WELCOME TO THE WHITE HOUSE - PUSH BUTTON. What does the button do?

[alterego]

Today I visited the White House. I noticed a very tempting button on the fence behind the back lawn (the standard viewing position, exactly in the center) and decided that it was too irresistible to not push. You can find a picture here:

http://grey.colorado.edu/mediawiki/s...ousebutton.jpg

After I pushed the button I thought the security guards behind me might yell at me or secret service might jump out of the bushes and tackle me, or, in my wildest dreams, Obama would step out and wave. But nothing happened.

Not shown is that there is tubing that would appear to house an electrical cable that juts straight out the bottom of the button box. It curves near the ground and heads straight to the right for a couple of feet before disappearing underground.

I googled a bit and found a few more pics of it but no definitive answer as to what pushing the button accomplishes (also, this was the only photographic evidence of someone pushing it ;-).

So, what does pushing the button do? (nothing, obviously) Why is it there? What was its intended function? How old is it? etc.

[PSXer]

it releases the hounds

[Sunspace]

It activated the hidden camera.

[TriPolar]

Looks like the doorbell to me.

[VarlosZ]

It's a long-running sociological experiment installed by Gerald Ford (or, at least, during his term in office). Its sole purpose is to count the number of times the button is pushed daily, and to compare the results over weeks, months, and years. What, exactly, the executive branch hopes to gain from this information has never been clear. Link.

[Muffin]

Originally Posted by alterego

After I pushed the button I thought the security guards behind me might yell at me or secret service might jump out of the bushes and tackle me, or, in my wildest dreams, Obama would step out and wave. But nothing happened.

Nothing happened other than that Vladivostok went up in a cloud of radioactive dust. Dude, that was THE BUTTON.

[Muffin]

The electrician is scheduled to connect it on 21 May. Come back and press it then.

[Sage Rat]

Originally Posted by VarlosZ

Link.

If that's what you meant to link, I have to admit that I don't get the joke you're trying to make.

[alterego]

I think The Onion may have cracked it - every time you push the button Obama has the urge to launch all nukes at once. http://www.theonion.com/articles/oba...ting-ur,20364/

[Heracles]

My guess: when you press it, a prerecorded welcome message / historical description is heard through a tinny loudspeaker located just behind the button. Except when it's broken, in which case it becomes a metaphor for the decline of the empire, government shutdowns, etc.

[Dewey Finn]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

Looks like the doorbell to me.

Realistically, it may be a relic of a time when the White House didn't have a 24-hour guard gate and a visitor might have needed a doorbell to summon someone to open the gate.

[drachillix]

Originally Posted by PSXer

it releases the hounds

I was thinking, "Someone you don't know will die, and a secret service agent will give you a million dollars"

[Colophon]

You didn't receive bacon?

[Shoeless]

This reminds me of the old Steven Wright joke about the light switch in his house that didn't appear to do anything when he flipped it on and off.

[Mahaloth]

I really want to know the actual answer. Anyone know?

We aren't the only ones wondering.


This one says:

Update 2: According to glynnish, it used to trigger an information recording. Who knows how long ago that was... Also, it apparently did not have the thin black wire before, that's a recent anti-terrorist installation.

Anyone know for sure?

[robert_columbia]

Originally Posted by PSXer

it releases the hounds

And the bees, and the dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you.

[Mahaloth]

Originally Posted by robert_columbia

And the bees, and the dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you.

And don't forget the robot Richard Simmons.

[MikeS]

Was it a beautiful, shiny button? A jolly, candy-like button?

[Half Man Half Wit]

Originally Posted by VarlosZ

It's a long-running sociological experiment installed by Gerald Ford (or, at least, during his term in office). Its sole purpose is to count the number of times the button is pushed daily, and to compare the results over weeks, months, and years. What, exactly, the executive branch hopes to gain from this information has never been clear. Link.

Aww, I really wanted that to be the real answer.

[Muffin]

I've sent off a query to the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence.

[alterego]

Originally Posted by Muffin

I've sent off a query to the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence.

Way to kill the thread Muffin. Just kidding, I can't wait to see if you get a response :-)

[Chefguy]

An angel gets its wings.

[Muffin]

Originally Posted by alterego

Way to kill the thread Muffin. Just kidding, I can't wait to see if you get a response :-)

Back when it was Trudeau and Reagan, I happened upon some stationery from the Office of the Prime Minister, so I sent a letter to the Reagan at the White House. I have no idea if there was a response. Darned if I can remember what I wrote, but I recall trying to keep it plausible in an inane sort of way.

