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Today's hole
Hole 1 of 7 · Geopolitical wars
It was September 26, 1983. Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov was on duty at a Soviet early-warning bunker when the alarm went off. Five Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles — launched from the United States — inbound. Protocol was clear. Report it up the chain. Petrov paused. Five missiles? If America was going to attack the USSR, why send only five?
"He called it a false alarm. He had no proof. He was right — but that's not the strangest part of this story."
Tomorrow in your inbox
Petrov saved the world. His government reprimanded him for it.
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