Barb blusters and fails

Heh, I thought I might tell my favorite Civ2 story. I had just picked out a place for a new city, but there was a Barbarian up a river five hexes. I figured what the heck and Founded my new city. Sure enough, the Chief of the Bulgars came rushing down to deliver his standard speech. I picked "Do your worst!" and waited to see what happened. Sure enough,he didn't make his roll to enter my city, and I blasted him the next turn, when my Mech Infantry was built. . This really tickled me

Often barbs will not attack a city if it is not defended by anything.
Even a caravan or an explorer qualifies as "something", but an otherwise empty city will be "spared" until there's something to "destroy"