Tank Pigeons

Tanks were first used in combat during World War I, but they often relied on a very old-fashioned form of communication: pigeons.

From military-history.org:

A pigeon about to be thrown from a tank during World War I

Posted By: Alex - Sun May 01, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Military, War, 1910s

Ideal Fighter Jet Toy

Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 26, 2022 - Comments (2)
Category: Toys, War, Weapons, 1950s

Recipes for the fallout shelter housewife

Marie Adams, food editor of the Charlotte News, felt that nuclear war shouldn't stop a "fallout shelter housewife" from providing her family with tasty meals and "appetizing snacks". In a 1961 column (Sep 7, 1961) she offered suggestions for fallout shelter meals that included deviled ham and parsley dip served with tomato juice, swedish fruit soup with cheeses, and vichyssoise with crackers.









A response from a reader of the Charlotte News:

Charlotte News - Sep 11, 1961

Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 22, 2022 - Comments (3)
Category: Food, War, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1960s

Obscene Chinese Money

The portrait of Confucius is expressing his opinion with his fingers of the occupying Japanese army.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 16, 2022 - Comments (0)
Category: Innuendo, Double Entendres, Symbolism, Nudge-Nudge-Wink-Wink and Subliminal Messages, Money, War, 1930s, Asia

Bicycles in War

I had heard about Vietnamese soldiers using bicycles to transport supplies along the Ho Chi Minh trail, but other than that I was completely unaware of the role that bicycles have played in the history of war. Martin Caidin's book tells the story. You can read it at archive.org.

Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 16, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Bicycles and Other Human-powered Vehicles, War

The Blonde Brigade

Apr 1938: Actress Jean Colwell came up with a sure-fire way to end all wars. Her idea was that if a group of beautiful, blonde women stood in between the two opposing armies, in the "no man's land," then the soldiers on each side would refuse to attack because "No soldier will shoot at a good-looking blonde." Peace would be achieved!

To make her vision a reality, Colwell placed an ad in a New York newspaper:


The response was enthusiastic, and within a month she had enough volunteers to form a "blonde brigade," all wiling to risk their lives for peace.

Wisconsin State Journal - Mar 29, 1938

Los Angeles Times - Apr 27, 1938

Owensboro Messenger - Apr 2, 1938

Women of other hair colors didn't want to be left out. So there was soon also a "red-headed regiment" and a "brunette battalion."

San Bernardino County Sun - Apr 30, 1938

Of course, none of these women were ever shipped to the front line to serve as a human shield. Colwell herself spent the war in Forth Worth, Texas performing in plays. After the war she moved to Japan as a civil service worker. When she died in 1986, she was back in Fort Worth. I haven't found any info on what she did between 1946 and 1986.

Posted By: Alex - Sun Nov 14, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: War, 1930s, Women, Hair and Hairstyling

The Deadly Tombstone of John Rogers Vinton

From his Find-a-Grave site:

After some time spent at Monterey and Saltillo, He was then ordered to join Gen. Scott in the attack on Vera Cruz. In the evening of 22 Mar 1847, he had just returned to his post when a large shell, hit the top of a parapet, glanced and struck his head, fracturing his skull, and killing him instantly. The shell did not burst, and it is supposedly that very cannon ball, that now adorns his grave.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 05, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Death, Regionalism, War, Cemeteries, Graveyards, Crypts, Mortuaries and Other Funereal Pursuits, Nineteenth Century

Square-Wheeled Tank

In 1957, Albert Sfredda secured a patent (No. 2,786,540) for a square-wheeled tank. He explained:




Sfredda was correct that square wheels would provide better traction on rough terrain than circular wheels would. The video below explains why. But the problem, of course, was that his tank would have difficulty moving on a regular, flat road.



Along similar lines, Macalester College has had a square-wheeled bicycle on permanent display since 1997. More info: macalester.edu

image source: StanWagon.com

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 21, 2021 - Comments (2)
Category: Motor Vehicles, War, Weapons, Patents, 1950s

Manicure with gas masks

Even in the middle of a gas attack, nails still need to be manicured.

Honolulu Advertiser - Nov 13, 1938

Compare this to the gas mask for typists we posted about a few months ago. Also the gas-proof pram. And the London chorus girl with gas mask. It was all part of the effort to reassure the public, during the 1930s, that poison gas attacks wouldn't interrupt everyday life.

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 07, 2021 - Comments (0)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, War, 1930s

Atomic Survival Jacket

Source

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jun 17, 2021 - Comments (4)
Category: Death, Inventions, War, Atomic Power and Other Nuclear Matters, 1950s