--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Kennedy paused, fork between plate and…" description: "\"“Kennedy paused, fork between plate and mouth, and told Sidey, “You know, they have an atom bomb on the third floor of the embassy.” Sidey brushed off ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f67/garrett-m-graff-7343_atom-bomb_kennedy-paused-fork-between-plate-and-mo_1516375.jpg" --- # Kennedy paused, fork between plate and mouth, and told… ![“Kennedy paused, fork between plate and mouth, and told Sidey, “You know, they have an atom bomb on the third floor of the embassy.” Sidey brushed off the remark, “Sure, why not?” No, really, Kennedy replied. The president told Sidey that U.S. intelligence believed the Soviets had smuggled atomic…” quote by Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f67/garrett-m-graff-7343_atom-bomb_kennedy-paused-fork-between-plate-and-mo_1516375.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f67/garrett-m-graff-7343_atom-bomb_kennedy-paused-fork-between-plate-and-mo_1516375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f67/garrett-m-graff-7343_atom-bomb_kennedy-paused-fork-between-plate-and-mo_1516375.jpg) > ““Kennedy paused, fork between plate and mouth, and told Sidey, “You know, they have an atom bomb on the third floor of the embassy.” Sidey brushed off the remark, “Sure, why not?” No, really, Kennedy replied. The president told Sidey that U.S. intelligence believed the Soviets had smuggled atomic bomb components into Washington using diplomatic pouches and assembled it in the embassy’s attic. “If things get too bad and war is inevitable,” he said, “they will set it off and that’s the end of the White House and the rest of the city.” Sidey laughed, still not believing such a fantastic rumor. Kennedy replied, “That’s what I’m told. Do you know something that I don’t?” •”” [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The anecdote illustrates the absurdity and danger of nuclear brinkmanship, highlighting how rumors can shape high‑stakes decisions. **In simple terms:** Nuclear threats can be based on dubious information. Key Takeaway Question the credibility of extreme claims. Themes war danger politics Mood tense critical Type historical cautionary When to use this quote - government briefings - military strategy sessions - media analysis - academic research on Cold War Key Concepts nuclear deterrence rumor dynamics decision‑making under uncertainty Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards exist to verify intelligence before action? - How do rumors influence policy? 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The very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/being-in-service-and-being-involved-in-something-that-is-greater-than/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) ## More by Garrett M. Graff > [“Humphrey had even visited the CASPER facility on multiple occasions under the cover of darkness during vacations at the Greenbrier. In 1970, after his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/humphrey-had-even-visited-the-casper-facility-on-multiple-occasions/) [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) > [“In many ways, after many decades, many billions of dollars, and countless advances in technology, the federal government’s basic plan to escape a catastrophe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/in-many-ways-after-many-decades-many-billions-of-dollars-and/) [Garrett M. 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Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) > [“things went quickly awry. Thermonuclear bombs were still not well understood and the weapon, code-named CASTLE BRAVO, turned out to be three times more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/things-went-quickly-awry-thermonuclear-bombs-were-still-not-well/) [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) > [“inside forget they were hiding in an underground bunker. Under normal circumstances, personnel approaching the PEOC would arrive at its locked vault door, located…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/inside-forget-they-were-hiding-in-an-underground-bunker-under-normal/) [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) > [“literally rocketing into the sky at a seemingly impossible steep pitch as it activated for the first and only time in its history a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/literally-rocketing-into-the-sky-at-a-seemingly-impossible-steep/) [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) > [“The commission also confronted one of the strangest and most nettlesome phrases in COG operations—a seemingly unnecessary aside in the language guiding presidential succession…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/the-commission-also-confronted-one-of-the-strangest-and-most/) [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) > [“Court Clerk Harold Willey was dispatched by Warren to spend a fall weekend scouting Asheville for a possible relocation facility. “Because all large cities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/court-clerk-harold-willey-was-dispatched-by-warren-to-spend-a-fall/) [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) > [“The U.S. would have to “reinterpret” the Constitution to provide for preemptive searches and seizures when atomic terrorism was involved. Remarkably, over the decades…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/the-u-s-would-have-to-reinterpret-the-constitution-to-provide-for/) [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) > [“The crash program for building the “super” dwarfed even the Manhattan Project. 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The very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/being-in-service-and-being-involved-in-something-that-is-greater-than/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) > [“America's greatest revelation was not the atom bomb, not Fundamentalism, not fat farms, not Elvis, not even the quite astute observation that gentlemen prefer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/america-s-greatest-revelation-was-not-the-atom-bomb-not/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [“As the tail on our back disappeared as we no longer had any use for it, nuclear weapons will also disappear once we realize,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/as-the-tail-on-our-back-disappeared-as-we-no-longer-had-any-use-for/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“If we do not stop these mar-makers not,...it will soon be too late. We are the only nation that can halt this crusade. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-aldridge/if-we-do-not-stop-these-mar-makers-not-it-will-soon-be-too-late-we/) [James Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-aldridge/) > [I am not sure why, but I have been obsessed by the Atom Bomb ever since it first happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanford-wilson/i-am-not-sure-why-but-i-have-been-obsessed-by-the-atom-bomb-ever/) [Lanford Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanford-wilson/) > [“Just because you can solve a crossword puzzle or build an atom bomb doesn’t mean that you use your mind. Just as dogs love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/just-because-you-can-solve-a-crossword-puzzle-or-build-an-atom-bomb/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“The atom bomb wasn’t used in Korea,” Father contributed. 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I did not move a muscle when I first heard that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/non-violence-is-the-only-thing-that-the-atom-bomb-cannot-destroy-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“If you've a notion of what man's heart is, wouldn't you say that maybe the whole effort of man on earth to build a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/if-you-ve-a-notion-of-what-man-s-heart-is-wouldn-t-you-say-that-maybe/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [I hope we shall abolish war and settle all differences at the conference table I hope we shall abolish all hydrogen and atom bombs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/i-hope-we-shall-abolish-war-and-settle-all-differences-at-the/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [Fear kills, want to kill. Fear is destructive. Love is creative energy. When you love you would like to create - you may like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/fear-kills-want-to-kill-fear-is-destructive-love-is-creative-energy/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [If we had the atom bomb, we would have used it against the British.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-we-had-the-atom-bomb-we-would-have-used-it-against-the-british/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Teach us all to do right, Lord, please, and to get along together with that atom bomb on this earth because I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/teach-us-all-to-do-right-lord-please-and-to-get-along-together-with/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Going to work just looked crazy. 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The president told Sidey that U.S. intelligence believed the Soviets had smuggled atomic bomb components into Washington using diplomatic pouches and assembled it in the embassy’s attic. “If things get too bad and war is inevitable,” he said, “they will set it off and that’s the end of the White House and the rest of the city.” Sidey laughed, still not believing such a fantastic rumor. Kennedy replied, “That’s what I’m told. Do you know something that I don’t?” •”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Garrett M. 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