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The 'Doomsday Clock' is a symbolic clockface maintained since 1947 by the Board of Directors of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' at the University of Chicago. It uses the analogy of the human race being at a time that is "minutes to midnight" where midnight represents "catastrophic destruction". The analogy originally represented the threat of global nuclear war, but has since evolved to include nuclear weapons, climate-changing technologies and "new developments in the life sciences and nanotechnology that could inflict irrevocable harm."^[1] Since its introduction, the clock has appeared on the cover of each issue of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. The first representation of the clock was produced in 1947, when artist Martyl Langsdorf, the wife of physicist, Alexander Langsdorf, Jr., who worked on the Manhattan Project, was asked by magazine cofounder Hyman Goldsmith to design a cover for the June issue.
The number of minutes before midnight, a measure of the degree of nuclear, environmental, and technological threats, is updated periodically. The clock is currently set to five minutes to midnight, having been advanced by two minutes on January 17, 2007.

Contents

Time changes

In popular culture

In fiction

In music

In television

In games

See also

References

External links

Time changes

The clock was started at ''seven minutes to midnight'' during the Cold War in 1947, and has subsequently been advanced or rewound at intervals, depending on the state of the world and the prospects for nuclear war. Its setting is relatively arbitrary, set by the Board of Directors at the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' in response to global affairs. The setting of the clock has not always been fast enough to cope with the speed of global events, either; one of the closest periods to nuclear war, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, reached its head and resolution in a number of weeks, and the clock either could not be changed or was not changed to reflect any of this at the time. Nevertheless, the changing of the clock usually does provoke attention.
The official announcement of the most recent change to five minutes to midnight took place on January 17, 2007 at 14:30 hours GMT.^[2][3]
The clock's hands have been moved 19 times in response to international events since its initial start at 'seven' minutes to midnight in 1947:

Note: the LOWER the graph becomes, the HIGHER the probability of catastrophe is deemed to be.

Year	Mins Left	Time	Change	Reason
1947	'7'	11:53	--	The initial setting of the Doomsday Clock.
1949	'3'	11:57	-4	The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb.
1953	'2'	11:58	-1	The United States and the Soviet Union test thermonuclear devices within nine months of one another. The clock is at its closest approach to midnight to date.
1960	'7'	11:53	+5	In response to a perception of increased scientific cooperation and public understanding of the dangers of nuclear weapons.
1963	'12'	11:48	+5	The United States and Soviet Union sign the Partial Test Ban Treaty, limiting atmospheric nuclear testing.
1968	'7'	11:53	-5	France and China acquire and test nuclear weapons (1960 and 1964 respectively), wars rage on in the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, and Vietnam.
1969	'10'	11:50	+3	The U.S. Senate ratifies the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
1972	'12'	11:48	+2	The United States and the Soviet Union sign the SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
1974	'9'	11:51	-3	India tests a nuclear device (Smiling Buddha), SALT II talks stall.
1980	'7'	11:53	-2	Further deadlock in US-USSR talks, increase in nationalist wars and terrorist actions.
1981	'4'	11:56	-3	Arms race escalates, conflicts in Afghanistan, South Africa, and Poland add to world tension.
1984	'3'	11:57	-1	Further escalation of the arms race under the U.S. policies of Ronald Reagan.
1988	'6'	11:54	+3	The U.S. and the Soviet Union sign treaty to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear forces, relations improve.
1990	'10'	11:50	+4	Fall of the Berlin Wall, success of anti-communist movements in Eastern Europe, Cold War nearing an end.
1991	'17'	11:43	+7	United States and Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. The clock is at its greatest distance from midnight so far.
1995	'14'	11:46	-3	Global military spending continues at Cold War levels; concerns about post-Soviet nuclear proliferation of weapons and brainpower.
1998	'9'	11:51	-5	Both India and Pakistan test nuclear weapons in a tit-for-tat show of aggression; the United States and Russia run into difficulties in further reducing stockpiles.
2002	'7'	11:53	-2	Little progress on global nuclear disarmament; United States rejects a series of arms control treaties and announces its intentions to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; terrorists seek to acquire nuclear weapons.
2007	'5'	11:55	-2	North Korea’s recent test of a nuclear weapon, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a renewed U.S. emphasis on the military utility of nuclear weapons, the failure to adequately secure nuclear materials, and the continued presence of some 26,000 nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia.[4] Experts assessing the dangers posed to civilization have added climate change to the prospect of nuclear annihilation as the greatest threats to humankind.

In popular culture

In fiction

★ The 'Doomsday Clock' is referenced in Piers Anthony's novel, ''Wielding a Red Sword'', in which the mythical Incarnation of War can control the position of the hands up to midnight and thereby bring about World War III.

★ The clock illustrations used in the ''Watchmen'' graphic novel series is a reference to The 'Doomsday Clock'. On page 18 of issue #1, a newspaper on Adrian Veidt's desk bears the headline "Nuclear Doomsday Clock Stands At Five To Twelve, Warn Experts".

★ In the book by John Bellairs, ''The House with a Clock in Its Walls'', the mystery involves a clock that is ticking down toward doomsday.

★ In the comic "Stormwatch PHD". In issue #4 it is explained that the "original" clock gained magical powers, and if the hands were forcefully turned to 12, it would cause nuclear war.

In music

★ The 'Doomsday Clock' is alluded to throughout "2 Minutes to Midnight", a single from Iron Maiden's album ''Powerslave. In the cover of the band's single, the mascot Eddie is sitting in ruin, with a nuclear explosion behind his back.

