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A 16th Century CE, Manuscript (UPenn Ms. Codex 109) includes an image of 'Cat with a rocket on its back'.

It comes from a work that examines gunpowder and weaponry, one idea was to use doves and cats loaded with flammable devices to set fire to enemy positions.

Detailed Post -
instagram.com/p/CxkSXyfPky2/?i

@archaeohistories
@andreeafont

Barbaric practice that I had not heard of but quite creative.

Is there any evidence of this having actually been practiced?

@HistoPol @archaeohistories @andreeafont I am afraid that yes there is.

Look up Project Pigeon. People have used animals in war for years. There’s the famous baboon Jackie. The bear Wojtek (First, Second World War respectively). Americans trained dogs to try and sniff out Japanese blood. That was on Cat Island.

UK dropped pamphlets telling citizens it would be inhumane to have pets. Many were killed because of it.

@HistoPol @archaeohistories @andreeafont there’s an entire book about animals in the Second World War. I have over 40 books on it last I counted and I have added since then. It’s the only one I couldn’t read. I put it down.

Humans don’t care. Anything to help them win. Doesn’t matter how. Animals are disposable to them.

And think about dogs used to sniff out bombs.

Of course there’s evidence as awful as it is.

@HistoPol @archaeohistories @andreeafont … many Americans offered up their pets for the war effort. At first American officials were sceptical. Sadly it changed.

When I got to the point where they were offering up pets I couldn’t take it any longer. I was already disgusted by it all.

I feared it when I got the book but I decided to give it a go.

It wasn’t something I could do.

@HistoPol @archaeohistories @andreeafont it is definitely horrible.

That is sadly a very human trait.

You know. People think they are superior to everything else. A species that is truly superior would treat everything as equal. I don’t see humanity doing that.

Certainly many people do but on a whole it’s just not going to happen. It’s a terrible tragedy.

I do not know how it is nowadays but I seriously doubt that it is any better.

@xexyl @HistoPol @archaeohistories

Indeed, horrible and sad stuff.

Thank you for sharing this, it is important that these things are known.

@xexyl

Please do add a CW to ALL posts re/ war, SS, NSDAP, etc.! - There are many people here who have ancestors lost in WWII, or friends and family, many still have traumatic memories or might even suffer from PTSD.

Thank you for your consideration and sorry about the editing work.

@andreeafont @archaeohistories

@xexyl

Thank you!

I was recently in contact with a survivor who even gets triggerd by DMs, so for any kind of violence, a CW is important.

@andreeafont @archaeohistories

@HistoPol @andreeafont @archaeohistories I definitely understand.

I can think of things that are even worse but fortunately not relevant or at least not necessary.

I have also suggested to some people a category for this type of thing. But that’s something I try not thinking about.

There probably should be an option for doing this with mobiles. It might be there but I don’t see it and that’s where I was writing from. iPhone if that matters.