00:00If you're alive today, it might be because of one man. It sounds unbelievable, but on October 27,
00:051962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. Navy detected a submarine deep underwater.
00:10When they investigated, it turned out to be a Soviet submarine loaded with nuclear weapons.
00:15To force it to surface, the U.S. Navy dropped a few small depth charges, but this created
00:19confusion instead. The submarine was so deep that its crew had lost all communication with
00:23the outside world, and they couldn't tell whether those explosions were an attack or
00:27just a signal to come up. The decision to launch a nuclear strike now rested on three officers on
00:31board. If all three agreed, they could fire a nuclear torpedo, and that could have triggered
00:35a global nuclear war. Two of them agreed to launch, but one man refused. He argued that it might not
00:40be an attack and convinced them to hold back. Because of his decision, a nuclear war was likely
00:44prevented, and that's why you're alive today.
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