STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

[Fuzz]

1 hour ago, MIKA27 said:

Boba Fett's Solo Movie Is Moving Forward With The Director Of Logan

 

Let's just hope he no longer has that NZ accent.

[MIKA27]

THE MACALLAN DISTILLERY

The Macallan has been making Scotch whisky on the same Easter Elchies estate since 1824. Its new distillery won't change that, but it's a far cry from its humble beginnings. Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, the $186 million facility is incredibly high-tech, with a green roof, energy needs that are met by 95% sustainable sources, and the most complicated timber roof structure in the world, with more than 380,000 elements. The new stills, the largest copper order ever for the industry, are perfect replicas of the originals, making it impossible to discern whether a whisky was distilled at the new facility or the old. Should you visit, you'll certainly have the chance to try: the bar will stock a staggering 952 different expressions, and even the standard tour includes four drams to sample.

[MIKA27]

2 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

Let's just hope he no longer has that NZ accent.

My thoughts exactly as otherwise, I'd hate it. 

[Fuzz]

7 minutes ago, MIKA27 said:

New York City in 12K

We remember attending the Consumer Electronics Show not too many years ago when 4K was all the buzz. You couldn’t turn around without seeing a new television or computer monitor with a giant “4K” sticker on it. Now, here we are, some four years later, and we’re scrolling through YouTube only to find the video above. It’s New York City in… wait for it… 12K! While we urge you to watch it on the newest, nicest monitor you have, you really just need to watch it. It’s stunning. 

Hang on, what's the point? If it was filmed in 12K and the best TV on the market is 4K, you still won't see the difference, if they just filmed it in 4K. You can't display something in a higher quality than the device that will be reproducing the image.

[LLC]

Hang on, what's the point? If it was filmed in 12K and the best TV on the market is 4K, you still won't see the difference, if they just filmed it in 4K. You can't display something in a higher quality than the device that will be reproducing the image.

There is 8K available now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fuzz]

2 hours ago, LLC said:

 

There is 8K available now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok, but it still wouldn't make a difference here.

[LLC]

Ok, but it still wouldn't make a difference here.

Agree but it would be impressive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MIKA27]

Lava From Kilauea Volcano Reaches Well At Geothermal Power Plant

Lava from Hawaii's erupting Kilauea volcano has reached the Puna Geothermal Venture plant, covering a well and threatening another. At the same time, fast-moving lava flows are now threatening nearby communities, prompting new evacuations.

"Lava flow from Fissures 7 and 21 crossed into PGV [Puna Geothermal Venture] property overnight and has now covered one well that was successfully plugged," declared the Hawaii Civil Defence Agency in a statement released on Sunday, May 27 at 6:00PM local time. "That well, along with a second well 100 feet [30m] away, are stable and secured, and are being monitored. Also due to preventative measures, neither well is expected to release any hydrogen sulfide."

Those preventive measures included a complete shutdown of the geothermal plant, the capping of all 11 wells, and the removal of some 227,125l of flammable liquid.

Those precautions aside, this is the first time in history - as far as we know - that lava has ever engulfed a geothermal power plant, so it's all uncharted territory. There's fear that a rupture of the wells could set off an explosion, releasing hydrogen sulfide and other dangerous gasses into the environment. As of writing, the lava flows on the PGV grounds have stopped moving.

Residents have been worrying about such a scenario since the plant went online nearly three decades ago. Over the years, PGV owners have faced lawsuits questioning its decision to place the plant so close to one of the world's most active volcanoes, as Reuters reports. The 38-megawatt PGV facility provides about 25 per cent of power to the Big Island.

Fissure 7 on Sunday May 27.

Meanwhile, sections of the nearby Leilani Estates community had to be evacuated owing to fast-moving lava from Fissure 7, one of 24 cracks that have opened up since the eruptions began on May 3.

At 7:00PM local time yesterday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued a statement warning that "a large perched lava pond created by lava flow from Fissure 7 breached, creating a fast-moving lava flow that ran down Leilani Avenue and Luana Street in Leilani Estates."

The same fissure is spewing lava at heights reaching 45 to 60m, and generating a spatter rampart that's now 30m tall. Residents were told to expect power and water interruptions, and that they should be prepared to evacuate with little or no notice.

