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Nuclear consent switch on an F-16 Fighting Falcon
(thelemmy.club)
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this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2026
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I love the implied message in various switches.
Your average wall switch is about convenience. It says that it's ready to go on or off with reasonable effort.
The "emergency stop" switch is designed to be as easy as possible to hit. If you're barely hanging on to consciousness, are missing your hands, and have only a vague notion that you really need to push that button, you can smash it with any available body part and it will switch.
The nuke switch is the opposite. It says that you really really really better be sure before you flick this switch. If you aren't alert enough to solve a bit of a puzzle, the switch stays off.
Good to know that one of the high-tech speed bumps between us and atomic obliteration is an inconveniently positioned ½" steel tab with a warning that says "you really probably shouldn't" 🤣
We should put a piece of tape on the switch too. That'll really get the point across
But not just any tape! This 3x1" hyper-engineered marvel has been rigorously tested, exhaustively reviewed, signed off by a slew of brass, lost in a logistics chokepoint, found again, shipped faster-than-thought to a facility that's nearly spelled the same but on the wrong continent... So, this tape? This is what we pulled off the battery hatch for the coffee room's boombox while we wait for the certified piece.
Looks like we just found our new marketing executive for HEMtape boys! Tell us more about this tape's military applications.
"one of" is doing some heavy lifting there :)
That button isn't meant to stop crazy or evil people from killing us all. That's (hopefully) taken care of by things like careful pilot vetting.
A completely sane and non-mass-murderous pilot might still accidentally press a normal button. Especially if they were tired near the end of a long mission.
It's not as stringent as the safeguard that Roger Fisher proposed. He suggested that the nuclear launch codes be placed in a capsule and surgically implanted near the heart of a volunteer. That volunteer would follow the president around with a butcher knife. If the president ever wanted to launch the nukes it would need to be serious enough that he was willing to take that knife and carve the launch codes out of the chest of an innocent man.
I like the Homer approach. I want three different nuclear launch codes! One here, here, and here. You can never remember the nuclear launch code when you're angry.