# Omg It's World War Three!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243 "2006-08-11T02:31:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/1 "2006-08-11T02:31:46Z")
Is anyone else getting annoyed at the number of media personalities, politicians, etc saying that the third world war has started? A nasty regional conflict, yes. But I don’t see any but the most insane dictatorships directly attacking the US. If say China was on the verge of invading Taiwan than such speculation might be justified, but for now it’s just fearmongering by people desperate for attention. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/2 "2006-08-11T02:50:00Z")
It’s not WW3 until nukes start popping, or Cecil says so. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/3 "2006-08-11T02:52:04Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] Is anyone else getting annoyed at the number of media personalities, politicians, etc saying that the third world war has started? [/QUOTE] Annoyed as hell. It’s almost as bad as the Apocalypse crap. As I’ve said elsewhere, if you can _argue_ about whether or not it’s World War III, it clearly is not WWIII. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/4 "2006-08-11T03:07:35Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Annoyed as hell. It’s almost as bad as the Apocalypse crap. As I’ve said elsewhere, if you can _argue_ about whether or not it’s World War III, it clearly is not WWIII. [/QUOTE] When did World War II started getting called World War II? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/5 "2006-08-11T03:14:27Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] When did World War II started getting called World War II? [/QUOTE] [Time Magazine](http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_world_war_2,00.shtml) used it in their first issue after Germany invaded Poland. Looks like they nailed that one. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/6 "2006-08-11T03:18:30Z")
What bugs me is that the pundits look so eager for _WWIII_ to get going. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/7 "2006-08-11T11:13:43Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] [Time Magazine](http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_world_war_2,00.shtml) used it in their first issue after Germany invaded Poland. Looks like they nailed that one. [/QUOTE] Okay, so was that concurrent with renaming the Great War as World War I? Or did it remain the Great War until II was over and done with? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/8 "2006-08-11T11:49:02Z")
I’m ahead of all of y’all in my numbering … the Cold War was World War 3, and this one is WW4. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/9 "2006-08-11T11:57:46Z")
Well that’s really insipid. I hadn’t heard that before. Do these people not have access to someone who remembers a world war? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/10 "2006-08-11T12:19:03Z")
I think Newt Gingrich [started doing this quite consciously,](http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/01/mg.tue/index.html) hoping it would catch on. The idea was to attach some grand historical significance to an otherwise baldfaced attempt to bolster the Republican chances in upcoming elections by scaring people. I hadn’t noticed other media personalities picking this ball up and running with it. Can you name anyone specific who’s said it? Religious nutjobs are eager for the Apocalypse[sup]tm[/sup] because it would mean They Were Right After All. The fact that they’re eager to be proved right, of course, indicates a weak faith. Any war in the Middle East can be construed to be the start of the Apocalypse[sup]tm[/sup]. Hence the willingness to jump on the WWIII bandwagon. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/11 "2006-08-11T12:35:36Z")
…everything Sailboat just said ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-its-world-war-three/368243/12 "2006-08-11T13:33:04Z")
I thought World War III was when four million people were killed in Central Africa between 1998 and 2003. Not that anyone in the White House even noticed.