This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Beaver paratroopers!
Airborne Beavers Fight Floods
OUT in Idaho, the Department of Fish and Game is teaching eager beavers to yell “Geronimo!” These busy little creatures are being dropped by parachute to terrain where they can do their bit in the conservation battle.
Idaho state caretakers trap unwanted beavers which may be a nuisance in certain areas, round them up at central points and pack them in pairs in specially constructed wooden crates. After they are dropped, the boxes remain closed as long as there’s some tension on the parachute shrouds but pull open as soon as the chute collapses on the ground. Then, out crawl Mama and Papa beaver, ready to start work.
After they’re settled, the 40-pound, web-footed rodents multiply and become outpost agents of flood control and soil conservation. Fur supervisor John Smith reports that in carefully observed early operations,
the beavers headed straight for water and started building a new dam within a couple of days.
However, one problem still remains to be solved—a question of ethics more than conservation. Are these eager beavers bona fide members of the Caterpillar Club?
Entertaining article that explains why the core of any military force will always be made up of men and horses.
“Machines of war can only be adjuncts to their superior flexibility.”
Do we still have any mounted cavalry? I’ve seen pictures of those Special Forces guys in Afghanistan, but that’s about it.
Why Modern Armies Still Cling to the Cavalry
by M. W. MEIER
The tank is a powerful weapon, but the faithful horse can still outfight it in many situations encountered on modern battlefields.
Here is told the cavalry’s side of the story.
YOU may not know it but Uncle Sam has the finest cavalry on earth—pitifully small though it is.
It may lack the swank, color and picturesqueness of that of other nations but what it may lack in fancy-drilling ability it more than makes up for in equipment, firing-power and maneuverability—the things that really count in war.
Read the rest of this entry »
Remember, if it’s in Modern Mechanix magazine, then it must be true!
“Home James!”—Chimpanzee Acts as Owner’s Chauffeur
STEP on it, I’m late for
dinner.” That’s what the owner of this car at left tells his pet chimpanzee, who can really drive the automobile in a capable style and understands directions perfectly. James, who was renamed to conform with the discovery of his driving ability, sits proudly in the seat and guides the car through traffic. He learned by watching his owner. One day he climbed
in the car and drove it off. Everyone expected to find it parked on a telephone post or in a ditch. However, the new driver pulled up in front of the home and stopped the car.
