Mind-Blowing Cold War Facts That Most People Don't Know
The Cold War
Called the "Cold War" because there was no direct fighting between the two countries "at war", the period of geopolitical conflict between the United States and the USSR lasted from 1947 until the official dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. For over 40 years, we were on the brink of World War III—or at least that's what we were told and how it often felt. But even for all you history buffs out there, there's probably a few things you never knew about this period in our world's history.
They say you should learn something new every day. Here are 50 facts about the Cold War—how many new things will you learn today?
The Building In The Pentagon Courtyard
During the Cold War, the Soviets took note of a heavily-trafficked building in the centre of the Pentagon courtyard. Thinking it was a top secret building, the entrance to a secret underground bunker, or some such thing, the USSR had the building targeted. That is, until they found out it was just a hot dog stand.
North Carolina Was Almost Nuked...Accidentally
In 1961, an American B52 bomber, carrying not one, but two, 4-megaton warhead bombs crashed near Goldsboro, North Carolina (we're talking each one 200 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima). Thankfully, the bombs both had multiple fail-safes on them (five, to be exact).
However, on one of the bombs, four of the five fail-safes failed.
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Arkhipov Saved The World
During the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a Soviet submarine captain commanded navy officer Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov to launch nuclear torpedoes at the US Navy. Arkhipov refused.
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Arkhipov Saved The World
Obviously, we can't know exactly what would've happened had he followed orders, but given the geopolitical tensions at the time, many believe it could've had very dire consequences—including global thermonuclear war.
