10. Cuban Missile Crisis
In October of 1962, President John F. Kennedy spent thirteen days panicking after realizing that the Soviet Union had nuclear missiles located on the island nation of Cuba, which was only 90 miles from the United States. The United States threatened to block off Cuba and neutralize the threat, but everyone was terrified that this was the start of a massive nuclear war. Fortunately, an agreement was reached that prevented any further action. The Soviet Union agreed to remove the missiles if the United States would refrain from invading Cuba.
After the agreement was reached, it seemed the world breathed a collective sigh, but the Cold War raged on over the next few decades keeping tensions high and worries of impending nuclear attack even higher. Nevertheless, the Cuban Missile Crisis remains one of the planet’s historic “close calls.”
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