S01 E09 Looking Out For Number 1

 Two of the greatest challenges in war are (1) getting your weapon to hit what you are aiming at, and (2) destroying what you hit. 

Over time, great improvements have been made in the boom part. Well tested and proven explosives, fuses, and triggers have made assuring the ‘bang’ part of a weapon is quite predictable. Thus, if you could put the bomb somewhere close, there was a good chance the target was destroyed. 

Refining the accuracy part – hitting what you are aiming at - has been an interesting, and in some ways, a more challenging progression.

So, some brilliant folks had a few ideas to more precisely put the explosives where they needed to be. There were competing ideas. One was to employ advancing technology like radar, and later-on GPS and lasers. A competing concept was using tested and proven biological technology trained to zero in on the target. That is to say, installing, or integrating, a ‘lab rat’ (or something like it) into the weapon that was trained to ‘fly’ the payload directly into the target - or in this case a pigeon.

https://cyberneticzoo.com/bionics/1940-project-pigeon-1948-project-orcon-b-f-skinner-american/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon
https://www.military-history.org/feature/pigeon-guided-missiles.htm
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_690069
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/bf-skinners-pigeon-guided-rocket-53443995/ 

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 In 1943, the Nazi’s had taken brutal control of Rome, Italy – as a result of the fall of Mussolini earlier in the summer. And the Nazi’s were systematically emptying the Jewish ghetto’s, and shipping the former residents in railroad box cars to concentration camps and their deaths.

Somehow, a few slipped away, and took refuge in Fatebenefratelli Hospital, on a tiny island in the middle of Romes Tiber river – situated just across from one of the Jewish Ghettos. And at the hospital, these refugees were fortunate to find a few allies. Allies with courage – advocates that at the risk of their own lives, and the lives of their own families - were willing to help.

But, how could all these people, moving through the hospital over about a year, be kept from the prying eyes, and probing questions of the Nazi’s? 

Well, an ingeniously whacky plan was quickly hatched. The physicians uncovered– or invented - a rare, malignant, contagious, disfiguring, painful, and torturous malady. A new one. One that wasn’t yet in the medical books. It was called Syndrome K. 

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/to-save-jews-and-keep-nazis-away-these-doctors-invented-a-fake-infectious-disease/ 

https://qz.com/724169/an-italian-doctor-explains-syndrome-k-the-fake-disease-he-invented-to-save-jews-from-the-nazis 

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 Things Change - 
The past is full of Surprises -
And the future will be too...

For Example: In the past, the barber shop was the place where there was always someone with some high quality and sharp instruments and good, steady hands. (Still is)
But not so long ago at the barber shop, you could be a spectator to a tooth extraction –
Minor surgeries –
And if you were really lucky, maybe even an amputation!
There wasn’t much else going on, so yes – this kind of stuff drew a crowd of onlookers.
No kidding – if things had gone just a bit differently it would be your barber doing your appendectomy, removing your tonsils, heck maybe some open heart or a little cosmetic surgery! 

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A uniuqe story of a character you ought to know, but you probably don't. THere is a twist to this story that will suprize you.

Khutulun, a remarkable Mongolian warrior, horseman, and undefeated wrestler, was a great-grandchild of Genghis Khan. Born to Kaidu Khan, a descendant of the third son of Genghis 

Khutulun, born sometime around 1260 AD. And raised with 14 brothers. When they were young, they spent their time riding, perfecting their skills with the bow, fighting, and learning the art of battle. And as a part of that, Khutulun became a highly proficient wrestler in the traditional Mongol style. 

Also See  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khutulun 

https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/wrestling/article/3100842/forget-mulan-meet-khutulun-mongolias-undefeated 

https://historynavigator.org/2017/12/01/the-undefeated-khutulun/ 

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 Did you know that every British tank, from WW2 on, has a tea kettle in it? 

The British and their tea have a powerful relationship. It is part of a well-known and celebrated cultural institution. The Brits discovered tea hundreds of years ago, during the early 1600s, in China. And – over the centuries - for many, it has become a defining element of being British. And this tradition is one they have shared worldwide.

Afternoon tea was customarily accompanied by polite and positive conversation. It happened regardless of the circumstances or the people you were with. Conflict, worry, and insult were simply not proper. One might be in battle or at home in the lap of luxury. With friends and family, strangers, or even enemies. When it is time for tea, you take time - and brew some tea. 

A requisite part of British identity and tradition around it is empire was Tea - even a part of its armed conflicts. So much so, that British tanks are designed and fitted with a kettle in the crew compartment. 

