Alex WellersteinVerified account

(OK, I checked the actual number. On my main computer it is "only" ~142,000 PDFs = 166 GB. So not a billion. But still enough to make sorting through them difficult...)

Do you remember when you downloaded the file/read it? You could narrow your search by date.

sometime in the last 10 years

And what was the story?

It had to do with the difficulties of introducing classified evidence (photos of an atomic bomb casing) into a criminal proceeding. The prosecutor put the photo in an envelope with a little flap that could be flashed open. So they could flash it at the witness briefly.

Apparently that was enough to get the witness to break down and confess, and end the trial. Just such a wonderfully ridiculous example of how secrecy makes certain things (esp. criminal proceedings) difficult.