For some, that notice came a mere 45 minutes later, with the USGS declaring at 7:45PM, "Leilani Estates residents on Nohea St and Luana St between Leilani Ave and Kahukai, and Kupono Street between Malama Street and Leilani Avenue need to evacuate immediately due to a fast-moving lava flow from Fissure 7." Fleeing residents were told to seek shelter at nearby community centres.

The USGS is also warning of new ground cracking, and possible new outbreaks of lava flows. An evacuation plan is currently in place should Highway 130 be covered in lava, a development that would sever the community from the rest of the Big Island. US Marine Corps stationed at a base near Honolulu have a pair of CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters ready should this happen.

Aerial view of Kīlauea Volcano's summit.

The crater at Kilauea is continuing to erupt sporadically, spewing ash into the air. On Sunday, the volcano produced an ash column that reached 3km high. "Additional explosive events that could produce minor amounts of ashfall downwind are possible at any time," wrote the USGS. "Volcanic gas emissions at the summit remain high."

Adding insult to injury, the Pacific Trade Winds are expected to diminish today, expanding the area impacted by vog - a noxious haze comprised of sulphur dioxide and other volcanic gases.

Another day, another batch of headaches. Hopefully, this will all end soon.

[MIKA27]

The Valkyrie Of The Motorcar Survived The Race Of Death, A Sunken Ship And An Assassination Attempt

What do you do when your husband dies, leaving you a widow at age 27? Do you go racing, compete in motor boating, travel around the world, become a published author, and get involved in a scandal over a nude photograph? If you're Camille du Gast, you'll be doing all of those and still find time to go ballooning, become a concert pianist, and become the only woman in the Automobile Club de France.

Du Gast was born in Paris in 1868. Not much is known about her early life until she married Jules Crespin, a manager and majority shareholder of one of the largest department stores in France, in 1890. The marriage didn't last particularly long, though; Crespin died a mere six years later, leaving du Gast as a wealthy widow with a young daughter and a taste for adventure.

While her husband was still alive, du Gast got her first taste of adventure. The couple were avid hot air balloonists, but Camille took it a step farther. In 1895, she jumped from one of the balloons from over six hundred metres in the air. Because it was one of the balloons they used to advertise Crespin's department store, Crespin made du Gast perform her stunts under her maiden name to avoid it looking too much like a publicity stunt. Which, honestly, it kind of was.

It became the name she was known for, though. In 1900, she fell so head-over-heels in love with racing after watching the start of the Gordon Bennett Cup race that she went out and bought a Peugeot and a Panhard et Levassor the next year, became the second woman to get her driver's licence, and entered into the Paris-Berlin race.

She was one of two women entered in that race, the other being fellow Frenchwoman Baroness Hélène van Zuylen, who had already competed in a race in 1898. A race of that length was run in three legs: from Paris to Aachen, Aachen to Hanover, and Hanover to Berlin. Back then, the concept of a race track hadn't yet taken hold, so races were generally run as endurance races over long distances.

According to Fast Ladies, du Gast entered in her severely underpowered Panhard and started dead last of 122 entrants because it wasn't designed for racing. Despite that, the 20 hp machine powered her to take 33rd place overall (and 19th in the heavy class) with a time of 25 hours 30 minutes 23 seconds. And because the Baroness didn't finish, du Gast was the only woman to complete the journey. Still, her performance and her striking appearance earned her the titles of l'Amazone and The Valkyrie of the Motorcar.

Madame du Gast had the same attitude that most racers have today. If she wasn't first, then she was going to do better.

But things got difficult. Women weren't exactly welcomed in the racing world, less so in America than in Europe. She was able to finish a race from Paris to Vienna in 1902, but the governing body of a New York to San Francisco race wouldn't allow her to enter.

And then: scandal. In 1885, painter Henri Gervex unveiled La Femme au Masque, a risqué full-body image of a nude woman wearing a Domino mask to hide her identity. Rumour spread, and Camille du Gast's name became synonymous with the sexy portrait. Du Gast was already in court battling family legal matters, and the barrister representing her brother and father distributed copies of La Femme au Masque with the claim that this mystery woman was du Gast.