 Well, they do. And there is a reason – so let’s explore a little – 

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In 1998 a discovery of over 1200 bones and fragments in a 3-foot by 3-foot basement room. The bones were discovered during a renovation of the home by a workman – who noticed a thighbone sticking up out of the ground. Their location: 36 Craven Street, London. A home in which Benjamin Franklin boarded for several years prior to the American Revolution. At that time the home belonged to Margaret Stevenson and her daughter Polly. 

The police became involved as a matter of policy. And the authorities dated this rather large cache of remains to be a bit over two hundred years old - from the time Franklin was living in the home. 

It was determined that the bone pile found in Ben Franklin’s residence belonged to at least 28 individuals, 6 of whom were children, and 43 various animals. Could it be that Ben Franklin - this American founding father – was a serial killer? …. If he was, he worked at a scale that would have made Jack the ripper envious. 

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 Cats have a strong presence in human society and in our history. The Cat held a sacred place with the Pharaohs in Egyptian history. The pagans also looked upon the cat with great respect.

But there was a time in history when that balance between humans and felines was destabilized – and it didn’t go well for the humans.
In one interpretation of events, beginning in the early 1200s, the cat found itself on the wrong side of Pope Gregory the 9th. He had a real problem with felines. Most especially black ones. The Pope published an edict declaring that cats were bad. So bad that they carried with them the spirit of the Devil with them – and they could not be trusted.

Many of the folks got pretty committed to the ‘kill the evil cat’ cause.
Problem is, in the real world, when you kill the predator, the natural result is that the prey explodes in population. In this case the prey whose life expectancy and numbers dramatically increased were mice, and rats … who carry fleas, that also carry the plague. 

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 What happened? How did Brailsford turn things around for the British Cycling Team such that a very marginal group of blokes on bikes progressed to true and legitimate competitors. And then to the topping of the cycling throne? In a word – he didn’t do much. 

 

https://hbr.org/2015/10/how-1-performance-improvements-led-to-olympic-gold 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/oct/20/marginal-gains-tarnished-bradley-wiggins-dave-brailsford 

https://www.limelight.consulting/hub/articles/principle-of-marginal-gains-coach-improves-everything-by-one-percent 

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/23/how-to-be-mentally-tough-use-the-1percent-marginal-gains-rule-says-performance-expert.html 

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It was Sunday night, October 30th, 1938, when we first learned that aliens had invaded at Grover's Mill in New Jersey. This report came over the radio airwaves on the CBS Mercury Radio Theater on the Air. 

According to the news dispatches aired, local law enforcement was informed, and curious folks had come to look. The local radio station arrived with a reporter who was able to report live from the scene to describe everything. The first alien spacecraft crashed into the surface of the earth, and for a time it sat quiet. 

It was just a curiosity, until the aliens emerged to wreak havoc on the peaceful citizens. In their advance the aliens left nothing alive, and nothing but a barren smoldering wasteland in their wake. 

Then 60 minutes after it began, the radio play, The War of the Worlds ended, as the invading Martians were rapidly killed off by a simple virus, they had no defense for – and the earth was safe again. 

 The next morning, the Newspapers were filled with reports of mass panic and nationwide hysteria by those who caught the radio program the night before. 

But did it?

Also See:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/madisonmcgee/people-are-sharing-the-wildest-historical-events-that-are    -    item 7

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/infamous-war-worlds-radio-broadcast-was-magnificent-fluke-180955180/

https://youtu.be/Xs0K4ApWl4g?si=YgGS1lG85YgBt-LB

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2013/threatened-by-radio-newspapers-exaggerated-war-of-the-worlds-panic/

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What do you think? If you put a five-foot nothin’, less than 100 lb. woman armed with only her bare hands, up against a full-grown, 700 pound hungry polar bear, who would win the fight? 

If one were to match any human up against a polar bear, the human would have little to no chance of surviving. Unless the human has a high-powered rifle, a sufficient amount of ammo, and can hit what they are aiming at. 

It did not turn out as expected when one polar bear made a bad choice and skulked into a little village in the northernmost region of North America. It was looking for a snack, maybe? Then, It began sizing up a 7-year-old boy. But when the 7-year-old's mom noticed the bear - and it was on. 

 

https://www.espn.com/outdoors/general/news/story?id=2338668 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/mother-fights-off-polar-bear-to-save-children-1.625164 

https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/polar_bear_no_match_for_fearsome_mother_in_ivujivik1/ 

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