85 Seconds


The Doomsday Clock started in 1947. It was created by the scientists who built the atomic  bomb. These are people who understood exactly what they had made and were terrified of it. 

For seventy-nine years they have moved that clock forward and backward based on how close the world is to ending itself. In 1991, when the Cold War ended, they moved it back to seventeen minutes to midnight. Seventeen minutes. That was the furthest it has ever been from catastrophe. 

On January 27, 2026, they moved it to 85 seconds to midnight. The closest it has ever been in its entire history. Not 89 seconds, which was last year's record. 85. Thats only four seconds closer to the end of everything. The scientists who set it said this simply: "It is a hard truth, but this is our reality." 

Take it however you will, it's not prophetic. Those are the people who invented nuclear weapons telling you, with their names attached, that the world has never been this close to destroying itself. 85 seconds. You have things to do today. Carry on.
By Kumbirai Thierry Nhamo
The Rising Ledger Issue 41: 85 Seconds on Doomsday Clock by Kumbirai Thierry Nhamo

The Doomsday Clock started in 1947. It was created by the scientists who built the atomic  bomb. These are people who understood exactly what they had made and were terrified of it.

For seventy-nine years they have moved that clock forward and backward based on how close the world is to ending itself. In 1991, when the Cold War ended, they moved it back to seventeen minutes to midnight. Seventeen minutes. That was the furthest it has ever been from catastrophe.

On January 27, 2026, they moved it to 85 seconds to midnight. The closest it has ever been in its entire history. Not 89 seconds, which was last year’s record. 85. Thats only four seconds closer to the end of everything. The scientists who set it said this simply: “It is a hard truth, but this is our reality.”

Take it however you will, it’s not prophetic. Those are the people who invented nuclear weapons telling you, with their names attached, that the world has never been this close to destroying itself. 85 seconds. You have things to do today. Carry on.

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