So, she had another battle to fight when she attempted to take Barboux to court. Both Henri Gervex and the actual model in the painting, Marie Renard, came to testify on du Gast's behalf, but she still lost the case. After the ruling, two of du Gast's close male friends got into a fistfight with Barboux and then were also prosecuted and fined.

The scandal captured the imagination of the world, and newspapers in both New Zealand and Australia were reporting a nearly minute-by-minute update on the proceedings as soon as they received information. So, her name was in the mouths of many, although not in the way she might have liked.

In 1903, du Gast turned her attention back to racing and was allowed to compete in the Paris-Madrid race. Here, she was competing in a works 5.7 litre 30hp De Dietrich owned by Adrien de Turckheim. Known as the Race of Death, two drivers and more than six spectators were killed in an accident near Bordeaux (but no one actually recorded the true number of fatalities; it's likely far more than that). Du Gast had started 29th and worked her way up to 8th place, but her conscience wouldn't let her drive past her fellow De Dietrich driver, Phil Stead's, accident. She freed him from under his rolled car and took care of him until an ambulance came, when she restarted and reached 77th place by the time the race was stopped in Bordeaux.

Despite that, the French public were openly hostile to her and didn't believe a woman was capable of racing. The Autocar even went so far as to say that they didn't think "fierce long-distance racing is quite the thing for ladies", even though she had made an admirable showing in each race she entered and stomached the violence of a car accident before getting back behind the wheel.

It started getting harder and harder to get a drive. The Benz factory team actually offered du Gast a race seat for the 1904 Gordon Bennett Cup, but the French government had already banned women from motorsport in an environment that was becoming more and more hostile to racing in general. In 1905, du Gast travelled to the Brighton Speed Trials to compete against Dorothy Levitt but her 35hp car was no match for Levitt's 80hp Napier.

So, du Gast got into boat racing. It was such a new sport at the time that no one blinked an eye at her or wondered about her "feminine nervousness". She got started in late 1904, where she attracted the eye of the media with her almost-severe dress: a tightly-cinched corset over her full-length leather coat, an elegant hat and veil, and gloves.

She didn't have much luck at first. She didn't finish races and was struck by a violent storm in the second stage of a race from Algiers to Toulon. All seven of the boats in the race were put out of commission, and six (including Camille, du Gast's steel-hulled motor boat) were sunk. Du Gast herself managed to leap overboard and was rescued. It took two months before they decided to declare du Gast the winner, since she had come closest to finishing before she was sunk.

Understandably, she was put off racing after that. Instead, she turned her focus on travel and government work. She was the first woman to travel across Morocco on horseback, an adventure she wrote about in an article called Ce que m'a dit le Rougi. In 1910 and 1912, the French government decided to commission her to visit Morocco again, where du Gast worked with the local women and handed out medicine and candy. The whole point was to help the French government gain more influence over the country, and du Gast said that she felt she had improved the image of France in the eyes of the local people.

Interestingly, in 1910, tragedy struck du Gast. During one of her stays at her home in Paris, du Gast's own daughter attempted to have her killed by sending in assassins. Her daughter was jealous of her mother's success, according to Fast Ladies, and bitter that she was not as successful. Her constant failed attempts at extorting money from her mum had led her to desperation. Du Gast survived, however, simply by confronting them. They'd expected her to be asleep and ran the moment they found her awake.

Du Gast's entire world was changed after that. Instead of risking her life with dangerous travel or wild racing, she turned her attention to charity work instead. She took up work in a refuge for stray and injured dogs, served as president of the French Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the rest of her life, donated her wealth to animal shelters, and actively campaigned against bullfighting.

She still had a fondness for flair, though. In 1930, as bullfighters entered an arena in Melun, du Gast signalled for thirty young adults to leap into the arena blowing whistles. That, in turn, was the sign that 400 demonstrators should join them and set off multiple smoke bombs to inhibit the bullfight.

Around 1910, she began establishing centres for orphans and impoverished women, and focused on providing healthcare to women and children after Germany's occupation of Paris. Du Gast fought for the emancipation of women, becoming the vice-president for The French League for the Rights of Women after WWI, and was not afraid to have her voice heard.

