>Did anyone ever actually believe that there was a fire-all-ze-missiles button? Well, a lot of us believed that there were only two possibilities for nuclear w

>Did anyone ever actually believe that there was a fire-all-ze-missiles button? Well, a lot of us believed that there were only two possibilities for nuclear war: either no missiles got fired, or they all did -- either in an escalating pattern of strike and counterstrike, or in one big "let's knock them out before they get us" attack. So I guess a "big red button" is as good a metaphor as any for the sort of on/off, all-or-nothing situation we were afraid of.