"The other thing about the 'British' nuclear deterrent is that the U.S. holds the keys to the launch buttons, so the UK would not be able to 'nuke Trump' (or ta

"The other thing about the 'British' nuclear deterrent is that the U.S. holds the keys to the launch buttons, so the UK would not be able to 'nuke Trump' (or take out the Pentagon for the good of the world...)." Credible citation needed. I think you'll find that the PM can order the launch of the UK's nuclear warheads without permission from anyone else. I can also exclusively reveal that the Pentagon and Trump Towers are probably not on the list of targets. This is far more interesting than your missguided assertions: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/in-the-event-of-a-russian-nuclear-attack-call-the-aa-710672.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/in-the-eve... I can't (be arsed to) find a source but I remember reading somewhere that the PM in the past was required to carry change at all times - probably a slack handful of tuppenny bits () - to be able to use a public phone box to be able to call in the final strike. The AA (see above) was another comms method and there were probably a few other odd ideas. If you think we (UK) are odd then I'll just drop this for your delectation: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-US-nuclear-weapons-easy-00000000.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515598/Launch-code-... Cheers Jon () The UK's currency, pre-decimalisation (1971), was a bit strange but no odder than clinging on to miles/pints and other odd measures. We do now use Celsius for temperature. It is still called "Stirling" (silver standard, even though we went through the gold standard and now free float). It was pounds (£ - "L" for Libre), shillings ("S" for sestertii) and pence ("D" for denarii) - yep: Romanesque - so LSD. £1 = 20s = 240d => 1s = 12d. There was also the guinea which was £1.1s, we still have horse race prizes measured in guineas - presumably £x + (5x) pence because at the point of decimalisation the shilling was redefined from 12 old pence to five new pence. Got a bit sidetracked there. A tuppenny bit is a two penny coin but I should point out that tuppenny is pronounced "tuppny" - ie a sort ot contracted tup-knee. How the hell did the silent k in knee come about, but I digress again.