mcdspot

“A single [German] Tiger tank can take out 4 [U.S.] Shermans, but there always seemed to be a fifth.”

– unknown German tank ace

From this site about a guy’s amazing private tank collection.

via Wired:

“The scaly-foot snail’s shell employs a structure “unlike any other known mollusk or any other known natural armor,” the researchers report…Ortiz and her colleagues found that the shell consists of a 250-micrometer-thick inner layer of aragonite, a common shell material, sheathed in a 150-micrometer-thick layer of squishy organic materials. The organic layer is encased in a thin, stiff outer layer (about 30 micrometers thick) made of hard iron sulfide–based scales. The gastropod wears larger versions of the scales on its exposed foot.”

via sg51

I would have bought one of these when I was 14 and loved it.

I can’t imagine actually needing this knife, but it’s pretty cool all the same.

That’s not a knife. This is a knife.

If you’ve ever wanted a tour of a Russian Typhoon nuclear submarine, here’s your chance.

The Apache pocket pistol.

This guy chases storms. With a deep camera.

Don’t show up to a gunfight carrying a knife, but I think you’ll be ok if you show up with one of these.

The Wasp Knife is one serious knife. It has a cartridge of compressed gas in the handle that can deliver 24 grams of gas (about the size of a basketball) at 800 psi. When used on a land target, the knife causes near-instant inflation and freezing of all surrounding tissues and organs, apparently enough to drop many large animals. Underwater, the knife can cause a fish to shoot to the surface before it begins to bleed.

If you were ever wondering exactly what the differences between the AK47, the AR15, and the Mosin Nagant rifles are, you can completely satisfy your queries here.

A picture from Opération Canopus, France’s first two-stage thermonuclear test conducted on August 24, 1968 at Fangataufa atoll. I’ve seen this a hundred times but these high resolution shots are fascinating.

Apparently this is a gun that allows you to shoot around corners. The kitty on top is a disguise–because you wouldn’t want people to think those bullets were coming from a gun. Video of the gun here.

What were they thinking?

This new invention acts like a force-field around military vehicles, deterring most rocket attacks.

Check out the Marines’ new toy: the M-32 six-shot 40mm grenade launcher.

If you like that, you’ll also like the Navy Seals’ new boat.

Got a gun? Turn it in, get Sixers tickets.

For the next week, anyone who turns in a firearm to Philadelphia police will get two free tickets to a Philadelphia 76ers game.

No questions will be asked about the firearm, officials said. It will be taken, melted down, and turned into playground equipment.

I’ve blogged this before, but these photos of nuclear explosions are haunting. More galleries are here and here.