History: The famous "red phone" between Washington and Moscow du…

Question

Did you know? The famous "red phone" between Washington and Moscow during the Cold War was not actually a phone. It was a teletype link that only sent text. Speaking was considered too risky: a mistranslation could trigger a nuclear war; written text was more precise.

Accepted Answer

The famous "red phone" between Washington and Moscow during the Cold War was not actually a phone. It was a teletype link that only sent text. Speaking was considered too risky: a mistranslation could trigger a nuclear war; written text was more precise.

De beroemde "rode telefoon" tussen Washington en Moskou in de Koude Oorlog was helemaal geen telefoon. Het was een telex-verbinding die alleen tekst stuurde. Praten werd te riskant gevonden: een verkeerde vertaling kon een kernoorlog uitlokken; geschreven tekst was preciezer.

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