Camille du Gast devoted her life to the common good for over three decades, until her death in 1942. And while it's tempting to wonder how much more prominent of a figure in the racing world du Gast would be if women in sport and motor racing in general hadn't put a sour taste in the French government's mouth, her prominence as an activist in the years afterward left tangible effects on the fabric of French society that can't be overlooked.

[MIKA27]

New Evidence Points To An Unbroken, Million-Year-Long Ice Core In Antarctica

Imagine an unbroken chronological record, dating back a million years, of temperature and atmospheric conditions on Earth. Such a thing could indeed exist in the form of an ancient and undisturbed Antarctic ice core, according to a recent survey.

Ice cores are like a window to the past, allowing scientists to observe and document climatic and environmental changes over long time scales. Continuous ice cores, in which the stratigraphic layers are undisturbed, are particularly valuable, as they provide an uninterrupted chronological record of our planet's history. By analysing ice cores, scientists can determine what temperatures and atmospheric conditions were like in the past, among other environmental measures.

The current record for a continuous ice core is 800,000 years, which was found by drilling a core into 10,725 feet (3,270 meters) of ice at a site called Dome C in East Antarctica. But as a new paper published in Geophysical Research Letters shows, an even older continuous core may exist deep within the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area in East Antarctica - one that could contain a complete Antarctic climate record over the past one million years.

This windy, desert-like region is located near the Trans-Antarctic Mountains, and it gets less than a centimeter of snow accumulation each year. Here, the ice moves very slowly, shifting less than three feet (one meter) every year. This site had been rejected in the past as a candidate for continuous ice cores, because the base of the ice sheet - where it meets the bedrock - appeared to be disturbed. New data collected by researchers from the University of Washington and the University of Maine suggests this assumption was wrong, and that an extensive, unbroken chain of icy stratigraphy lies below.

Laura Kehrl, a UW doctoral student in Earth and space sciences and a co-author of the new study, was inspired to investigate the remote region owing to the recent discovery of 2.7-million-year-old ice at the Allan Hills area. These samples are very old, but they came from disrupted stratigraphic layers.

Working 1,950.72m above sea level and using ice-penetrating radar, Kehrl's team was able to map the internal stratigraphy, density, and age of the ice field. With computer models of glacial flow, they estimate that one-million-year-old ice resides about three miles (five km) from where the 2.7-million-year-old ice was found. Armed with these findings, the researchers have submitted a drilling proposal to the National Science Foundation.

Left: The Allan Hills Blue Ice Area in Antarctica, showing the 2.7-million-year old ice and the proposed drilling site. The black line marks the track of the radar profile on the other panel. Right: Radar reflections from layers with different chemistry. The red dashed lines show two layers of volcanic ash deposits of known age. The black dashed line is the proposed core site.

Should the researchers strike geological gold, the extended ice core could solve some vexing scientific problems. For example, the Earth used to experience ice age cycles once every 41,000 years or so. But then, about a million years ago, the cycle switched to once every 100,000 years. Scientists aren't entirely sure why this happened, but a million-year-old core sample may contain some clues. The ice core could also tell scientists if the Ross Ice Shelf collapsed in the past, and if the event altered the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And of course, the core could provide a continuous record of carbon dioxide levels and other atmospheric markers dating back one million years.

Fingers are seriously crossed that Kehrl and company will return to the Allan Hills Blue Ice Area, but this time armed with a very long drill.

[MIKA27]

If This Cat Can Get Through This Car Ride, You Can Get Through 2018

 

[MIKA27]

Crown Royal Texas Mesquite

We normally wouldn’t reach for a glass of whisky on a hot summer day as we man the grill, but Crown Royal is making us rethink that stance. The distillery’s latest release sees the classic profile of Crown Royal blended with the smoky goodness of Texas mesquite wood. The result? Something smoky, smooth, and spicy. We imagine this one is good for cocktails, lending a great deal of flavor to any beverage, so maybe that’s the route to take when the sun’s out and you want an adult beverage. Regardless of how you consume it, if you’re a fan of the intoxicating scent of a roaring grill, and you happen to enjoy your Canadian whisky, Crown Royal Texas Mesquite has your name on it. 

