For one day in October 1962, the world held its breath.

On October 27, 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a US U-2 spy plane was shot down over Cuba and its pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson Jr., was killed. Many historians see it as the most dangerous day of the Cold War — the day the US and the Soviet Union came closest to nuclear war.

Instead of escalating, President Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev kept negotiating. The next day, Khrushchev announced the missiles would be removed from Cuba. The scare later led to the Washington–Moscow hotline.

What do you think saved the world that weekend?

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