Recently I heard someone on TV referring to DEFCON 5 as
being the state of nuclear war again, and it reminded me of my metal band days,
because everyone back then thought the same thing. But, you see, DEFCON 5 is
not a wartime event whatsoever: it’s the state of everyday military readiness
in peacetime. It’s actually DEFCON 1 that refers to the emergency level
generally suggestive of an imminent nuclear strike.
But don’t tell that to metal guitarists, because DEFCON 5
rhymes better with “no one left alive” than DEFCON 1 does. I suppose you could
say: “DEFCON 1, all life dead and done”, but I heard that’s what a wimp would
write. (Besides, knowing stuff like this is just for nerds anyway. That’s what
I heard {when I tried to tell my metal guitarist friends about this}.)
