Starlight Express USCC

Son: “Dad, did you get the results of the DNA test back?”

Dad: “Call me George.”

The ominous “red phone” on the desk of the U.S. President has been portrayed in movies and political commercials, and even makes an appearance in Jimmy Carter’s presidential museum. There’s just one issue: It never existed. Not only was the Cold War-era emergency hotline between the U.S. and Soviet Union not a red phone, but it wasn’t a telephone at all. After a 1963 meeting in Geneva, a communication system was created that linked teletype machines to send written messages via transatlantic cable. The catalyst for the Washington-Moscow “nuclear hotline” was the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which led both the United States and the Soviet Union to fear a scenario in which they could not communicate quickly enough during an emergency, leading to nuclear war.

What’s more, the U.S. side of the hotline wasn’t even in the White House; it was installed at the Pentagon headquarters in Virginia on the other side of the Potomac. In 1986, the communication system was upgraded to high-speed fax, and in 2008 both sides shifted into the 21st century with email. In 2013, President Barack Obama’s administration added a new channel to the hotline to be used for communication specifically about cybersecurity. Technicians still test the hotline on an hourly basis, sending messages back and forth. As to where the red phone myth began, most evidence points to Hollywood. In 1964, two movies, Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe, referenced a “red phone” in the context of the Soviet government and a nuclear emergency.

If Only Life Could Be Like a Computer

- If you messed up your life, you could press "Alt, Ctrl, Delete" and start all over!

- To get your daily exercise, just click on "run"!

- If you needed a break from life, click on "suspend".

- Hit "any key" to continue life when ready.

- To "add/remove" someone in your life, click settings and control panel.

- To improve your appearance, just adjust the display settings.

Whether your eyesight isn’t what it used to be or you want to see something on your screen in greater detail, zoom is there to help.

Pro secret: If you have a mouse with a wheel connected to your PC, hold down the Ctrl key and then scroll with your mouse. Scroll up to zoom in and down to zoom out.

To use your keyboard only:

On a Windows machine, press the Windows key + plus sign (+) to zoom in and the Windows key + minus sign (-) to zoom out.
On a Mac, press Option + Cmd + equal sign (=) to zoom in and Option + Cmd + minus sign (-) to zoom out.