ENTERTAINING THINGS THAT HAPPENED DURING THE COLD WAR

IT WAS THE SOVIETS, WHO HAD THE BEST

CARTOGRAPHERS. THEIR MAPS OF THE ARCTIC

WERE SO DETAILED THAT THEY ARE STILL IN USE TODAY

OPERATION KITTY WAS A REAL OPERATION

UNDERTAKEN BY THE CIA TO EQUIP CATS WITH

SPY EQUIPMENT. THE FIRST MISSION FAILED,

HOWEVER, WHEN THE CAT WAS RUN OVER. NOT

SURPRISING THE $15 MILLION OPERATION WAS

SUBSEQUENTLY DROPPED

IN 1945 SEVERAL SOVIET SCHOOL CHILDREN

PRESENTED A US AMBASSADOR WITH A US SEAL

FOR HIS OFFICE. IT HUNG THERE FOR 7 YEARS

BEFORE IT WAS FOUND TO HAVE A LISTENING

DEVICE. THE DEVICE CAME TO BE KNOWN AS

THE THING AND WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PASSIVE

COVERT LISTENING DEVICES

THE TSAR BOMBA, THE LARGEST NUCLEAR WARHEAD

TO EVER BE DETONATED, WAS EXPLODED AS A

TEST IN THE ARCTIC. IT'S CLOUD REACHED 7 TIMES

THE HEIGHT OF MOUNT EVEREST

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COLD WAR, A GERMAN

AVIATOR NAMED MATHIAS RUST FLEW STRAIGHT

THROUGH SOVIET DEFENCES AND LANDED IN THE

RED SQUARE TO EASE TENSIONS BETWEEN THE

EAST AND THE WEST. THE CRAZIEST PART, HE

WAS ONLY 18 YEARS OLD AND HAD LESS

THAN 50 HOURS OF FLIGHT EXPERIENCE

WHEN THE CIA NOTICED SOME SOCCER FIELDS IN

CUBA THEY BECAME WORRIED BECAUSE "CUBANS

PLAY BASEBALL WHILE SOVIETS PLAY SOCCER".

THIS EVENTUALLY LED TO THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS

IN 1983 THE USSR SHOT DOWN A KOREAN CIVILIAN

BOEING 747 (FLIGHT 007) THAT ENTERED ITS

AIRSPACE ON ITS WAY TO SEOUL FROM NEW YORK

CITY. THIS INCIDENT PROMPTED THE US TO RELEASE

ITS CLASSIFIED GPS TECHNOLOGY FOR PUBLIC

USE AND SIMULTANEOUSLY INCREASED ANTI-SOVIET

SENTIMENTS

IN 1983 SOVIET COMPUTER SYSTEMS DETECTED

AN ALL OUT NUCLEAR LAUNCH BY THE AMERICANS.

COLONEL STANISLAV PETROV, HOWEVER, WENT

AGAINST WHAT THE COMPUTER SAID, TRUSTED

HIS GUT AND DECIDED NOT TO LAUNCH BACK. IT

TURNED OUT THAT THE COMPUTER HAD GLITCHED.

A NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST HAD BEEN BARELY AVOIDED