In a post on Reddit, one person said they had recently learned what ‘the biscuit’ means and why the president should always ‘carry it’ with them at all times.
A US military aide carrying ‘the Football’ in 2001 (Greg Mathieson/Mai/Getty Images)
According to reports, there are two different sets of codes needed to launch nuclear weapons in the US.
One set apparently allows the president to authorise such an attack, while the others actually launch and fire the weapons.
According to Live Science, something called the ‘Gold Codes’ identifies the president and their authority to sanction the release of nuclear weapons.
Codes are printed on something called the Biscuit, which is essentially a small piece of plastic.
Adding another code word into the mix, the Biscuit is part of something called the Football, which is essentially a briefcase that must be in the vicinity of the president.
So what happens if the president ever found themselves without the biscuit?
Well, in this case – and if there was a nuclear emergency – the vice president would take responsibility.
According to The Atlantic, the VP has a back-up Football for these kinds of situations.
It’s also reported that the Gold Codes change when different presidents come into power.
Sharing some information about this on Reddit, one person explained they’d only just learned about how the Biscuit works.
They wrote: “TIL The codes which allow the President of the U.S. to authorize a nuclear attack are printed on a plastic card nicknamed ‘the biscuit.’
“The president is supposed to carry the biscuit at all times.”
Other people were shocked, having only just realised this themselves.
One person wrote: “It’s a very complicated process with multiple steps that is supposed to be executed in a very short amount of time. There’s a guy carrying the ‘nuclear football’ a case necessary to start the process within a short distance of the president.”
While another said: “Why not simply memorize it?”
Others said they were surprised that the president would need to have it on them at all times.
Kamala Harris is running for the Democratic party (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The US presidential election is just a couple of months away, with Kamala Harris taking on Donald Trump as the Democratic Party’s nominee.
In July, President Joe Biden announced his decision to step down from the 2024 presidential race.
The US election will be held on 5 November.
