# Would you push the red button? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 19, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726 "2018-04-19T18:43:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/41 "2018-04-20T14:55:59Z")
I’ve had people tell me I’ve been pressing their buttons all my life so what the heck ----- I’d go for it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/42 "2018-04-20T15:11:57Z")
I’d just give the button a “What now?” look and listen to the countdown. Barring any other information I see no reason to take action to cause/prevent something happening. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/43 "2018-04-20T15:31:04Z")
My motto is “Sure, why not?” Maybe I should be more risk-averse. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/44 "2018-04-20T15:47:19Z")
I’m thinking the button stops the countdown. Now the question is what is the countdown for? A bomb…or a dozen bikini babes waiting to rush in & rip off my clothes? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/45 "2018-04-20T15:55:54Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I’m thinking the button stops the countdown. > > Now the question is what is the countdown for? A bomb…or a dozen bikini babes waiting to rush in & rip off my clothes? Waht’s worse, a bomb or a dozen bikini babes who rush in and rip off all your clothes… and then leave? ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/46 "2018-04-20T16:30:57Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > This is my instinctual reaction to being pressured: angry defiance. Throw in a reason to think that the installer is untrustworthy, and it becomes nearly certain. I did software testing in a computer lab for a while, and one of the hardest parts of the job was walking past the big red EPO button multiple times every single day and not ever being able to press it. So for me it feels more like an opportunity to PRESS THE BIG RED BUTTON than being pressured into it. Also, amusingly enough the poll was split exactly 30/30 when I posted this. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/47 "2018-04-20T16:34:32Z")
Getting the hell away from it has my vote as well. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/48 "2018-04-20T18:04:38Z")
No, no, no, no, no! Not the WED one! Don’t EVER push the WED one! ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/49 "2018-04-20T18:13:54Z")
Hell no. The 10 seconds of anticipation is probably more exciting than the result and I’m all about excitement. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/50 "2018-04-20T19:07:06Z")
And if you push the button, and the countdown stops, and the button just disappears with no further explanation…well what if I had pressed it? Screw it–know a troll when you see one and just don’t play. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/51 "2018-04-20T19:41:47Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > And if you push the button, and the countdown stops, and the button just disappears with no further explanation…well what if I had pressed it? Screw it–know a troll when you see one and just don’t play. [”It always stops at ‘1’ on the show.”](https://youtu.be/kUydYZSdCGQ) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/52 "2018-04-20T20:06:10Z")
The only button like that I’ve ever seen is [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9mbhr4YYRg) [YouTube video]. Pressing it causes somebody in a tiger costume to come bounding out, sometimes accompanied by chorus girls and a marching band. So, yes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/53 "2018-04-20T20:13:09Z")
With my luck, it’s either gonna dispense Skittles or explode. So yes. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/54 "2018-04-20T20:32:01Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I voted yes even though I’m confronted with giant red buttons all day long and never press them. Pressing them without reason means my job. But if there is a countdown, that usually means there is a fire and a halon drop is imminent. Totally! This is the first thing I thought of (i.e., Halon). My automatic response would be (1) press the button immediately; (2) see if the countdown stops; (3) if it doesn’t, run fast and far; and (4) if it does, carry the box to somewhere open and away from people, THEN run fast and far. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/55 "2018-04-20T22:17:10Z")
I’m turning over the box, getting out my utility tool, and unscrewing the screws in the back. Or if there aren’t any screws, I look for some other means of opening the case, escalating my efforts gradually but surely until I get it open. I might also try slipping a screwdriver in beside the button and prying it off. Boxes instantaneously materializing in front of me are a lot more interesting than countdowns or buttons, and I want to figure out how it works. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/56 "2018-04-20T23:29:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m turning over the box, getting out my utility tool, and unscrewing the screws in the back. Or if there aren’t any screws, I look for some other means of opening the case, escalating my efforts gradually but surely until I get it open. I might also try slipping a screwdriver in beside the button and prying it off. Boxes instantaneously materializing in front of me are a lot more interesting than countdowns or buttons, and I want to figure out how it works. I don’t interpret “popped up” the way you do. I don’t think of spontaneous materialization, just something up from out of the desk I was sitting in front of while reading the post. Hence, it means someone got into my house and rigged up some contraption inside my house. If it just materializes, then I assume I’m going crazy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/57 "2018-04-21T00:50:01Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > No, no, no, no, no! Not the WED one! Don’t EVER push the WED one! Well, only if you live in a tsunami zone… ---
**Author:** ![Sveltington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@Sveltington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sveltington)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/58 "2018-04-21T02:34:42Z")
No, because it is a female voice. Who takes broads seriously?😃 ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/59 "2018-04-22T07:21:11Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > [”It always stops at ‘1’ on the show.”](https://youtu.be/kUydYZSdCGQ) > > Stranger Came here to post this. Galaxy Quest - under-rated as a movie. Voted no. Why bother. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726/60 "2018-04-22T11:32:08Z")
I would switch my phone to camera mode, take a video of a part of the countdown, and then post it to Facebook. Isn’t that the normal reaction? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-push-the-red-button/812726.md?page=4)