10/18/2005: Mine fishing with a rat - Page 2

capnhowdy · 10-19-2005, 04:08 PM

Hawaii? I dunno... We destroyed 13,000 from Johnston Island, which is 800 miles from Hawaii but we still have nearly 90,000 more stockpiled in 4 different states. All these were in storage and not planted as far as I know. Did I miss something?

Carbonated_Brains · 10-19-2005, 08:57 PM

One of the main reasons they use Gambian rats isn't their smarts, it's their stupidity. They don't develop the same Pavlovian tricks that dogs do.

Over time, an explosive-sniffing dog will learn that finding a spot on the ground will get it a bite of food, and the rate of false positives goes up like crazy. Every dog has to be retired after a fairly short time. Similar things happen with drug dogs at the airport, although vastly more money goes into training them.

One of the more promising technologies for finding mines is a genetically engineered flower that will grow a different colour in the presence of the volatile organic compounds given off by explosives.

You airdrop ten thousand seeds, wait a week, and over each mine is a big red flower, in a sea of yellow ones.

wolf · 10-20-2005, 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capnhowdy

Hawaii? I dunno... We destroyed 13,000 from Johnston Island, which is 800 miles from Hawaii but we still have nearly 90,000 more stockpiled in 4 different states. All these were in storage and not planted as far as I know. Did I miss something?

My mother was married at Hickam AFB and lived on Oahu in off-base housing. My father was assigned to a group that sampled radioactive clouds, which was pretty big deal stuff in the 1950s. At that time there were beaches that were still restricted because of leftover WWII landmines.

Sundae · 10-20-2005, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carbonated_Brains

Your minefield in the jungle isn't much good if, after a week, you have no mines and 400 blown up squirrels.

I don't know why I found this so funny.......
but I really laughed when I read it.

Perhaps the image of a 1950s housewife standing in front of her cupboards with a puzzled expression on her face,

"Sorry honey, looks like its squirrels again!"

barefoot serpent · 10-28-2005, 01:39 PM

minefield practical jokes

10-19-2005, 04:08 PM	#16
capnhowdy Blatantly Homosapien Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 6,200	Hawaii? I dunno... We destroyed 13,000 from Johnston Island, which is 800 miles from Hawaii but we still have nearly 90,000 more stockpiled in 4 different states. All these were in storage and not planted as far as I know. Did I miss something? __________________ Please type slowly. I can't read very fast............... and no holy water, please.

10-19-2005, 08:57 PM	#17
Carbonated_Brains Does it show up here when I type? Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Between the smoky layers of a prosciutto sandwich! Posts: 355	One of the main reasons they use Gambian rats isn't their smarts, it's their stupidity. They don't develop the same Pavlovian tricks that dogs do. Over time, an explosive-sniffing dog will learn that finding a spot on the ground will get it a bite of food, and the rate of false positives goes up like crazy. Every dog has to be retired after a fairly short time. Similar things happen with drug dogs at the airport, although vastly more money goes into training them. One of the more promising technologies for finding mines is a genetically engineered flower that will grow a different colour in the presence of the volatile organic compounds given off by explosives. You airdrop ten thousand seeds, wait a week, and over each mine is a big red flower, in a sea of yellow ones.

10-28-2005, 01:39 PM	#20
barefoot serpent go ahead, abbrev. it Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 2,623	minefield practical jokes

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