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Showing posts with label weapons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weapons. Show all posts

Friday, May 8, 2020

Friday links

V.E. Day: 75 years ago, on May 8, 1945, World War II ended in Europe.

Nature’s best toilet paper substitutes.

James Barrie was born on May 9, 1860 - here's the Dark Side of Peter Pan.

Sword-Wielding Scientists Show How Ancient Fighting Techniques Spread Across Bronze Age Europe.

Roundup of Mother's Day links.


The 1918 Parade That Spread Death in Philadelphia - in six weeks, 12,000 were dead of influenza.

ICYMI, Wednesday's links are here, and include tax day quotes, cartoons, and history and links, stopping the spread of disease during and after the American Revolution, the lost state of Franklin, the anniversary of Lincoln's assassination, and the history of pizza.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Friday links

100 years ago - Prohibition in the United States began in January 1920 and ended in December 1933. Related: here's Winston Churchill's doctor's note allowing him to drink "unlimited" alcohol in prohibition-era America.

For Al Capone's birthday, here's the story of that time he bought large blocks of stock in miniature golf construction companies.


January 17 is Ben Franklin's birthday - bio, quotes, videos, his 200+ synonyms for drunk, the bodies found in his basement, and more.

What could go wrong? Living ‘Franken-concrete’ which can heal its own cracks and even ‘give birth’ to new bricks, has been developed by scientists.

The Ten Most Important Weapons of the Middle Ages.

ICYMI, most recent links are here, and celebrating the Feast of the Ass, the science behind why dark winter days bum people out, learning any subject with Richard Feynman's notebook technique, the folklore of gin, and a 1918 publication on remedial politics for newly-enfranchised women in the UK.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Wednesday links

August 29th, 2:14 AM: Skynet Becomes Self-aware.

How drunk were the Founding Fathers? Revolutionary-era Americans could drink you under the table.

Scientists look to music of volcanos to better monitor eruptions: the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador is "the largest pipe organ you've ever come across."



LBJ's birthday was earlier this week: he was the President Who Marked His Territory.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, the U.S. Senate monorail (a private subway system under Washington D.C.), and the anniversary of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii in A.D. 79.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Supercut of Improbable Weapons

As cool as any of these were in the original movies, aggregating them is even better:



Weapon and film list (in order of appearance):

Ladder - First Strike
Melons - Transporter 2
Umbrella - Kingsman
Afro Picks - Undercover Brother
Ship - Pacific Rim
Shirt - Transporter
Tea Cup - Chronicles of Riddick
Guitar Case - Desperado
Trash Can - First Strike
Ballpoint Pen - The Bourne Identity
Gopher-Chuks - Kung Pow: Enter The Fist
Credit Card - The Glimmer Man
Guitar - Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Record - Shaun of the Dead
Limo Antenna - Crocodile Dundee
Banjo - Zombieland
Hairspray + Cigar - Live and Let Die
Guitar Case #2 - Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Bowler Hat - Goldfinger
Toothbrush - Oldboy
Calligraphy Brushes - The Magnificent Butcher
Forks - Mystery Men
Carrot - Shoot ‘Em Up
Belt - Pootie Tang
Magazine - The Bourne Supremacy
Chair - Thunderball
Bike Pedals - Transporter
Toilet Cover - Zombieland
Fire Hose - Transporter 2

Monday, May 22, 2017

Monday links

Happy Birthday, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes.

DIY: How to build a medieval crossbow.


Physicist Richard Feynman told the FBI to leave him alone. They did.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include what to do if you get caught in an avalanche, the Justice Department’s guide to using psychics in police investigations, the physics of a T-Rex bite, and the Victorian belief that a train ride could instantly make you insane. 

Wednesday, August 24, 2016


They Drew Fire is a collection of paintings selected from the works of the World War II combat artists.



U.S. Senate Monorail - A Private Subway System for Senators Under Washington D.C. Since 1909


ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include which bathroom stall you should choose if you want the cleanest one, how people call cats in different countries, making bread in the Middle Ages, the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, and how sunflowers track the sun across the sky.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Monday links

Today is the anniversary of D-Day: quotes (Shakespeare, Eisenhower, Churchill), videos (footage, FDR's and Reagan's speeches), lots of links. Related: The Gear, Gadgets and Weaponry of a D-Day Paratrooper.


Town installs giant inflatable turd to deter bad dog owners.


Railguns: A First Look at America’s Supergun.


ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include the anniversary of the evacuation of Dunkirk, the 1909 Cherry Mine disaster, the NSA's exceedingly weird guide to the internet, and Goat Trauma Awareness Month.

Friday, April 29, 2016

Friday links

Happy Birthday, Duke Ellington: here's some glorious music and a brief biography.



ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include streaming Netflix through a pork loin, a muskrat cooking competition, menus for 1st, 2nd and 3rd class passengers on the Titanic, legendary plant-animal hybrids, and a roundup of funny (but not gross) colonoscopy videos.

Friday, April 8, 2016

Friday links

Death and Taxes... and Zombies: a well thought out treatise on the tax implications of the zombie apocalypse.


That Time the British Developed a Chicken Heated Nuclear Bomb. 

UPS Trucks Don't Turn Left, Saving Them 10 Million Gallons of Gas/Year.



ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include a 1938 film demonstrating how dramatic sound effects were made for old-time radio shows, tales of real-life castaways, why we have toes, and a supercut of the 100 best one-liners just before the kill.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Thursday links



Infographic: What's the Most Powerful Weapon in Sci-Fi History?
Map of power outages caused by squirrels, with bonus squirrel-related links.

Stalin's Diminutive Size.

