There have also been narrow misses that could have gone either way: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/coldwar/shatter021099b.htm http://www.w

There have also been narrow misses that could have gone either way: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/coldwar/shatter021099b.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/coldwar/... [TLDR version: Stanislav Petrov prevented nuclear war by correctly guessing that the nuclear launch his station detected was a false alarm, and not a true attack on the USSR. If he had decided the other way, nuclear war may have ensued.]