The Doomsday Clock has moved backward and forward 23 times, with Thursday’s movement making it the ... [+] 24th. In 2018, the clock was set two minutes from midnight, tying with 1953 for being the closest to the stroke of 12 in its history. That’s the furthest the Doomsday Clock has been from midnight, which the Bulletin set back in 1991. Key background: The Doomsday Clock originated with the scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, a U.S. initiative to develop nuclear weapons. After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings during World War II, the scientists began publishing a newsletter that depicted the Doomsday Clock on its cover.

Source: Forbes January 23, 2020 15:24 UTC