Talk:Manhattan Project
Latest comment: 5 May by Rome in topic Cost: lead says 'nearly US$2 billion' but Costs section gives $2.4B total allocation
Cost: lead says 'nearly US$2 billion' but Costs section gives $2.4B total allocation
The lead states the Manhattan Project "cost nearly US$2 billion." But the Costs subsection later breaks it down with much more precision:
- "The project expenditure through 1 October 1945 was $1.845 billion ... and was $2.191 billion when the AEC assumed control on 1 January 1947. The total allocation was $2.4 billion."
The "nearly $2 billion" headline figure is, at best, the V-J Day expenditure ($1.845 billion). It is not the post-war cost ($2.19B at AEC takeover) and not the project's total allocation ($2.4B). For a reader who only sees the lead, the program looks ~17–20% cheaper than the body's accounting indicates.
Either the lead should specify "nearly $2 billion through V-J Day" (matching the $1.845B figure), or it should round up to "about $2 billion" with a note pointing at the $2.4B allocation total. As written, the headline figure misrepresents the body. Rome (talk) 01:02, 5 May 2026 (UTC)