Military
Psychological warfare in Vietnam
February 1966: Congressman Craig Hosmer unveiled his strange plan for victory in Vietnam. He suggested air-dropping playing cards, plastic cutouts of women and dogs, and owl hoots onto the Vietcong. His idea was that these would trigger the superstitious nature of the Vietnamese and cause them to surrender — with no shots fired.Some of his suggestions may actually have been done. I’m not sure.
Hosmer also suggested dropping yellow dye on the Vietcong “to identify them upon infiltration into South Vietnam.” He noted, “Dyeing the Vietcong could, in the end, prove more effective than killing them.”
Sydney Morning Herald - Feb 7, 1966
Craig Hosmer (Esquire - Jan 1967)
Arizona Republic - Feb 9, 1966
Posted By: Alex - Sun Mar 10, 2019 -
Comments (1)
Category: Military, War, 1960s
The Stay-Alert Game
Briefly experimented with in 1969 as a way to motivate U.S. troops in Vietnam to stay alert, fight better, and avoid casualties. The idea was that combat would be turned into a game. Each platoon was awarded points for enemy troops killed, weapons captured, and rice caches discovered. But they lost points if they suffered any battle casualties. The winning platoon would receive two or three days off at a rest center.Troops hated the stay-alert game, so it was quickly mothballed.
Appleton Post-Crescent - May 5, 1969
Posted By: Alex - Mon Sep 17, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Games, Military, War, Armed Forces, 1960s
Miss National Defense
I can't find any evidence that this contest occurred in any year other than 1941.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Sep 09, 2018 -
Comments (0)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Military, 1940s
Sound Effects—U.S. Air Force Firepower
A 1962 release that included tracks such as:• Sonic Boom: F-104 "Starfighter"
• F-100's Fire Mixed Loads Of Rockets At Ground Targets
• Mass Napalm Attack By F-100's (Ground Bursts)
• Nuclear Bomb Explosion, Yucca Flat, Nevada
• 20 MM Vulcan "Gatling Gun" Type Aircraft Cannon
You can peruse the full list of tracks at discogs.com.
The Akron Beacon Journal - Oct 4, 1962
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jul 23, 2018 -
Comments (4)
Category: Military, 1960s, Cacophony, Dissonance, White Noise and Other Sonic Assaults
Ronald’s no protester
But I wonder how Ronald ever got targeted by the selective service system if he hadn't registered yet.
Press and Sun Bulletin - Mar 13, 1968
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 15, 2018 -
Comments (3)
Category: Military, War, 1960s
Operation Fragrant Cow
Back in the 60s, the U.S. Army employed scientists to sneak into Omaha stockyards and spray cows with deodorant. The logic behind this was to test how easy it would be for Soviet agents to spread hoof-and-mouth disease among American cows.Unfortunately, I can't find any more info about this operation, which is a shame because it raises so many questions. For instance, the important part of the operation must have been to see how easily they could gain access to the stockyards. So then, why bother to deodorize the cows? Was it just to add a touch of realism? Why not spray them with paint so that they could later count the "infected" ones?
Southern Illinoisan - Aug 5, 1994
Posted By: Alex - Sun Apr 09, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Military, Science, Cows, 1960s
Polar Do’s and Don’t's
From the U.S. Navy's Polar Manual (4th ed., 1965):The whole list is pretty interesting and worth a read. You can download the entire manual from the Defense Technical Information Center (PDF - 33 MB).
Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 15, 2017 -
Comments (5)
Category: Military, Body Fluids
Non-Terrifying Gas Mask
1941: Charles Leguillon, a manager at the B.F. Goodrich Co., invented a "non-terrifying gas mask" that a pretty girl could wear "and remain a pretty girl and not become a gargoyle."The media proclaimed that for this he deserved "female thanks," because of course all women want to continue looking their best, even during chemical warfare.
But was the new gas mask actually non-terrifying? I'll let you be the judge.
American Legion Magazine - Aug 1941
The Akron Beacon Journal - June 11, 1941
Posted By: Alex - Mon Jan 09, 2017 -
Comments (2)
Category: Costumes and Masks, Military, 1940s
Falsified Soviet Maps
Original article here.
Additional essay here.
More wide-ranging essay on Soviet maps here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 17, 2016 -
Comments (0)
Category: Confusion, Misunderstanding, and Incomprehension, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Imitations, Forgeries, Rip-offs and Faux, Military, 1980s, Russia
Sighted Stiff, Sank Same
Original article here.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 16, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Death, Kludges, Hacks and Duct-tape Repairs, Military, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1980s
| Who We Are |
|---|
| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |