Did this quiz make you gunshy?

Here are the answers.

1. The first gun was fired in Europe in 1364, as far as anyone knows. (That's if the Doctor didn't do anything rash.) How was it fired? By lighting a wick.
2. In order to fire guns, you need gunpowder. Who invented it, and how did Europeans get hold of it? The Chinese, and it came west on the Silk Road, possibly due to the Mongols. There's a moral here about controlling technology flow.
3. What exactly was a fowling piece? A gun for hunting birds. Upper-class twits often had highly decorative ones that were good for the birds because they couldn't hit much with them.
4. What was remarkable about the Crimean War, firearms-wise? It was the last conflict to use only muzzle-loading guns. Slow but deadly.
5. What significant piece of military Research and Development did Abraham Lincoln carry out on 19 August, 1863? He testfired a Spencer repeating rifle, an innovation in firearms. Not many US presidents have been that hands-on with the hardware.
6. When was the first gun control law enacted in the UK? 1903. Before that, you could have all the guns you pleased. Surprised?
7. When did the US pass the first federal firearms law, and what prompted it? 1934. Well-armed gangsters were becoming an issue, especially after the 1929 Valentine's Day massacre.
8. What is a boga, where does it come from, and is it legal? The boga is a PVC cannon used as a holiday noisemaker in the Philippines. At least, it used to be: the government has banned it. Frankly, those things are dangerous.
9. What is the most popular assault weapon in the world, and what extra feature sometimes comes with it? The Avtomat Kalashnikova, or AK-47, is far and away the most popular death-dealing assault rifle. It sometimes has a bayonet attached.
10. What is an N-Strike Elite Strongarm Blaster, and do you want one? It's a very powerful Nerf gun. Costs $12.99 on Amazon. Of course you want one.

For your firearms needs, we recommend either a fowling piece with a cork in it, or a really cool Nerf gun. Foam rubber and flowery titles are just our style.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

20.11.17 Front Page

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