Odd factoids

[Dave7]

The first ever lawnmowers were invented in the year 1529 when a farmer put wheels on the front legs of a sheep and attached handles to his back legs (no rude comments please). He then pushed the sheep along the field allowing it to graze evenly.
However, that took 3 weeks. Someone suggested using petrol....which he tried but the sheep died.
The farmer (Mr Briggs) and his uncle (Mr Stratton) then decided to invent a petrol mechanical lawnmower.
The rest is history.

 

[classic33]

The first ever lawnmowers were invented in the year 1529 when a farmer put wheels on the front legs of a sheep and attached handles to his back legs (no rude comments please). He then pushed the sheep along the field allowing it to graze evenly.
However, that took 3 weeks. Someone suggested using petrol....which he tried but the sheep died.
The farmer (Mr Briggs) and his uncle (Mr Stratton) then decided to invent a petrol mechanical lawnmower.
The rest is history.

Finger bar mower for home use, as designed by the farmer, paired with the engine designed by his uncle wasn't an instant success though.

 

[david k]

The 'doodlebug' was a bomb designed to drop bugs across the UK in world war 2.

The bomb contained 1,000s of bugs which would eat all precious food supplies.

The silly Germans dropped them on towns and cities when the fields would have been a far more effective drop zone.

Official records record that one carrot, half a cucumber and 2 apples were devastated by bugs in London alone.
If we calculate the rest of the UK the impact was almost double.

 

[david k]

The first ever lawnmowers were invented in the year 1529 when a farmer put wheels on the front legs of a sheep and attached handles to his back legs (no rude comments please). He then pushed the sheep along the field allowing it to graze evenly.
However, that took 3 weeks. Someone suggested using petrol....which he tried but the sheep died.
The farmer (Mr Briggs) and his uncle (Mr Stratton) then decided to invent a petrol mechanical lawnmower.
The rest is history.

Is this the same Briggs and Stratton who were later arrested for inappropriate behaviour?

Their defence revolved around a tale that "honestly it was a lawnmower"?

 

[Dave7]

Is this the same Briggs and Stratton who were later arrested for inappropriate behaviour?

Their defence revolved around a tale that "honestly it was a lawnmower"?

The very same.

 

[david k]

The very same.

Thought it was, they were prolific inventors

One of their inventions was the oversized Wellington boot. Nobody understood why someone would invent such a thing but despite this confusion sales generated a generous income stream from middle aged single farmers.

To this day we don't know why.

 

[MiK1138]

The 'doodlebug' was a bomb designed to drop bugs across the UK in world war 2.

The bomb contained 1,000s of bugs which would eat all precious food supplies.

The silly Germans dropped them on towns and cities when the fields would have been a far more effective drop zone.

Official records record that one carrot, half a cucumber and 2 apples were devastated by bugs in London alone.
If we calculate the rest of the UK the impact was almost double.

Ah but Official Secret Act releases 30 yrs later revealed that the wily old brits had actually doodled veg on the rooftops in cities which confused the Narzi bombers

 

[Profpointy]

The 'doodlebug' was a bomb designed to drop bugs across the UK in world war 2.

The bomb contained 1,000s of bugs which would eat all precious food supplies.

The silly Germans dropped them on towns and cities when the fields would have been a far more effective drop zone.

Official records record that one carrot, half a cucumber and 2 apples were devastated by bugs in London alone.
If we calculate the rest of the UK the impact was almost double.

Wasn't there investigations into colorado beetle bombs for economic warfare against the potato crop. Not sure if out was our clever and innovative boffins or a typically despicable Nazi trick. Either way I don't think it was ever dropped in anger

 

[Dave7]

The 'doodlebug' was a bomb designed to drop bugs across the UK in world war 2.

The bomb contained 1,000s of bugs which would eat all precious food supplies.

The silly Germans dropped them on towns and cities when the fields would have been a far more effective drop zone.

Official records record that one carrot, half a cucumber and 2 apples were devastated by bugs in London alone.
If we calculate the rest of the UK the impact was almost double.

That is a true fact.
Similar to the flying bomb. It was actually first invented by Wally Barnes (cousin of Barnes Wallace) and was designed to drop millions of flies in Germany. They would quickly lay eggs on all the knockworst & bratworst sausages.....thus depriving Germany of its staple diet. Sadly no one took into account that flies actually fly and they all dispersed back to England. (Which is why we have so many Bluebottles here).
Later on....the cousin re-designed the bomb as a bouncing bomb.

 

[Drago]

The bouncing bomb was never intended by design to bounce. However, war time shortages of steel meant prototypes were made from inflated rubber tractor inner tubes, which unsurprisingly bounced. This was discovered to be beneficial to the bombs mission so was incorporated into the design,

 

[Dave7]

Rubber was invented in the stone age. Cavemen used it to make their clubs. When rubber clubs proved inadequate the top caveman engineers got together and invented wooden clubs.

 

[colly]

Further to @Dave7 s post above,
Stone was invented in the 'rubber age'
As were condoms.

Edit: and Opal Fruits

 

[Drago]

Cavemen were susrisingly clever and sophisticated. They came later than the bronze age folk, and decided living in huts was a lot of hard work. Caves were easy and cheap.

 

[david k]

The original design for the bug bomb was just a rough sketch on a fag packet, hence the name 'doodle' bug


And in case you were wondering, it was 20 lambert and butler, the German version

 

[bruce1530]

The original "bouncing bomb” was made from inflatable rubber, as the designers thought this would aid it in bouncing. It was spherical, about 80cm in diameter.

The designers added two ribbed handles at one end to assist in loading it into aeroplanes, and the prototypes were bright orange to make it easier to recover the units after testing.

This design did not make an effective bomb, but the Spacehopper was born.