Fear keeps the peace People sometimes assume that the minute hand of the clock is moved frequently.
In fact, the clock has been reset just 14 times in its 48 years. Clock moves reflect major trends, not transient events. For instance, the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962 failed to produce so much as a blip in the clock. A year after the missile crisis, in October 1963, the Bulletin moved the minute hand back in recognition of the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty, an agreement banning atmospheric nuclear testing. Nor would the treaty prevent additional nations from acquiring nuclear weapons, Rabinowitch added.