Rocket Cats of the 16th Century

[bobbymike]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2014/03/07/rocket-cats-from-the-16th-century-unearthed-in-manuscript/

Rumor has it OBB is trying to perfect this technology

 

[Orionblamblam]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2014/03/07/rocket-cats-from-the-16th-century-unearthed-in-manuscript/

Rumor has it OBB is trying to perfect this technology

Not a chance in hell I'd turn cats into bombs. Hippies, though...

In any event, this is old news; I posted about it 14 months ago. Why has it become news *now?*

http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=18428

 

[Justo Miranda]

Burning tails !

 

[bobbymike]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2014/03/07/rocket-cats-from-the-16th-century-unearthed-in-manuscript/

Rumor has it OBB is trying to perfect this technology

Not a chance in hell I'd turn cats into bombs. Hippies, though...

In any event, this is old news; I posted about it 14 months ago. Why has it become news *now?*

http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=18428

Just meant the rocket part not the bomb part. Sorry about the old news post just read it today Wash Post a little behind.

 

[Orionblamblam]

Wash Post a little behind.

I've seen it pop up a few places in the past 24 hours or so. But then I saw it pop up a number of places early last year, too.

In any event, off the top of my head the only weaponized animals that spring immediately to mind are dogs (Russian anti-tank dog bombs), bats (the bat-bomb) and human idiots. These worked, more or less, because dogs can be trained, bats operate predictably and idiots are plentiful and expendable. But a bomb equipped cat seems like an exercise in futility: whatever it is you want the cat to do... it ain't gonna do that.

 

[Arjen]

I have found cats to be adept at making me do what they want.

 

[Sea Skimmer]

Its making the rounds again now because the guy who found it finally got someone to translate the full manuscript and announced this last week, at least in our local Phily papers which ran short blurbs. Since then it seems to have been picked up by national and international sources that maybe never saw the original report, or you know, slow news day and CATS! Local articles made note of this being an old find, but just with more information now.


Turns out they are not rocket powered cats, but rather the entire thing is about how one might burn down a besieged city by taking advantage of the many feral animal that cross over the castle walls by night and day. Cats and birds mainly. The flames aren't rockets but long burning incendiarybombs.

 

[Orionblamblam]

The flames aren't rockets but long burning incendiarybombs.

Makes a hell of a lot more sense than rocket-boosted birds.

 

[mithril]

"So now Harald thought up a scheme: he told his bird–catchers to catch the small birds that nested within the town and flew out to the woods each day in search of food. Harald had small shavings of fir tied to the backs of the birds, and then he smeared the shavings with wax and sulphur and set fire to them. As soon as the birds were released they all flew straight home to their young in their nests in the town; the nests were under the eaves of the roofs, which were thatched with reeds or straw. The thatched roofs caught fire from the birds, and although each bird could only carry a tiny flame, it quickly became a great fire; a host of birds set roofs alight all over the town. One house after another caught fire, and soon the whole town was ablaze." - chapter 6 of Snorri Sturlson's "King Harald's Saga"