Vasili Arkhipov: The Other Man That Saved The World From Nuclear Holocaust

We've all heard of Stanislav Petrov, the man that helped avoid global nuclear warfare, (If not, you should read about him here) but what about Vasili Arkhipov? The man that both figuratively and physically had a button in front of him that could potentially start World War 3 in a split moment? What about that guy? Well worry not, we're going to discuss this handsome man right, now.

Pictured: Vasili Arkipov

At the time, Vasili Alexandrobich Arkhipov was probably another run-of-the-mill Soviet naval officer working in nuclear-armed submarine. No, I don't mean a submarine with cartoon arms that spell "nuclear". I mean a full-blown submarine with nuclear weapons on-board. Thankfully, the submarine was oceans away from America, and posed no threat to anyone. It's also a surplus that war was not imminent and that tensions were at ease as ever. Oh wait, it was right next to Cuba, (Near Florida) during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

On October 27, 1962, eleven United States Navy destroyers along with an aircraft carrier, trapped a mysterious foreign submarine near Cuba. The little brigade of ships decided to drop practice depth charges near the submarine to force it up to the surface for identification. Hopefully, this little submarine would comply and simply float up to the surface, identify itself as a Soviet submarine, and receive a kind escort back to the Soviet Union with a fun tea party afterwards.

"Hurray for communism!"

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Stanislav Petrov : The Man That Averted Global Thermonuclear Warfare

Global thermonuclear warfare. Isn't that a fun topic? Sure it is. But what do we do if it actually happens? Hiding in your damp closet in the fetal position probably isn't going to help much. The truth is, an all-out nuclear war would probably mean the end for humanity. So it's safe to say, we should probably avoid it. However, there have been several points in history in which global thermonuclear warfare was as close to reality as you and me. Today, we're going to talk about the 1983 Soviet false alarm incident that could have potentially brought the end of the world as soon as September 26, 1983.

Brought to you as soon as September 26, 1983.

Okay, so you're a Lieutenant Colonel of the Soviet Air Defense Forces, on duty of the Soviet early warning system at the Serpukhob-15 bunker. You're job is to receive the message the warning message from the soviet satellite early warning network and to notify your direct superiors of any nuclear missile attacks against your great nation. As you sit in your chair of undetermined comfortability during the darkness of the night, your computer screen lights up and notifies you of five ICBMs heading towards the Soviet Union from the hated United States of America. It's time. The war's begun. Right?

Instead of being a mindless puppet like his superiors wanted, Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov decided to not notify his superiors and declared the attack as a false alarm. This would have meant certain doom and charges of treason (if the Soviet Union survived) if the attack reached tangibility. Despite protocol of telling his superiors and letting them decide the fate of the world, Petrov went against the status quo and went with his gut. Luckily, he was right.

"What?! We already put the windshield back up and everything!"

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Some Much More Manlier Challenges : For the Manlier Man

So I figured, drinking a a few glasses of milk and eating some crackers isn't "challenge-ly" enough. Thereore, I'll compile a list of feats of manliness. If you thought eating six crackers under a minute was hard, turn away now. In fact, turn off your computer and just leave the room, otherwise keep on reading.

I couldn't find a manly enough picture, so here's about 10 Siberian Huskies.

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Benefits of Taking Cold Showers

Cold showers? According to my mother, that's blasphemy! If I was to do such a thing, my back/arms/legs would crack and shatter from the evil blast of coldness. Well, back in real life, taking cold showers can offer numerous benefits for your health.

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