5. Nuclear testing grounds near by
Perhaps the single most unusual (and thankfully short-lived) show ever to be put on for visitors of Las Vegas, the U.S. Department of Energy used to test nuclear devices a mere 65 miles away from the city at its high security Nevada Test Site. As recently as the 1960s, the Chamber of Commerce for Las Vegas even went so far as to produce calendars and other literature pointing out key viewing locations and the times at which the devices were to be detonated, for the benefit of visitors to the city.
