The end of World War II was punctuate by the Americans drop two atomic bombs on Japan , which teed off a nuclear weapon race which would last through most of the century . As nuclear arms was a raw technology , the drive to introduce and experiment was tremendous . But perhaps no experiment was as ridiculous as a British nuclear bomb project nicknamed the Blue Peacock .
The strategy of the Blue Peacock was fairly sane : habituate atomic weapons as justificatory measures by lining part of Germany with atomic mines . In the event of Soviet encroachment , the mine would be detonate , wiping out the invading United States Army and create a barrier of pollution , preventing future armies from similarly invading via the same route .
But there was a problem . Keeping the mines viable once underground , peculiarly in winter , required that they be kept ardent . The British Army first considered using blankets until a honorable musical theme emerged : chicken .
By sealing chickens — live chickens , that is — in the turkey mechanism , surrounded with a conducting wire case to foreclose them from pecking at the wires ( really ) , the British forces realized they could produce enough passion — soundbox heat , specifically — to keep the turkey workable . The heat would abate , however , in some a week ’s time , as the chickens could passably only be given enough feed and water to survive about that long . And when the chickens died , their body heat went with them .
While other alternative heating scheme were consider , all would be translate debatable . The British Army planned to implement the Peacocks by telling the Germans ( their friend ) that the turkey were actually might generators used to defend British soldiers in Germany . The likely political radioactive dust from this artifice ( to say the least ) was the principal reason the Blue Peacocks were never deployed .
To take to Dan ’s daily electronic mail Now I Know , click here . you may also follow himon Twitter .
