; five tons of metal and steel, and another half-ton of human flesh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-c-johnson/apparently-we-flew-we-were-lifted-high-flung-about-like-a-tetherball/) [Scott C. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-c-johnson/) [Explore all 4 Scott C. Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-c-johnson/) ## More Explosion quotes > [If you take away the predators in the prairies and the national parks, you suddenly have an explosion of elk, and then you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/if-you-take-away-the-predators-in-the-prairies-and-the-national-parks/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [The explosion was good. It sent a message to the rest of the world that the time of the big star getting all this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-redstone/the-explosion-was-good-it-sent-a-message-to-the-rest-of-the-world/) [Sumner Redstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-redstone/) > [I felt cheated by the way grown-ups told me that the future of the world was bleak when I became a teenager in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/i-felt-cheated-by-the-way-grown-ups-told-me-that-the-future-of-the/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [“But not nearly as much as the sudden explosion that sent wood, water, and pieces of the beast flying over the lot of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/but-not-nearly-as-much-as-the-sudden-explosion-that-sent-wood-water/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [With a lot of action scores, you're competing with a lot of noise. Say there's a big explosion: the music would conventionally have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-price/with-a-lot-of-action-scores-you-re-competing-with-a-lot-of-noise-say/) [Steven Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-price/) > [We have experienced an utter explosion in investigative techniques. Walk the streets, look at the cameras! They are now recognising people automatically from photos;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/we-have-experienced-an-utter-explosion-in-investigative-techniques/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [“Just as I was beginning my drift into unconsciousness, there was an explosion. Not a movie explosion but a small real-life explosion, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/just-as-i-was-beginning-my-drift-into-unconsciousness-there-was-an/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [The explosion of companies deploying wireless networks insecurely is creating vulnerabilities, as they think it's limited to the office - then they have Johnny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/the-explosion-of-companies-deploying-wireless-networks-insecurely-is/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [“IN THE NIGHT, I woke up wailing. The worst thing about the explosion was how I carried it in my body—the heat, the bone-jar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/in-the-night-i-woke-up-wailing-the-worst-thing-about-the-explosion/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The mass starts into a million suns; Earths round each sun with quick explosions burst, And second planets issue from the first. \[The first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/the-mass-starts-into-a-million-suns-earths-round-each-sun-with-quick/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [Wit is an explosion of the compound spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/wit-is-an-explosion-of-the-compound-spirit/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [“thundering, fulminating sound that penetrated my body as though it were coming from within me. I remember the sound. I remember the blinding flash.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izzeldin-abuelaish/thundering-fulminating-sound-that-penetrated-my-body-as-though-it/) [Izzeldin Abuelaish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izzeldin-abuelaish/) > [As in an explosion, I would erupt with all the wonderful things I saw and understood in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/as-in-an-explosion-i-would-erupt-with-all-the-wonderful-things-i-saw/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“If you have children and love one more than another, work at it. They will know, even if it’s by a single atom less.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/if-you-have-children-and-love-one-more-than-another-work-at-it-they/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“This private estate was far enough away from the explosion so that its bamboos, pines, laurel, and maples were still alive, and the green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hersey/this-private-estate-was-far-enough-away-from-the-explosion-so-that/) [John Hersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hersey/) [Browse all 154 Explosion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explosion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We could see the impact of an explosion long before the boom, so a hill out there on the horizon, maybe a mile or two away, suddenly disappeared in a raft of dust, and moments later we felt in our skulls the shattering crack arriving from across the desert. 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