[Canoli]

Wow that turbo prop video is awesome. 

[MIKA27]

BMW Launches World's First Wireless Charging For Electric Cars

BMW have become the first in market to offer wireless charging for an electric vehicle. From this week it will be possible to order a 530e iPerformance that will power up through an inductive charging station called a GroundPad.

Here's how it works. The GroundPad connects to its car equivalent (called a CarPad, of course) and transfers energy over a distance of roughly eight centimetres via a magnetic field. This creates an electric current in the CarPad which subsequently charges the battery.

It has 3.2Kw of charging power with an efficiency rating of 85 per cent, which takes around three and a half hours to fully charge the 530e. Charging will begin once the car has been turned off and it will stop once the battery is at 100%.

The GroundPad is designed for for multiple weather conditions, meaning that it can be installed outdoors, as well as in a garage. All GroundPad components that conduct electrcity are protected from rain and snow.

You can also run it over without causing damage, though it has also been designed with park assist functionality. Once there is a Wi-Fi connection between the car and the GroundPad, a birds eye view of the car will pop up on the control display - including lines that guide the driver towards the correct parking position for charging.

It will be interesting to see if this technology takes off and how quickly other auto manufacturers will scramble to release their own versions. In 2017 Mercedes-Benz announced its plans for a wireless charging system for its EVs that would reportedly be released this year - so that will be worth keeping an eye on.

Personally, I'm sceptical when it comes to wireless charging in general. While I like the concept, the charging is still too slow to be convenient, particularly in regards to phones.

And while the GroundPad is clearly designed to charge an EV overnight, I will continue to have reservations about wireless charging technology until it can offer similar speeds to when something is simply plugged in.

The GroundPad is currently available in BMW 530e iPerformance vehicles in Germany and will be rolled out to the UK, US, Japan and China in the near future. There is no current timeline for when this wireless charging system will be available in Australia.

[MIKA27]

RIP Rick Grimes: Andrew Lincoln Is Leaving The Walking Dead

It may be a zombie bite, a rival group's attack, or just a lone walk toward the great unknown. No matter what you call it, Rick Grimes will soon be gone from The Walking Dead. Several news outlets are reporting that Andrew Lincoln will be exiting the series sometime in season nine.

Entertainment Weekly has independently confirmed a report from Collider that Lincoln is ending his years-long run on The Walking Dead next season (we reached out to AMC but they declined to comment). Lincoln has been with the show since the very beginning, playing the sheriff-turned-apocalypse leader.

While his role has been rife with issues over the past few seasons - we've even been arguing that Rick needs to die in order to keep the show alive - Lincoln has been the series lead since the very beginning and it will be sad to see him go. Even if it's felt like a long, long, long time coming.

It's just one of many ways The Walking Dead has seen some turmoil recently. In addition to the showrunner turnover, Rick Grimes' son Carl (Chandler Riggs) was killed off last season, and we're hearing rumours Lauren Cohan (Maggie Greene) could be next on the chopping block. Collider is claiming that AMC is courting Norman Reedus to take over as the series star, but the network declined to comment on that to us as well.

[MIKA27]

Intellivision Announce a New Gaming Console Is on the Way

Some really shocking and surprising news today from the folks at Intellivision, who announced in a press release today that they will be releasing a brand new modern family gaming console. It’s a bit of a surprise considering the company has had very little to do with video games since the late ’80s. And for those of you reading this who aren’t even old enough to know what an Intellivision (intelligent television) console is, check out the image above, as well as the video we have from the Angry Video Game Nerd at the bottom to kind of give you a history and perspective. No official details were released as to what kind of a console this will be, whether it’s going to play current games or just be a retro version, the cost, a release date, etc. All they said was that details of the new console would come out on October 1st, so nothing for E3.

In the meantime, the biggest piece of news beyond the announcement is that Video Games Live creator Tommy Tallarico has been made the president of Intellivision Entertainment as they head into a new direction. Here’s a quote from Tallarico about taking over the gig from the press release as we all now have to wait another four months to learn anything.

Quote

“I grew up playing Intellivision with my parents and younger brother,” says Tallarico.  “It was always my favorite system because the games were cutting edge, yet fun and simple to play so our entire family could enjoy them together.  I find those important elements to generally be lacking from our industry with the current modern gaming consoles.  Our goal is to change that by focusing on bringing all age groups and levels of gamers and non-gamers together while introducing new generations of people to the legacy success of the Intellivision brand.”

 

[Fuzz]

5 hours ago, MIKA27 said:

Intellivision Announce a New Gaming Console Is on the Way

 

 

I had one of these growing up! Used to play Lock 'N Chase, Star Strike, Sub Hunt, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Frogger, Commando... ah, good times!

Pity my parents made me give it to my cousins in Malaysia... who trashed it within 6 months.

[MIKA27]

15 hours ago, Fuzz said:

I had one of these growing up! Used to play Lock 'N Chase, Star Strike, Sub Hunt, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Frogger, Commando... ah, good times!

Pity my parents made me give it to my cousins in Malaysia... who trashed it within 6 months.

I also owned one, what a classic machine!

I have pretty much owned every console since I was a kid all except Playstation 3 andThey keep releasing Mini consoles but they don't compare to the originals.

[Fuzz]

I only had a Hanimex and an Intellivision as console machines. Got a C64 in the early 80's, and then it was PCs (started with a 286 with a massive 20mb hdd!) up until the Xbox came out. My bro bought the Playstation and PS2, mainly for Final Fantasy, Grand Turismo and Tenchu, then defected to a 360. I currently have an Xbox One S (still have my Xbox and 360, though).

[MIKA27]

1 hour ago, Fuzz said:

I only had a Hanimex and an Intellivision as console machines. Got a C64 in the early 80's, and then it was PCs (started with a 286 with a massive 20mb hdd!) up until the Xbox came out. My bro bought the Playstation and PS2, mainly for Final Fantasy, Grand Turismo and Tenchu, then defected to a 360. I currently have an Xbox One S (still have my Xbox and 360, though).

I'm a console gamer myself so have always loved consoles over PC, though I had a C64 and Amiga 500. Currently have the PS4 Pro

[MIKA27]

LIMITED EDITION MICHEL MONTEANGE PRINT – REFUELING AT THE 33RD BOL D’OR – 1969

This famous photograph by Michel Monteange shows the pit crew of the Gauthier and Schaller team at the 1969 Bol d’Or endurance motorcycle race held at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry just outside of Paris.

The most immediately noticeable element in the image is the cigarette hanging from the mouth of the no-nonsense chap in the tartan beret pouring the fuel from an old milk jug. The proximity of the cigarette to the petrol has raised many an eyebrow over the years, and it would likely result in the entire scene being blasted with fire extinguishers in any modern pitlane.

The original photographer, Michel Monteange, has partnered with Sails & Rods to produce a very limited edition run of prints of this photograph. Just 50 will be made from the original negative, and you can order sizes from 20x30cm up to 80x120cm. BUY HERE

[MIKA27]

Rplate Digital License Plate

If we’re being honest, outside of a James Bond or heist scenario where you need to be changing plates to avoid detection, we don’t really see the need for a digital license plate. That said, the Reviver Auto Rplate Pro Digital License plate is still pretty damn cool and could be convenient enough to warrant slapping on all of your vehicles. The plate itself uses a bi-stable monochromatic display that makes it easy to read in all conditions. The license plate with a brain can be controlled through their Rconnect software, which makes it possible to change up your cause plates, automatically renew registration and even securely transfer ownership/title. The convenience of automatic registration renewals alone might make it worth it. Right now, the Rplate is only available in California, but there’s a pilot program running in Arizona. If the tests prove effective, we image they’ll be rolling out the tech to all the other states in the future.

[MIKA27]

The History of the Trench Lighter

The Western Front of the First World War was an unpleasant place, to say the very least. The chalky French soil would fall apart at the lightest rainfall, compromising trench integrity from the start. Belgian soil held water like a sponge, meaning you couldn’t dig without flooding everything with dark, peaty mud. Disease and vermin were rampant and soldiers were covered in lice. Then the war would restart and artillery shells would smash down, shattering whatever shelter soldiers and laborers had managed to construct.

