Risking imprisonment, torture and death, Klaus-Günter Jacobi modified a BMW Isetta to help his friend escape the oppression of East Germany in 1963. Nine others were able to escape using the same method.
[Escaping East Berlin in a 1961 BMW Isetta [via]. Short vid here.]
Child’s Own is a company that takes children’s pictures and turns them into stuffed animals things. Unfortunately, it’s too late to order for this Christmas, but it’s still a cool idea.
[Click on any image below for larger examples of awesome.]
[Found here.]
Doggie Duty [language warning].
The Laughing Policeman (Charles Penrose,1922).
This kind of crap should disgust you. More on the story here, and this is a great response.
She thought she was going to win.
From the This Kinda Creeps Me Out Department:
Never heard the term “spatchcocking” before. (It’s a gerund or present participle.)
Forget “Global Warming.” Forget “Climate Change.” Get ready for “Global Meltdown” and “Climate Collapse.” We’re dooooomed.
I rolled my eyes when I read the original story, but this commentary is funny. [NSFW, NSFK]
From the This Is Very Cool Department BUT:
During the U.S. campaign against al Qaida terrorists in Afghanistan, the U.S. government offered hefty bounties for al Qaida, Taliban, and other insurgent leaders. These bounties were highly publicized although rarely collected.
U.S. Central Command decided to toy with the terrorist commanders: Military and intelligence analysts drew up a list of high-value targets, followed by a public announcement that the bounty on a particular terrorist leader had been slashed Word was whispered in the local markets that the man wasn’t worth the higher reward because he had been injured or been deemed incompetent.
According to Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker of The New York Times, the “less-valuable leader” then wanted “to prove he was still important and worthy of the higher bounty. Even senior members of al Qaida’s global network had been suckered by the ruse and were picked up after they made themselves visible not long after the bounty on their heads was reduced.”
Norman Polmar, “To Understand Russian Submarines, Think Outside The Box” USNI Proceedings, October 2019. http://www.usni.org
So why did the NYT expose a military PsyOps tactic, how did they find out about it, and why did USNI decide to echo it?
From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.
(The one from 2009 had some funny in the comments.)
Title above is a reference to this (as if you didn’t know).
Here’s Earl Hooker’s guitar with Earl Hooker [1930-1970].
Here’s Earl Hooker’s guitar being ripped to shreds by Magic Sam Maghett (1937-1969). I think the song is also named Looking Good.
Here’s Joanna Connor’s guitar, played by Joanna Connor, playing Magic Sam playing Earl Hooker’s guitar.
Killer stuff, that. Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here tomorrow for more stuffing and gravy.
[Found here.]
[Found here.]
[Found here.]
[The] catapult was installed on board the U.S.S. North Carolina during the late summer of 1915. The first test was made with a plane which carried no pilot, with the controls lashed in flying position. The experiment was successful so far as the catapult was concerned, although the plane stalled at the end of the track and spun into the water. This was sufficient proof for Lieutenant Commander Mustin, commandant of the station, and he ordered the second plane aboard to be prepared for a catapult shot. Climbing in and warming up the engine he flew the first plane off a catapult mounted on a ship. After several live shots, the next attempt was to catapult a plane while the ship was definitely under way. Lieutenant A. A. Cunningham, U.S. Marine Corps, was selected for this experiment. This shot, however, failed and the plane struck the water with one wing and turned over. Fortunately, the pilot swam out from under and was picked up by a boat.
THIS.
Whatever it is, I’m against it.
The first Elvis impersonator was female?
Greta Thunberg, Time Traveler.
One college football game impacted “the survival of the human race.“
Mark Levin‘s book “UNFREEDOM OF THE PRESS” is worth a read no matter which political aisle your assigned seat is on.
USNI’s PROCEEDINGS asked readers, “What is the most realistic submarine movie ever made?” The German version of Das Boot topped the list.
From the Archives: 1 year ago. 5 years ago. 10 years ago.
A Humble Request. Updated: More surgery scheduled.
[Top image found here. For bonus points, name the city in the reflection.]
