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'Now, we shall receive four minutes warning of any impending nuclear attack. Some people have said, "Oh my goodness me — four minutes? — that is not a very long
by ajlburke 10y ago
'Now, we shall receive four minutes warning of any impending nuclear attack. Some people have said, "Oh my goodness me — four minutes? — that is not a very long time!" Well, I would remind those doubters that some people in this great country of ours can run a mile in four minutes.' - Peter Cook, Beyond the Fringe, 1960
- arethuza 10y agoPart of the UK preparation for nuclear war sound like black comedy - my favourite being that we were too cheap to build a dedicated communication network to allow the PM to launch the V-bombers when out and about so the AA radio network was to be used: 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... Yes - that AA - the Automobile Association....
- pmoriarty 10y agoThat's almost as bad as US launch codes being all zeroes for 15 years: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/nuclear-missile-code-00000000-cold-war_n_4386784.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/nuclear-missile-cod...
- sjg007 10y agoGood thing it changed.. imagine trying to pair a bluetooth keyboard.
- wolfgang42 10y agoThe national air raid sirens were controlled over random POTS lines[1]. The theory was that a dedicated system would need proper upkeep and testing, but when a telephone line goes down the customer at the end of it will notice and file a complaint. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HANDEL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HANDEL