12 times the world almost ended – We’re lucky to be alive!

Times the world almost ended: Over the last few million years or more, there have been some very close calls for the planet Earth. Even in what we think of as modern history, the planet has been in greater danger than most people realize. But all the while chaos is just a hop, skip and a jump away, ordinary folks just go on about their lives as if everything is normal. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss. And as Agent K from Men in Black pointed out, the only way people go on about their lives is that they do not know about it!

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But while we go to work or watch our favorite television program at home with family, there have been several times where the planet held its breath waiting for sudden doom.
It’s not like this is a topic no one knows anything about. In fact, the doom and gloom niche is big business for the entertainment industry! Movies with an apocalyptic theme have been tremendous blockbusters, as have movies and television shows showing what’s left after the end of the world. These dystopian alternate realities are big business and a huge draw for people. But oddly enough, there have been some real life close calls and perhaps even a few more to come. With no script and no actors, these problems worked themselves out naturally or with real life brain power by some very bright problem solvers. What will come at us next that we don’t know about is still in question, but for now, here are the 15 times the world almost ended!

12. Cold War False Alarm

On September 26, 1983, when the Cold War was still very present and tensions were high between the United States and the Soviet Union, a huge mistake almost became an irreversible mistake! Lt. Colonel Stanislav Petrov was in command in a USSR bunker designed to detect an incoming attack. Every night was dull as mud… until it wasn’t. The mission was to act in a matter of seconds to respond to any nuclear attack on the Soviet Union.

When out of nowhere, sirens began screaming and indicator lights began flashing, he saw the worst nightmare of every person on earth. During this period, any nuclear attack would set off a chain of events that would only result in the destruction of civilized life on the planet. Instead of launching soviet missiles, he remained calm and thought through the situation. It turns out that the instruments detected clouds and not missiles. Thanks to his calm and rational thinking, the planet is still in tact. Thanks Lt. Colonel Petrov!