In 2009, a global cabal of artists, designers, and scientists called the International Colour Association decided to create a day to honour—er, "honor"—color in all its forms. International Colour Day is now celebrated every March 21, since that's the spring equinox, the day when light and darkness are in perfect balance. All month, we're going to have Jeopardy!'s Ken Jennings with us, debunking a full spectrum of chromatic claptrap. Your trivia knowledge will soon be in the pink.
The Debunker: Was the "Hotline" of the Cold War a Red Telephone?
Of all the emergency hotlines in geopolitical history (Seoul–Pyonyang, Islamabad–New Delhi, Commissioner Gordon–Batman) none is more iconic than the direct Cold War-era link between Washington, D.C. and Moscow. You know, the gleaming red telephone on the desk of the Oval Office. You've seen it in movies and spy novels going all the way back to Fail-Safe in 1964. But prepare to be disappointed: the so-called "red telephone" was never in the White House. And it wasn't red. And it wasn't a telephone.
During the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, the world nearly ended because direct communication between the superpowers was so tricky. Receiving and translating dispatches from the Kremlin took the Kennedy administration twelve hours or so, so long than TV journalists were sometimes used to carry back-channel messages instead. As a result, the following year in Geneva, American and Soviet diplomats agreed to create a direct communications line between their two capitals. The MOLINK (as it was called at the Pentagon, where it had been installed) was successfully tested two months later. It first came in handy during the Arab-Israeli "Six Day War" of 1967, and was periodically used during moments of world crisis thereafter.
But the hotline was never a telephone connection. At first, this "direct" communication link was far from direct; it was a teletype system routed through London, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Helsinki. In 1979, a backup satellite link was added, and in 1986, fax machines finally replaced teletype. Today, the Obama-Putin medium of choice is the Facebook status update. No, just kidding, it's all email now. But the hotline is still manned around the clock and tested every hour. After all, you don't want to be stuck on the phone with Comcast customer service when the missiles are flying.
Quick Quiz: What country has only 9,400 of its iconic red telephone booths still standing?
Ken Jennings is the author of six books, most recently his Junior Genius Guides, Because I Said So!, and Maphead. He's also the proud owner of an underwhelming Bag o' Crap. Follow him at ken-jennings.com or on Twitter as @KenJennings.