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Sunday 25 May 2014

Cold War

The phrase “cold war” to describe the tension between the Soviet Union and the West was popularized in 1947 by the American financier and presidential advisor Bernard Baruch. In a speech in south Carolina he said “Let us not be deceived-we are today in the midst of a cold war.”

It was Baruch's speechwriter Herbert Bayard Swope, who had been using the phrase privately since 1940, who suggested it to him.

During the Cold War, "Third World" was coined to define countries that were neither aligned with NATO (the "first world") or the Communist Bloc (the "second world"). Under the original definition, Sweden, Finland and Austria are "third world countries". The concept itself has become outdated as it no longer represents the current political or economic state of the world.

The CIA offered funding to artists Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and de Kooning so that their abstract work would show how free artists were in the United States compared to the rigid work of the Soviet Union.

In 1960, Canada bought thirty MIG-21 fighter jets from the Soviet Union, pushing Canadian-American relations to the breaking point. In protest three beavers were executed by pistol on the lawn outside the State Legislature in Frankfurt, Kentucky.

According to reports from multiple sources, including Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's book The Final Days and Henry Kissinger's memoir White House Years, President Richard Nixon allegedly ordered a tactical nuclear strike against North Korea in April 1969 after a North Korean fighter jet shot down a US Navy EC-121 spy plane.

Nixon was reportedly enraged by the incident, and he ordered the Joint Chiefs of Staff to recommend targets for a nuclear strike. Kissinger, however, spoke to military commanders on the phone and persuaded them not to do anything until Nixon had sobered up the following morning. Kissinger later wrote that Nixon's order was "the most dangerous moment of the Cold War."

In 1969, at the height of the Cold War, the Apollo 11 crew carried commemorative medals to the moon to honor two Soviet cosmonauts who died as part of the USSR's human spaceflight program.

During a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida on March 8, 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".

The first of five summits between Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan commenced in Geneva on November 19, 1985. This historical gathering marked a significant turning point in the Cold War era, signaling a shift towards a more constructive dialogue between the two superpowers.


The Geneva Summit was a pivotal moment in thawing the icy relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Despite their ideological differences, Gorbachev and Reagan demonstrated a willingness to engage in open and honest discussions about issues ranging from nuclear arms control to regional conflicts. Their personal rapport and shared commitment to peace laid the groundwork for future summits that would further contribute to the easing of tensions between the two nations.

Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan agreed to pause the Cold War in case of an alien invasion.

During a speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on June 12, 1987, Ronald Reagan made a historic and iconic statement challenging  Mikhail Gorbachev to take down the Berlin Wall. Standing near the symbol of the Cold War division between East and West, Reagan passionately declared, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" The speech was seen as a strong statement of support for German reunification and a call for greater freedom and democracy in the Eastern Bloc. Although the wall was not immediately dismantled, Reagan's words became synonymous with the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of Germany.

Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts at reform and partnership with Ronald Reagan led to the end of the Cold War. On December 3, 1989 Presidents George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev announced the official end to the Cold War at a meeting in Malta.

The Soviet leader was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to lessen Cold War tensions and open up his nation.

Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan sign the INF Treaty at the White House, 1987

During the Cold War, the Americans considered airdropping enormous condoms labeled “Medium” on the Soviets.

In 1984 Ronald Reagan sent the Soviet Army on high alert after saying "We begin bombing in five minutes" while doing a sound check.

"In God We Trust" was placed on all U.S. bills during the Cold War as a way to express the United States' anti-communist beliefs.

During the Cold War, the BBC planned to air The Sound of Music after a nuclear strike to improve the morale of survivors.

CIA agents used a method of communication based on how their shoelaces were tied during the Cold War.

During the Cold War, MI5 planned to use gerbils at airports to help detect terrorists, secret agents, and subversives.

Source Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by Nigel Rees

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