Supply lines in Europe were reliable, but only up to a point. Railroads could only get so close to the front and horse drawn carriages and early 20th century cars weren’t enough to fill in the gaps. There were frequent supply issues that left soldiers to fend for themselves, usually spending what time they had scavangening in the many, many, many abandoned villages, farmsteads, homes, and villas.

Part of this need for scavenging came out of the army’s inability to predict and meet the evolving demands of trench warfare. When the men started hunkering down in the trenches, pillboxes, and dugouts, they encountered problems few soldiers ever had before, to the point where their standard issue uniforms didn’t measure up to the job. For example, the ubiquitous trench coat, an article of clothing so well-suited for the environment it was renamed after the war, was something soldiers had to purchase for themselves.

Some of the most iconic examples of trench improvisation were the weapons. Soldiers would cobble together maces, blades, clubs, bludgeons, firearm attachments, and explosives from whatever they had lying around in the trench, since that’s what the fighting often devolved into anyway. Improvised weapons could be anything from a simple nail stuck through a board to fully smithed knives made from scrap metal. Soldiers would also sometimes hammer random bits of metal into the end of wooden clubs, just to make their swing that much more damaging.

A story of improvisation that gets passed around frequently is that of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) forces in Gallipoli. Their landing was ill-advised and ill-equipped and the soldiers knew it, so they took it upon themselves to improve their chances in anyway they could. One way was supplying their own grenades. Assembly lines of soldiers built hundreds of jam tin bombs to supplement an inadequate and dwindling number of standard hand grenades. For shrapnel, soldiers would pack the tins full of any kind of metal they could get their hands on, including nails, brass from spent shells, and bits of barbed wire. They would even copy a hand grenade’s design by packing explosives in a second, smaller tin, placing it inside the big tin and surrounding it with shrapnel.

Though, as much as people like to dwell on the ingenuity of the weapons, most of the improvisational energy went into making the trenches more livable. Before long, trench dugouts began to reflect the lives of the people in them, with souvenirs from battle, pictures of home, letters from loved ones, even wallpaper and electricity, especially as the war dragged on. By war’s end, soldiers on both sides, though German in particular, were living in dugout and trench complexes that would make some modern renters jealous. Only for the space though, not the constant threat of death by high explosive.

Soldiers had plenty of free time (even if you wouldn’t think of boredom being a major factor in the First World War), so small models of homes and towns began to pop up, as well as a vibrant trench art community, where soldiers repurposed spent ammunition, spare change, scrap metal, and souvenirs captured from the other side.

All of this is a really long way to say that if soldiers wanted to enjoy the amenities of home, they were going to have to provide it themselves, even in things as small as lighters. Lighters aren’t anything we’d think of as rare or hard to come by, but there soldiers didn’t exactly have a bodega they could pop into whenever they found themselves lacking a light for their cigarette. Or explosive’s fuse.

Their solution was to piece a lighter together out of spent bullet casings, thereby creating the cartridge case lighter. The ones you’ll see more often, and the ones that have instruction videos on YouTube, are made from the British .303 round. Essentially, you’d need two casings, where one acts as a windscreen for the flame, while the other holds the cotton and fuel. You could slide the windscreen up, light the flame, put it to whatever it was you needed to ignite, then slide everything back into place. It’s arguably a better lighter than we currently have in gas stations and convenience stores across the country.

It’s also a testament to the stubbornness of the men in the trenches. They weren’t going to let a little thing like the German invasion of France stop them from eking out some creature comforts. They knew they weren’t going to get lighters from their high command, so they put their heads together and invented an ingenious way to bring themselves a bit more relief. 

[n0s4atu]

I just stumbled on this thread and jumped through various pages going way back, what a strange and interesting mish-mash of posts.  Thanks guys. Oh and on the more recent post, regarding consoles, I never had an intellivision, but I still have a ColecoVision in my basement. 

[MIKA27]

15 hours ago, n0s4atu said:

I just stumbled on this thread and jumped through various pages going way back, what a strange and interesting mish-mash of posts.  Thanks guys. Oh and on the more recent post, regarding consoles, I never had an intellivision, but I still have a ColecoVision in my basement. 

Hi and welcome.  Thanks for reading, I try and post a mixed bag of stuff as often as I can.