Brian Basset editorial cartoon, 1985

Just before new year 1985, a Soviet target missile accidentally crossed the border and fell into a lake in the Finnish Lapland. At first, it was all hushed up, but in January 1985 it broke out as a big international news story, with lots of speculation about whether it had been an actual cruise missile that went out of control. Eventually, the public attention forced the Soviet Union to admit what had happened - and to apologize, which was totally unprecedented in their international affairs.