You've all seen Dr. Strangelove, which means I'm pretty sure you understand the general idea behind a doomsday device: if you destroy us, we destroy you, no matter what. The concept of an automatic system that guarantees nuclear retaliation if a country is subjected to a nuclear attack has been part of the collective nuclear nightmare for decades. It's not just a concept, though. Such a doomsday device exists, and it goes by the chilling name Dead Hand. Just for fun, or, really, whatever the diametric opposite of 'fun' is, let's go over what such a doomsday device is designed to do. In the event of a nuclear attack on a given country, a doomsday device is designed to launch a vigorous retaliatory nuclear strike on the attacker, regardless of whether or not anyone is left alive in the attacked country to order it. It's a fully automatic system; it can't be overruled or disabled. It only activates once it's sure everyone in power (those are the key words - everyone in power) is dead. The