In a scene that could have been ripped out of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a historic floor globe used by General Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II was broken when Pentagon staff tried to move it, according to The Washington Post.
As reported by the paper, the globe caught the eye of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who ordered for it to be moved into his office to ogle on his own.
“Ordinarily, moving historical items within the building is a deliberate process overseen by trained curators,” the Post reported. “Instead, Hegseth’s staff dispatched its own team to relocate an Eisenhower globe. They lost control of the artifact and dropped it, sending the globe crashing onto its base and impaling the fragile shell near Antarctica, according to those familiar with the incident. The resulting gash appears to be several inches wide.”
The Pentagon did not provide access to the globe, but the Post obtained photographs that show extensive damage to the treasure that dates back to the 1930s. In addition to the hole in the would-be planet’s crust, Pentagon spokesman Christopher Surridge told the Post that “the spherical portion of the globe was detached from the metal mounting that allows it to rotate.”
After publication of the report this morning, the Defense Department provided an unattributed statement related to the globe. As the Post recounted: “‘Accidents happen,’ it says, ‘we are grateful no one was harmed, and the globe is being repaired.’ The statement does not say how much the repairs are expected to cost and when they would be complete.”