Venison Jello, Mystery Ingredients, and Other Triumphs of Soviet Cuisine.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include Antarctica ownership conflicts, 100 manly skills,  the mysterious dancing epidemic of 1518, and the French power plant that runs on cheese.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Monday links

It's St. Bartholomew's Day - some history, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, a brief documentary, and Monty Python.


How Women in the 18th Century Got Those Sky-High Hairdos.

Supercut of Improbable Weapons.

Space Elevator Update: Space elevator could zoom astronauts into Earth's stratosphere.

To get a sense of how massive a Star Wars warship really is, overlay an image on one on the island of Manhattan.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include the science of melting cheese, a history of aliens in films, the history of lightbulbs, and a video showing how easily rats can swim up your toilet.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Thursday links


The "Monty Hall problem" (what's behind door #3?): The Time Everyone “Corrected” the World’s Smartest Woman. Sasha Volokh recently wrote on his "easy" take on the same problem.

How Cutlery Affects Our Sense of Taste.

Sharknado 3 will be set in DC and have Ann Coulter as VP, Marc Cuban as Prez.


The 8 year old girl who gets gifts from birds.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include Dr. Seuss's book of nudes (The Seven Lady Godivas), the history of wind chill, why female superheroes wear skimpy armor, and hacking to remotely disable cars.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

6 way to modify your baseball bat into a zombie-killing weapon: real versions and an infographic

From the Art of Manliness blog (they also have a book by the same name) comes this excellent infographic on ways to modify baseball bats into zombie-killing weapons. It's based on a post (see below the onfo graphic) by a guy who actually made them:
Survival expert Creek Stewart of Willow Haven Outdoor decided to take a break from teaching his usual, realistic survival skills to have some fun. He let his imagination run wild and conjured up 6 ways to mod an ordinary baseball bat into the ultimate zombie slaying weapons. Creek admits that the results are absolutely ridiculous. They are also absolutely awesome. And we decided it would be equally awesome to have Ted turn them into an illustrated comic book tutorial for us. Hope you enjoy. And when the zombies attack, you’ll be ready to turn your Louisville Slugger into a walking dead decimator. Batter up!
Click here to embiggen
The infographic is based on the real bat mods from the web site Willow Haven Outdoor - the are a few here but you'll find more (and additional pictures) there.

I really wanted to make a version of the rusty spiked bat that everyone thinks of when they allow themselves to wonder about such things. However, I wanted it to be different than anything I’d ever seen before. What better way to make it different than to mount a machete to the end? So that’s what I did. A 12″ machete blade is bolted right into the end of the bat. But that’s not it. Just in case the machete blade doesn’t do the trick, eight massive steel spikes shroud the base for some extra collateral damage. I topped it off with a cobra weave wrist lanyard because I don’t want an aggressive zombie running off with my bat just in case it gets stuck. Batter up!

I call this one ‘Tina for short. Concertina wire, or popularly called razor wire, is some nasty stuff. It’s like barbed wire except instead of barbs it’s lined with razors. Typically reserved for warfare and to line the perimeter of maximum security prisons, I figured a nice nest of this stuff fence stapled around a baseball bat would be a pretty formidable zombie face smasher. Geez, I cut my hands up wearing leather welding gloves just wrapping this ‘death wire’ around the bat. I understand first hand why this stuff has such a bad reputation. I remember watching prison break movies thinking, “I bet I could crawl over that razor wire.” Well let me tell you, there ain’t no freakin’ way you’re crawling over this stuff. Concertina wire was birthed in warfare and it gives off that eerie feeling when you look at and handle it. If plants grow in hell I imagine they look like this stuff. “Hey, zombie, I want you to meet someone. Her name’s ‘Tina.”

Oooouch! With it’s roots in the Middle Ages, the Flail is absolutely barbaric. I cut the last 6″ off a normal bat, connected it to a steel chain and then studded it with archery field target points. 

This thing hurts just holding it in your hand. These target points actually screw into studs that I mounted into the wood. You could theoretically replace all of these field points with razor broad-heads if you wanted a spiked razor bat but the idea is to be able to replace damaged spikes ‘on-the-fly’ with a pocket full of extra points. The spiral wrap paracord handle gives plenty of grip when the G’s from spinning try to rip it out of your hand. The amount of momentum generated with just a couple rotations of the 5 pound spiked head is terrifying. I think this weapon could actually elicit FEAR in ZOMBIES. That’s how scary this thing is once it gets-a-spinnin’. Home Run every time – guaranteed!

Previous manly posts:

How To Gird Up Your Loins (An Illustrated Guide).


The Tactical Order of Dressing: An Illustrated Guide (as taught to military and emergency personnel).

Because it's important to always be battle-ready: How to Poop Like a Samurai.

The manliness test - how manly are you? I took it, and I'm a mewling kitten. But I'm an old, overweight female, so presumably you'll do better.

The Boy Scouts of America: Then and Now — A Comparison of the 1911 and Modern Handbooks and Merit Badges.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Thursday links

An “Uplifting” Story: The History of the Bra.

This compilation video of Christopher Walken dancing in over 50 movies will make your day.

15 Video Game And Cartoon Weapons In Real Life.

Geek alert: Ninety years ago, JRR Tolkien wrote a translation of Beowulf and included some imagined history of the characters.  It's about to be published for the first time.

Dear Future Mom: A pregnant woman finds out that her child will have Down Syndrome and asked what that will be like. 15 people with Down Syndrome answer her question.

ICYMI, links for Tuesday, including utopian communist Soviet sc-fi from the Cold War and the Museums of Bad Art and Imaginary Musical Instruments, are here.