Here’s what it’s like inside a Cold War nuclear missile silo

YouTube science series Veritasium took its show on the road to a nuclear missile silo, revealing the oddly reassuring secrets behind America’s nuclear launch plans.

On the one hand, it’s terrifying to think that the world spent decades on the cusp of potential nuclear disaster. But as this video explains, there were a lot of failsafes in place. At this Cold War-era missile silo in the Arizona desert, Veritasium presenter Derek Muller shows us what used to be one of the most dangerous places on Earth.

Screengrab via Veritasium/YouTube