[jasonh300]

Originally Posted by Sage Rat

If that's what you meant to link, I have to admit that I don't get the joke you're trying to make.

You pushed the button.

[Keeve]

Am I the only one who thinks it odd that the "PUSH BUTTON" instructions are almost totally covered by the button itself?

[alterego]

Originally Posted by Keeve

Am I the only one who thinks it odd that the "PUSH BUTTON" instructions are almost totally covered by the button itself?

It's almost as if a new button was installed in a new spot on the box since the last time the box was painted - note how shiny the button metal is. Perhaps what is now the button box didn't used to actually house the button.

I've had the idea to dig through google images looking for old pictures of the fence. Could provide some clues.

[jasonh300]

If you just put a button there with no instructions, people will push it. At least, I would.

If you put a button there with an instruction to push it, but offering no explanation why, or what will happen, people will be suspicious and question it and be hesitant to push it.

[Muffin]

It's Hillary's joy buzzer.

[Jake]

Paint it red.
Then DUCK!!..(^_^)

[fiddlesticks]

Speaking of mysterious items near the south fence of the White House, anybody know what this box is for? I mapped the location roughly as best as I could remember.

[aldiboronti]

It doesn't say Push at all. This is the infamous Pussy Button, a relic from the far distant days of the Kennedy White House. JFK's dates would ring this before being admitted by the Secret Service. (This is also the reason for the diplomatic cover-up of the sign by the button itself.)

Ah Camelot!

[Sunspace]

If there was only one of them, I would have said that it was an unusually-high-end compost bin, but not on a concrete pad like that. Probably a motion detector.

[tanstaafl]

Originally Posted by fiddlesticks

Speaking of mysterious items near the south fence of the White House, anybody know what this box is for? I mapped the location roughly as best as I could remember.

Looks like a low voltage outdoor lighting fixture to me. Light would emit from the "slits".

[lieu]

Barack now has the most votes on American Idol.

[Rain Soaked]

No one really knows what the button does but it MUST be pushed every 180 minutes!

[Red Barchetta]

You can find the answer here.

[pkbites]

Push the button Max!

[dougeliz]

I don't know what the button is for but it is connected to the roof of the white house and when it is pressed a guard on the roof waves. My kids pushed this a few times until the guard waved them away. All very friendly.

[gaffa]

It starts a bad movie on the Satellite of Love.

[Hermitian]

Originally Posted by drachillix

I was thinking, "Someone you don't know will die, and a secret service agent will give you a million dollars"

Definitely

[SirRay]

Originally Posted by gaffa

It starts a bad movie on the Satellite of Love.

Only if you're named Frank. (actually, didn't pushing the button end the show?)

[Maus Magill]

I remember that button.

My wife wouldn't let me push it.

[Peanuthead]

When you push the button you will get a special treat.

[Senegoid]

Originally Posted by VarlosZ

It's a long-running sociological experiment installed by Gerald Ford (or, at least, during his term in office). Its sole purpose is to count the number of times the button is pushed daily, and to compare the results over weeks, months, and years. What, exactly, the executive branch hopes to gain from this information has never been clear. Link.

Well, I went to that link and all I found there was a biography of Gerald Ford!

[tadtooornamental]

Originally Posted by Rain Soaked

No one really knows what the button does but it MUST be pushed every 180 minutes!

*108

[SmithCommaJohn]

Originally Posted by Mahaloth

I really want to know the actual answer. Anyone know?

We aren't the only ones wondering.


This one says:

"Update 2: According to glynnish, it used to trigger an information recording. Who knows how long ago that was... Also, it apparently did not have the thin black wire before, that's a recent anti-terrorist installation."

Anyone know for sure?

What could a terrorist conceivably do with that button? Considering that it's easily accessible to the public, its original purpose (whatever that may be) must have been pretty benign.

And what would the addition of a thin black wire stop a terrorist from doing?

[robert_columbia]

Don't push it! It's the history eraser button!

[buddha_david]

Originally Posted by Sage Rat

If that's what you meant to link, I have to admit that I don't get the joke you're trying to make.

Isn't it obvious? You just got Beaker-rolled, dude!

[davidm]

Originally Posted by fiddlesticks

Speaking of mysterious items near the south fence of the White House, anybody know what this box is for? I mapped the location roughly as best as I could remember.

You don't want to be near it when the button is pushed, that's for damned sure!

[davidm]

Originally Posted by alterego

...After I pushed the button I thought the security guards behind me might yell at me or secret service might jump out of the bushes and tackle me, or, in my wildest dreams, Obama would step out and wave. But nothing happened...

You THINK nothing happened. Wait till the next time you try to go through an airport TSA checkpoint!