Herblock uses the doomsday clock to symbolize the urgency of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. The Soviet Union aimed nuclear missiles at the United States from Cuba. In retaliation, the United States aimed nuclear missiles in Turkey at the Soviet Union. Using the political strategy known as brinkmanship, both sides stockpiled weapons while pushing each other toward the brink of war. The doomsday clock, created by atomic scientists in 1941, symbolizes the tension between countries that could lead to nuclear annihilation—the closer the clock is to midnight, the closer the perceived possibility of nuclear disaster.