h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

No, it's not Icy, sorry.

Here's a quiz for you from the Gheorgheni Institute of Peace Studies.

I just found this information in my reading. (And yes, as I explained to Elektra, my research had started with Lizzie Borden the Massachusetts axe murderess (alleged), so I'm being true to form.)

Tell me when it was written:

'The United States has recently had a test made, at
the Sandy Hook proving station, of four of the big-
gest projectiles ever made by this government. The
first shot went through an obstruction of thirteen and
a half inches of steel armor plate, four feet of solid
oak plank, and thirty-seven feet of sand. These four
shots cost the government -$17,000. '

A helpful hint: The preceding sentence says '...we may well conclude that war will cease because of its utter destructiveness.'

I am sure you know that Lizzie was acquitted of all charges

My first thought was the Spanish - American War of 1898, but I think I will go with World War I.

The term 'steel armor plate' makes earlier dates unlikely, although steel was available the thickness is a bit more than I would expect, and iron plate was more common.

F S

Let's see if any other ordinance experts weigh in, then I'll tell you the year.

Yeah, Lizzie was acquitted. Are you interested in her? The 1975 movie with Elizabeth Montgomery is enough to knock your socks off, and it's available on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrNupi0neiI

Apparently, Ms Montgomery was a distant cousin - and they rooted for Lizzie. It's all about feminism, you see, not hatchets.

Oh, the source for my weapons story also has this:

Those interested in naval warfare have been much
gratified with experiments made with a recently com-
pleted dynamite gun, weighing, with its carriage, fifty-
two tons, throwing a quarter of a ton of dynamite a
mile and a half with great accuracy, and so con-
structed that it will explode upon striking the water
or any other substance. It is operated by electricity,
and one projectile is said to be sufficient to destroy
three war ships at once. On one trial it is said to
have thrown an acre of the Atlantic Ocean into the
air.

The gentleman is being so sarcastic because he's a Quaker peace activist.

So with that information, any more experts online?

I have had an interest in Lizzie Borden's story for many years. I am sure you have read my Entries about Benedict Arnold and William T Sherman, I am always intrigued by strange characters in history. I have been to Fall River and I remember having read a book about her years ago. There was a group of Gypsies, or a carnival sideshow in the area who were also suspected in the murders. The Elizabeth Montgomery movie was excellent, although it did show her guilty and covering up the crime.

As I recall the turning point of the trial was if a girl could have the strength to cause the wounds recorded in the autopsy, ie the cracking of the skulls.

When I first found h2g2 I was interested in writing fiction, but when I realized that the Guide was about true stories I switched to historical topics. I love studying history, my favourite part is when reading period reports you find that much of what you thought was true is completely wrong.

I do hope a few more will post here. I would love to see other thoughts before you reveal the answer.

The Quakers are interesting. My wife and I once went to a meeting house to hear a lecture from a Buddhist Monk. Not many religions are that broad minded.

F S

Yes, I've been doing some research on Lizzie Borden, and the case was never solved.

You might find the group called the 'Mutton Eaters' interesting. They're a bunch of historical nuts from around Fall River. Lots of fascinating stuff they've found - and no, it's not all gruesome details about the case. It's about life in Fall River at the time.

Btw, Lizzie Borden wasn't a 'girl'. She was a 32-year-old woman with the strength of a New England woman in a day when they hauled water and chopped firewood. Wielding a hatchet doesn't strike me as a stretch.

And yeah, Quakers are cool - I used to be a regular attender at the Charlotte Meeting. If you're ever in Philadelphia, go to the Arch Street Meeting on Sunday morning. First place, it's a friendly meeting, no pun intended. Second, that meeting house dates back to colonial times. It was where Ben Franklin went his first day in town, and fell asleep, of course.

I could never get my dad into a meeting for that reason - terrified he'd snore...

I love the Quakers. I reckon if you're going to have a religion they've stumbled on one of the best ways to do it.

As for the date of the quote, I'm going to say sometime immediately after WWI, because if it was any more recent the price would be *much* higher. And also because of the large groundswell for peace the shock of WWI caused.

I expect to be wrong though, because 1919-ish seems a bit too obvious!

I was using the term 'girl' in the 19th century tense, a weak female. Yes she was probably capable of the crime, but the defence lawyer was using the prejudice of the day to defend her. I am sure this was part of the court record.

On a positive note my wife and I have been discussing our vacation plans for the last several months. This thread has led me to suggest a week in Philadelphia and she seems to think that might be fun. If you remember my NaJoPoMo from 2014 I posted several days about Navy Lt. Leib, he was from Philly and I want to get into some of the archives. If we make it there we will have to visit the Meeting House.

Thanks

F S

I confess I once worked for the Admiralty, but in IT, not ballistics.

Oak planks would seem to date this to before ironclads in 1860, ie pre-Civil War.

Before that, well, were the US geared up for this kind of research during the revolutionary wars? Possibly, or it could be something like the war of 1812.

Take some pics to share with all of us.

The meeting house is easy to find: Fourth and Arch.

Also visit Elfreth's Alley and the Betsy Ross House - and Penn's Landing, of course, since you love the ships. And take the ferry to Camden.

Oh, and have at least a drink, and maybe dinner, at the City Tavern, so you can enjoy that 18th-century hospitality. The Madeira is fine.

I think the oak planks may have misled you, Icy - they were just for testing purposes. You're a bit early there.

Although I remember I used to pass the old 'Confederate Laboratory' in North Carolina when I drove around the countryside. They had a suspicious-sounding R and D department...

Oops, I forgot to come back and answer this.

The testing and statistics were from the year 1894.

From: Fernando Gale Cartland, 'Southern Heroes: The Friends in War Time', Cambridge (MA): Riverside Press, 1895.
http://archive.org/details/southheroes00cartrich

Some context: The Spanish-American War didn't start until 1898.

Pacifist sentiments were not only strong at this time, but continued to be a major force until 1917. In Europe, too. Think of Alfred Nobel and his friends. (First prize, 1901.)

I haven't finished reading this book, but it's fascinating. Most of it is hair-raising stuff about how the Confederate Army tortured pacifists during the US Civil War. Some of these guys died rather than fight.

Which gives a new meaning to the old question, 'What if they held a war and nobody came?'

Now, I know the answer to that one, because I saw it happen last night in North Street.

A man standing in the middle of the road shouting "Come on you F .... , I'll fight every one of ye!" And everyone just ignored him so he toppled over and fell asleep.

That's what happens when you hold a war and nobody comes.

That's brilliant, KB.

Last night Denmark through a large-scale TV show collected 98 million kroner to the world's poorest in the third world

Meanwhile the government is willing to spend 30 billion kroner on 30 new jet fighters

I wish it were the other way around