The Manhattan Project was a secret project by the United States government, along with Canada and the UK to develop the first atomic bombs. The Manhattan Project started in 1939 and was led by US physicist Robert Oppenheimer. The whole project was carried out in extreme secrecy and the general public had no clue that such a project was underway.

The project costs were close to $2 billion and over 130,000 were employed for the project. Entire towns were built at times to ensure that top secrecy would be maintained. The government and the media never reported on the project and it wasn't until 25 years after that people finally found out about it.