I'm really glad that countries with nuclear weapons have control systems and button covers so no one can lean into pushing a button by mistake and setting off a nuclear strike.  I never really thought about it, but seen covers over buttons in movies that in order to get to the button you need key codes and credentials. 

At home, I'd really like a button cover over my refrigerator controls that sit at the panel that dispense ice and water.  All it takes is a slight bump into the seamless flat button panel and voila, you've pressed a button in error and just put your fridge in vacation mode.

A history in the anxiety of the engineered button:

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/of-war-and-electric-death-a-brief-history-of-push-button-anxiety?utm_source=pocket-newtab

We have a few rocker switches in our home.   I had to look up DIP switches.   I'm sure you have experienced just about every electrical repair challenge but how great it is to be an expert in the field.

Good point on nuclear weapons and nuclear facilities that beyond protecting the switches, it's the software that's very concerning because of hackers and perhaps component failure.  A failure in a switch or failed component is what plays on my mind like if I'm flying in an airplane.

AI, another good point.  Thinking of Skynet at the moment with everything I'm reading about what AI is saying that they would rule the world better then humans etc.  Good grief!!

Mark Ransome said: Back in 1993 I got my UK Private Pilots Licence, the aircraft I'm qualified to fly is only a single engine two seater, but none of the switches in the cockpit have covers or guards and all of the controls are mechanically connected. If I took a passenger up it was up to me to warn them "Please don't touch anything!".

Nowadays though, nearly all commercial airliners and military aircraft are "Fly by wire." which means nearly all of the switches and controls in the cockpit, whether covered or not, are simply connected to a computer and the computer then does the controlling, granted for safety reasons they also have two computer systems in case one goes down, but if both go down, well, that's more or less it. If you imagine flying a radio controlled aircraft and the batteries fail in your controller mid flight! Ooops!!

Oh WOW!! Great picture!! How cool that you have a private pilots license. I always thought I needed to know how to fly in case of Armageddon....lol.

VERY interesting how flying planes used to be with switches compared to now and the computer that control the aircraft. I didn't know that and I'd feel much better if there were still covers on the important buttons...lol. I don't think I'd like it if the batteries failed in the controllers in mid-air.....no way! I'm not much of an experienced flyer so I wouldn't like that at all.

Well, no matter what I did to fix the formatting above it didn't fix.....

Personally, I would feel so much better knowing that important buttons are covered in aircraft, and any major mechanically operating apparatus.

When small electronics fail, it's always a surprise, but then on that large scale when there's big mechanical failures or man made error, like the buttons weren't covered and the guy spilled his coffee on the computer,  that's the scary thing.

Oh my.... you gave me a complete vision of WW3 being started by spilled coffee