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The shockwave took about seven seconds to arrive, so they were about 1.5 miles away from the blast. It's not intuitive that the explosion can harm you at a distance like that -- as evidenced in more than one amateur video that came out of Iraq of EOD work.

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I agree, which is why it's especially necessary advice. Your gut instinct upon seeing that blindingly bright flash should be to duck and cover, whether you're outdoors or indoors.

I wish this didn't have to be so important, since it feels like a Cold War relic, but that's just how things seem to be these days.

During the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor kaboom, one 4th grade teacher remembered her Russian "Duck and Cover" lessons and her 44 charges avoided injury: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/world/europe/russians-seek...

By no means a "Cold War relic".

"Duck and cover" is a popular target for ridicule, which is weird because it's always been excellent advice, even for global thermonuclear war. The fact that it's good for more conventional explosions lends further emphasis to that fact.

It seems we (they) still have the right gut instinct, but the timespan before the blast hit their building is just long enough so curiosity wins back.

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