# WELCOME TO THE WHITE HOUSE - PUSH BUTTON. What does the button do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875 "2011-05-14T04:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/1 "2011-05-14T04:10:00Z")
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/sites/mingus/images/2/2a/whitehousebutton.jpg](http://grey.colorado.edu/mediawiki/sites/mingus/images/2/2a/whitehousebutton.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. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/2 "2011-05-14T04:13:17Z")
it releases the hounds ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/3 "2011-05-14T04:53:54Z")
It activated the hidden camera. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/4 "2011-05-14T05:05:01Z")
Looks like the doorbell to me. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/5 "2011-05-14T05:05:59Z")
Itā€™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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaker_(Muppet)). ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/6 "2011-05-14T05:09:14Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/7 "2011-05-14T05:33:32Z")
The electrician is scheduled to connect it on 21 May. Come back and press it then. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/8 "2011-05-14T05:40:50Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > [Link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaker_(Muppet)). If thatā€™s what you meant to link, I have to admit that I donā€™t get the joke youā€™re trying to make. ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/9 "2011-05-14T06:36:54Z")
I think The Onion may have cracked it - every time you push the button Obama has the urge to launch all nukes at once. [Obama Makes It Through Another Day Of Resisting Urge To Launch All U.S. Nuclear Weapons At Once](http://www.theonion.com/articles/obama-makes-it-through-another-day-of-resisting-ur,20364/) ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/10 "2011-05-14T06:41:51Z")
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 itā€™s broken, in which case it becomes a metaphor for the decline of the empire, government shutdowns, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/11 "2011-05-14T06:44:31Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Looks like the doorbell to me. Realistically, it may be a relic of a time when the White House didnā€™t have a 24-hour guard gate and a visitor might have needed a doorbell to summon someone to open the gate. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/12 "2011-05-14T07:25:12Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > it releases the hounds I was thinking, ā€œSomeone you donā€™t know will die, and a secret service agent will give you a million dollarsā€ ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/13 "2011-05-14T16:13:42Z")
You didnā€™t [receive bacon](http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww186/prufrock55/push-button-receive-bacon.png)? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/14 "2011-05-14T16:38:47Z")
This reminds me of the old Steven Wright joke about the light switch in his house that didnā€™t appear to do anything when he flipped it on and off. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/15 "2011-05-14T17:02:35Z")
I really want to know the actual answer. Anyone know? [We arenā€™t the only ones wondering.](http://www.flickr.com/photos/caryscott/493732424/) [This one says:](http://www.flickriver.com/photos/nivad/2455225357/) > [@](#): > > Update 2: According to glynnish, it used to trigger an information recording. Who knows how long ago that wasā€¦ Also, it apparently did not have the thin black wire before, thatā€™s a recent anti-terrorist installation. Anyone know for sure? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/16 "2011-05-14T17:09:05Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/17 "2011-05-14T17:22:46Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > And the bees, and the dogs with bees in their mouths and when they bark they shoot bees at you. And donā€™t forget the robot Richard Simmons. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/18 "2011-05-14T18:11:36Z")
Was it a beautiful, shiny button? A jolly, candy-like button? ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/19 "2011-05-14T18:35:22Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > Itā€™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](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaker_(Muppet)). Aww, I really wanted that to be the real answer. ā˜¹ ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875/20 "2011-05-14T18:41:51Z")
Iā€™ve sent off a query to the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-the-white-house-push-button-what-does-the-button-do/581875.md?page=2)