Monday, December 11, 2006

Silly String in Mesopotamia

One thing Americans are noted for is "American ingenuity," and it seems to be on display at the platoon level in Iraq.

BoingBoing calls our attention to an AP story noting that Silly String is saving Americans from booby traps:

Before entering a building, troops squirt the plastic goo, which can shoot strands about 10 to 12 feet, across the room. If it falls to the ground, no trip wires. If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.

Not only has counterinsurgency theory been rescued from its Vietnam-era suspended animation; so has rubbery aerosolized goo.

(Thanks as always to John Brown's Public Diplomacy Review for the initial item.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps this explains all the unusual late-night activity at Hasbro these days. I thought it could be attributed to the busy holiday season. Can a Slinky bomb and Silly Putty shells be far off? I hear the president has been playing with his Lionel trains a bit more than usual, too. Hmmmmmm.

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