Nuclear Weapons: The Wrench That Almost Ended Arkansas

Nuclear weapons accidents number in the thousands and you stopped counting. Between 1955 and 1965, there were 2,000 serious accidents. A 19-year-old dropped a wrench in Damascus, Arkansas. The largest nuclear warhead flew 900 feet through blast doors. Farm animals died from poison. Satellites mistake sunlight for missiles. Your safety depends on radar operators disobeying orders when the system fails.

A limited nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan kills 40 to 50% of Earth's population in two weeks from ash blocking sun and destroying crops globally. Stanislav Petrov refused to report incoming missiles in 1983 when satellites misread sunlight as launches. He disobeyed orders and saved the world. This has happened more than once. Reagan war-gamed every scenario. All paths ended in global nuclear annihilation. There's no defense. Stopping nuclear missiles is described as shooting a bullet with another bullet.

The system isn't keeping you safe. Individual humans breaking protocol are. The wrench gets dropped. The satellite misreads. You hope the next Stanislav Petrov is on duty when the next technical failure registers as an attack.

Topics: nuclear weapons accidents, Damascus Arkansas disaster, Stanislav Petrov, nuclear close calls, system failure prevention

GUEST: Dr. Lee Kuhnle | @‌theuncoverup

RUNDOWN: Official U.S. records list 34 serious nuclear weapons accidents, but documents reveal 2,000 between 1955-1965 alone. Political science professor Dr. Lee Kuhnle examines the Damascus Arkansas disaster, Stanislav Petrov's 1983 decision to disobey orders, and why every Reagan administration war game ended in total annihilation.

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