★ The song "Def. Con. One." by the band Pop Will Eat Itself includes the lyric "Ten to doomsday, moving fast... Heads up! Mind that blast. No time to sleep, it's Def. Con. One. Can't get no sleep as the ticking ticks on."

★ The song "Why Did I Fall For That" by The Who has the lines "Four minutes to midnight on a sunny day/Maybe if we smile the clock'll fade away/Maybe we can force the hands to just reverse/'Maybe' is a word, maybe 'maybe's' a curse... We simply believe that we'd remain intact/But history is asking why did you fall for that."

★ The song "Easy/Lucky/Free" by Bright Eyes contains the lyrics, "I set my watch to the atomic clock. I hear the crowd count down 'til the bomb gets dropped. I always figured there'd be time enough; I never let it get me down."

★ The Doomsday Clock is directly mentioned in the Ozzy Osbourne song "Thank God for the Bomb" on the album ''The Ultimate Sin''. It is, however, cited in a manner that is inconsistent with the clock's purpose. "The face of the doomsday clock / Has launched a thousand wars / As we near the final hour / Time is the only foe we have."

★ Australian band Midnight Oil discuss the Doomsday Clock and the threat of nuclear war in their song "Minutes to Midnight" from the album ''Red Sails in the Sunset''. The album cover depicted the disturbing scene of the city of Sydney after a fictional nuclear attack.

★ "Midnight in a Perfect World" by DJ Shadow, featuring Gift of Gab (from group Blackalicious), alludes to nuclear war and that we are "now approaching midnight", especially in the full lyrical "Gab Mix" off the ''Endtroducing.....'' reissue from 2005.

★ The song "Five Minutes to Midnight" by Boys Like Girls may be a reference to the Doomsday Clock.

★ On the cover of American band Alive's album ''11:59'', the Trinity test's rising fireball can be seen with the text "It's later than we thought..." written at the bottom.

★ ''Chaos Theory'' by Jumpsteady makes mention of the Doomsday Clock in the opening song "Outcha Mouth", saying "I'm the last second, sound of doomsday clock, like an open box of anthrax...".

★ Industrial band Funker Vogt refers heavily to the Doomsday Clock during the chorus of their track "History", a single from the album ''Survivor'', which follows the themes of apocalyptic warfare. Specifically with the lines ''"The war will soon begin. It's already ten to twelve".''

★ In the music video for "Russians" by Sting, the Doomsday Clock is represented by the clock ticking over the main doorway.

★ In ABC's music video "S.O.S", the Doomsday Clock was used as the main theme throughout the video.

★ Linkin Park's album ''Minutes to Midnight'' is a reference to the Doomsday Clock.^[5]

★ ''Zeitgeist'', a Smashing Pumpkins album, includes a song entitled "Doomsday Clock."

★ In Ozzy Osbourne's "Black Rain" album a song titled "Countdown's Begun" makes reference to the clock.

★ Atreyu's Lead Sails Paper Anchor has a song titled "Doomsday" referring to the Doomsday Clock.

★ Punk band Civil Blitzkrieg are set to release their second full length album, titled "5 Minutes To Midnight"

In television

★ ''Gummi Bears'' Season 4 Episode 4 "A Knight to Remember" The ghost of a Gummi knight helps Cubbi destroy the mysterious Doomsday Clock.

★ Glenn Beck had a large Doomsday Clock on the set of his ''CNN Headline News'' television show, and he would occasionally adjust the time based on the news of the day.

★ The title of the ''Venture Brothers'' episode "Twenty Years to Midnight" is a reference to the Doomsday clock.

★ The eighth episode of the series ''Heroes'' is titled "Seven Minutes to Midnight", which was the time on the clock at the release of the episode. Also, the villain Sylar wears a watch that stopped at seven minutes to midnight. The series was filmed and began to air prior to the 2007 adjustment of the Doomsday clock, which until then did indeed read seven minutes to midnight.

★ Adult Swim's night time lineup recently gave reference to the Doomsday clock, by saying sarcastically how we now have five more minutes to do what we want till we die...giving further reference to the recent clock change to five minutes till midnight.

★ The ''Doctor Who'' episode "Four to Doomsday" was first aired in 1982, when the clock was at four minutes to midnight.

In games

★ In 4th edition, there is an artifact called Armageddon Clock that deals increasing damage to each player, speeding up the game's current outcome if left unattended.

★ The RTS game Rise of Nations, has an Armageddon counter that goes down with every nuclear launch. All players will receive an Armageddon ending (automatic lose) if the counter reaches zero.

★ In the video game Duke Nukem: Zero Hour for the Nintendo 64 the name Zero Hour refers to the Doomsday Clock.

★ In the expansion pack for Command and Conquer Generals, , Zero Hour is a reference to the Doomsday Clock

★ In the Fallout 3 trailer a doomsday clock is seen next to the Fallout Boy.

See also

★ Mutual assured destruction

★ Doomsday device

★ Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth

★ Alarmism

★ Doomsday vault

References

1. Five Minutes to Midnight: Overview
2. Reuters - Scientists prepare to move Doomsday Clock forward
3. Posted Email
4. [1]
5. Linkin Park Finish Apocalyptic Album, Revive Projekt Revolution Tour

External links

★ Current setting of the Doomsday Clock

★ Timeline of the Doomsday Clock

★ Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

★ Doomsday clock is ticking towards midnight, say scientists