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Did anyone else first interpret this headline to mean it moved to 11:59 and anxiously click to see which world event was more alarming than the Cold War that so

Did anyone else first interpret this headline to mean it moved to 11:59 and anxiously click to see which world event was more alarming than the Cold War that somehow wasn't at the top of HN?

mootothemax 17y ago
Yup, that was my exact reaction, even more disturbing after having read a couple of newspapers this morning and wondering quite what had changed so rapidly ;) A bit of a personal coincidence for me as well, don't know why but for some reason I've been reading up on nuclear events, scenarios and near-misses. It would have almost been fitting, end of the world aside ;)
- jacquesm 17y ago
  September 26, 1983
  - mootothemax 17y ago
    Indeed. This is one list of near-misses I read earlier on in the week: http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/issues/accidents/20-mishaps-maybe-caused-nuclear-war.htm http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/...
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      That particular one stands out for me because I think it is the 'nearest' of all of the misses (or, as George Carlin would say, 'it's a near hit'). A lot of people owe their lives to Stanislav Petrov not following his brief. For more reading on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov
      - mootothemax 17y ago
        Terrifying stuff... and then two months later NATO pulls off operation Able Archer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83 A part of me rather likes the thought that if we're all going to perish, it's because of someone's cock-up.
        jacquesm 17y ago
        From the wikipedia article: > culminating in a coordinated nuclear release You have to love the language in there. Pinnacle of euphemisms, kill a few million people and call it a 'coordinated nuclear release'.
        mootothemax 17y ago
        I saw this hypothetical nuclear war scenario linked on HN a few days ago, it shares the same kinda language: http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/nuclearwar1.html http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/nuclearwar1.html The UK produced a series of short TV programs to be broadcast in the event of impending nuclear war called "Protect and Survive." Check them out on YouTube, there's something terrifying about the calm language used.
  - ableal 17y ago
    Perhaps, but in the 1960s people were really expecting the nukes to start flying ...
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]

Did anyone else first interpret this headline to mean it moved to 11:59 and anxiously click to see which world event was more alarming than the Cold War that somehow wasn't at the top of HN?

mootothemax 17y ago

Yup, that was my exact reaction, even more disturbing after having read a couple of newspapers this morning and wondering quite what had changed so rapidly ;) A bit of a personal coincidence for me as well, don't know why but for some reason I've been reading up on nuclear events, scenarios and near-misses. It would have almost been fitting, end of the world aside ;)

jacquesm 17y ago
September 26, 1983
- mootothemax 17y ago
  Indeed. This is one list of near-misses I read earlier on in the week: http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/issues/accidents/20-mishaps-maybe-caused-nuclear-war.htm http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/...
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    That particular one stands out for me because I think it is the 'nearest' of all of the misses (or, as George Carlin would say, 'it's a near hit'). A lot of people owe their lives to Stanislav Petrov not following his brief. For more reading on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov
    - mootothemax 17y ago
      Terrifying stuff... and then two months later NATO pulls off operation Able Archer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Archer_83 A part of me rather likes the thought that if we're all going to perish, it's because of someone's cock-up.
      - jacquesm 17y ago
        From the wikipedia article: > culminating in a coordinated nuclear release You have to love the language in there. Pinnacle of euphemisms, kill a few million people and call it a 'coordinated nuclear release'.
        mootothemax 17y ago
        I saw this hypothetical nuclear war scenario linked on HN a few days ago, it shares the same kinda language: http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/nuclearwar1.html http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/nuclearwar1.html The UK produced a series of short TV programs to be broadcast in the event of impending nuclear war called "Protect and Survive." Check them out on YouTube, there's something terrifying about the calm language used.
- ableal 17y ago
  Perhaps, but in the 1960s people were really expecting the nukes to start flying ...

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]