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What if you heard the U.S. military once tried to develop a bomb that “contained a chemical that would cause enemy soldiers to become gay, and to have their units break down because all their soldiers became irresistibly attractive to one another”?
I’d have guessed this happened in the 1950s, or in a politically incorrect war movie. I’d have been wrong. This unconventional weapon was proposed in 1994. It all sounds made up and crazy, but the Pentagon “confirmed that military leaders had considered, and then subsequently rejected, building the so-called ‘Gay Bomb.’” The dismissed plan was discovered by a watchdog group that tracks military spending.
Here are some other non-traditional and far less newsworthy ideas from the same period, found in a document titled “Harassing, Annoying and ‘Bad Guy’ Identifying Chemicals”:
• “Chemicals that attract annoying creatures to the enemy position and make the creatures aggressive and annoying.”
• “A ’sting me/attack me’ chemical that causes bees to attack would be especially effective for infiltration routes. Treat a section of trail with the chemical, and position multiple bee hives a short way down the trail.”
• “Chemicals that make lasting but non-lethal markings on the personnel. Those that were exposed…could be easily identified (by smell or appearance) weeks later, making it impossible for them to blend with the local population.”
[Thanks to Jason W. Lee for passing this along.]
Comments (7)
Comment
Very odd. Is Area-51 as inconceivable as a Gay Bomb?
posted by ajadoniz on 6-14-2007 at 5:14 pm
love the last one! thats good for pow escapes… though some military ideas are a little craked, you gotta admit that they do have some clever ones.
for the gay bomb, in 1994 the US had women in the military and since we are basically the slowest when it comes to womans rights… wouldn’t other countries have girls too?? or would the gay bomb effect them too??
sorry for the speech/questions, im just really intrested in this bomb.
posted by trouble on 6-14-2007 at 6:10 pm
My history teacher charged my AP US History class to write a script for Rocky 28 one day after we had taken the AP exam. In our script, Rocky trained to fight a terrorist who turned him gay with a bomb much like the one the military considered making. It scares me that the military comes up with the same ideas as a bunch of high school juniors who are bored and trying to annoy their history teacher.
posted by Louisa on 6-14-2007 at 6:12 pm
The last three are really interesting as nonlethal weapons (and I can’t help but be amused by the mental image of an enemy squadron suddenly findint themseves surrounded by annoying animals and reaking out.)
Ont thing concerns me, though. Am I the only one who sees the government’s use of homosexuality as a possible use as a weapon as incredibly offensive? After all that has gone on between pro- and anti-gay communities, the government decides to do THIS? Please tell me that part was a joke.
posted by heather on 6-15-2007 at 12:21 am
Oh my… That’s more than slightly odd… Hahahaha! I’d like to see this enacted in a movie or summin.. oh funny…
posted by Divya on 6-15-2007 at 4:11 am
Sounds like the kind of project that exists solely on paper. The funding actually goes to something that doesn’t get declassified - ever.
I wonder if there would be a specific military occupational specialty for the soldier who has to plant the bee hives in strategic locations.
posted by Bill T. on 6-15-2007 at 12:40 pm
#2 - “since we are basically the slowest when it comes to womans rights”
Are you effing kidding me?
posted by sarah on 1-24-2008 at 10:15 am