"Hairy Mary"
This locomotive saw active service during the 2nd Anglo-Boer War, where it was used to haul armoured trains. Unlike many operational locomotives of the period, it was not fitted with steel armour plating. Instead, it was covered from front to back with thick hemp rope, which was intended to provide limited protection against gunfire.
Because the rope had a coarse, hair like appearance, soldiers nicknamed the engine “Hairy Mary.”
The locomotive carried the number 48 and was scrapped in 1905.
One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.
- George Orwell, Homage To Catalonia
The Orlan space suit was designed by the Soviet Union for spacewalks outside stations like Salyut, Mir, and later the ISS. Instead of being put on in pieces, cosmonauts climb into the suit through a rear hatch built into the backpack, which also contains the life-support system that keeps them alive in the vacuum of space.
One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.
- George Orwell, Homage To Catalonia
When your siege engine is also a runaway firework!
WWII’s most chaotic ‘breach the wall’ idea: the Great Panjandrum—an explosive-filled, rocket-propelled cart on giant wheels meant to charge off a landing craft and smash the Atlantic Wall. Tests were… wildly uncontrollable, so it never saw action.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
The Trier Gold Hoard!
The largest Roman gold coin hoard ever found! More than 2,650 Roman gold ‘aurei’, weighing 18.5 kg, were discovered inside a bronze vessel during construction work in 1993.
Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Trier
One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.
- George Orwell, Homage To Catalonia
How to give your fireplace an inferiority complex.
Room in the Castello Cini (Castle of Monselice), Padua, Italy.
https://www.castellodimonselice.it/en/
One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.
- George Orwell, Homage To Catalonia
I need to finish that game. 😝
"If brute force doesn't work you aren't using enough brute force." - mTk
War does not determine who is right, but it does determine who is left. - B.Russell
"Turn based games don't need a pause key". - mTk
"Overkill is underrated." - Col John "Hannibal" Smith
Senatus Populusque Romanus- SPQR - The Senate and People of Rome (circa 60 BC)
⚙️🌙 The Antikythera Mechanism — the 2,000-year-old Greek “computer”
This corroded lump of bronze gears was recovered from a Roman shipwreck near the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901. Scientists later realized it was an astonishing device built around 100 BC that could predict eclipses, track the Moon’s phases, and model planetary movements. With more than 30 precision gears, it functioned like a hand-powered astronomical calculator. What makes it even more amazing is that technology this complex wouldn’t appear again in Europe for over a thousand years. An ancient computer… lost to history. ⚙️🌙☀️🤯
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
@rico Where do you poop?
That's kind of a personal question? 😀
One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.
- George Orwell, Homage To Catalonia
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
Inflatable dummy tanks were central to the Allies’ secret “Ghost Army” in World War II, a small unit of about 1,100 men that used fake equipment, radio traffic, and sound effects to appear as a force of 30,000. Their deception helped convince German commanders that the main invasion would come at Pas-de-Calais even after D-Day, delaying their response to Normandy. Staffed in part by artists and designers, the unit’s work saved thousands of lives, remained classified for decades, and was finally honored with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2024.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
In 1919, a massive molasses tank in Boston suddenly burst, unleashing a deadly wave through the streets. The thick syrup surged at surprising speed, destroying buildings, derailing structures, and trapping people and horses in its path. Twenty-one people were killed and over 100 injured in what became known as the Great Molasses Flood. In the aftermath, cleanup took weeks—and for years, locals claimed you could still smell molasses on warm days.
"Si vis pacem, para bellum." — Vegetius
"Do not hurry to the sound of the guns without knowing why they are firing." — British maxim
"In war, the simplest things are difficult." — Clausewitz
"No plan survives first contact with the enemy." — Moltke
"The side that can most quickly exploit success is the side that will win." — Guderian
Some days you’re the hammer, some days you’re the nail. 🪖🎲
Looking for a game? Challenge me here:
@panzer-lehr They came to a sticky end! Crazy!
"En cualquier dirección que recorras el alma, nunca tropezarás con sus límites." Sócrates