Stanislav Petrov Saw 5 Nuclear Missiles Incoming in 1983 — and Did Nothing
Cold War
Stanislav Petrov Saw 5 Nuclear Missiles Incoming in 1983 — and Did Nothing

On September 26, 1983, Soviet lieutenant colonel Stanislav Petrov watched five nuclear missiles appear on his screen and decided the computer was wrong — a moment of hesitation that may have saved…

Read the story

Top stories

Latest

Ancient History

Socrates Warned That Writing Would Destroy Memory — Sound Familiar?

Socrates Warned That Writing Would Destroy Memory — Sound Familiar?
People

Ada Lovelace Wrote the First Computer Program for a Machine Never Built

Ada Lovelace Wrote the First Computer Program for a Machine Never Built
Ancient History

Five Good Emperors Built Rome’s Greatest Century — Then One Chose Wrong

Five Good Emperors Built Rome’s Greatest Century — Then One Chose Wrong
Terrorism

Armenian Genocide: How Ottoman Leaders Silenced 1.5 Million in 1915

Armenian Genocide: How Ottoman Leaders Silenced 1.5 Million in 1915
Middle Ages

Scotland Banned Golf Three Times — Then the King Who Outlawed It Bought Clubs

Scotland Banned Golf Three Times — Then the King Who Outlawed It Bought Clubs
American History

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Real Frontier Was Debt, Death, and Illegal Land

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Real Frontier Was Debt, Death, and Illegal Land
American History

Medieval Peasants Worked 100 Fewer Days a Year Than Americans Do Now

Medieval Peasants Worked 100 Fewer Days a Year Than Americans Do Now
Films

Kingdom of Heaven Got the Surrender of Jerusalem Shockingly Right

Kingdom of Heaven Got the Surrender of Jerusalem Shockingly Right
Middle Ages

Russian Serfs Were Sold Away From Their Families Like Livestock Until 1861

Russian Serfs Were Sold Away From Their Families Like Livestock Until 1861
Middle Ages

Habsburg Inbreeding Wrote the Dynasty’s Doom Across Charles II’s Face

Habsburg Inbreeding Wrote the Dynasty’s Doom Across Charles II’s Face
Advertisement