One of my favourite movie bits is the scene from Dr. Strangelove, where Dimitri, the Russian ambassador to the US, announces the existence of The Doomsday Machine, which will automatically annihilate the entire world if it detects a missile attack on the Soviet Union.
"It is the Ultimate Deterrent," he announces proudly.
Peter Sellers playing, among others, the American president, asks why they had never heard of this machine.
"It is a Top Secret," replies Dimitri.
"What good is a deterrent if it is kept a secret?" questions the President, not without some justification.
I think I have used that opening before in this blog but my brain is so fogged by cough suppressants that I can't remember. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
But the scene comes to mind every time I see the "EDR" signs on our highways.
You know the ones I mean? Maybe not, because there hasn't been much publicity on them, not that I've seen anyway.
They're Hallowe'en-coloured, pumpkin orange with a black circle and the letters EDR in white inside, and highway numbers indicating which route(s) to follow in the event of an 'emergency'.
Exactly what constitutes an emergency, and how we're supposed to know when one occurs, I'm not entirely sure. But I did find the following link which might provide you with some information:
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/traveller/signs/edr/index.shtml
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