September 02, 2004

Peter Posnette, the saviour of modern chocolate, has died. Until I read his obituary, I had never heard of this man brought so much pleasure into my life--and helped keep afloat the economy of one of the world's poorer regions. In his honor, let's celebrate the world's unsung heroes. Come on, monkeys--tell me about the folks I've never heard of, but who deserve my thanks.
posted by jacobw 19 years ago
  • Stanislav Petrov chose to not destroy the world, which in his situation was harder than it sounds. (fp)
  • Norman Borlaug has saved more human lives than anyone ever in history.
  • Wow. That Petrov arcitle. I had no idea. I remember going to sleep at night in the 80s thinking it very possible I wouldn't wake up, b/c there would be a nuclear war. Turns out I was right. Seriously, I got chills reading that. I still haven't recovered.
  • I believe I've found some new heroes. I further believe I'll be building a shrine to Petrov in my garage.
  • that Stanislav kicks major hero ass! (and welcome, smallish bear)
  • don't forget these golden-retriever heroes! good dog!
  • There's this guy called Chy Conrad, he's without doubt the greatest genius that ever lived. But he knew that his discoveries would only lead to evil, so he deliberately sacrificed fame & fortune for beer & pretzels. Now send me money.
  • Speaking of sending money, evidently Colonel Petrov's health is not well. This link has an address for sending letters and donations.
  • Don't know how to verify that it's legit, of course. If it is, I'd like to send him something.
  • That Petrov character, if that's who it really is, looks a hell-of-a-lot like Sean Connery. Hmmmmm...
  • I had heard about this incident in passing before, but never about Col. Petrov specifically. It's eerily like "FailSafe", only turned the other way around. Chilling. Best link I've seen today.
  • I just can't get over it. There's a guy, living today, who can legitimately claim that one day in 1983 he literally SAVED THE WORLD. And he's not a comic book character, either. I'm buying vodka and toasting Stanislav, and forcing all my friends and family to do so as well. Even my 4-year old son. Toughens him up. Seriously, though, when I think about what we owe this guy...