TIL: Animal Prostitution Is A Real Thing & U.S Military Had Developed An Experimental Bomb With Real Bats!

So, today I would like to share two really, really cool facts I just heard. However, I won't expand too much into them. First, because wikipedia has already great pages on both topics but mainly because yesterday was my birthday and I had too much cake and too much alcohol and my brain is still too dizzy to write a long-ass post! Furthermore, today is also my brother's birthday so I don't have much time, I must return to eating and drinking ASAP!

 First, here are some cake photos to make you jelly:

  And here's the coolest gift I got yesterday, by @ruth-girl:

Ok, let's get back to the main topics of the day:

1. Animal Prostitution Is A Real Thing

If you thought only humans engage in transactional sex then think again.  Studies have shown that certain animals like Adélie penguins, capuchin monkeys and chimpanzees also whore themselves out from time to time! 

One notable example is an experiment by researchers at the at Yale–New Haven Hospital.  They trained seven capuchin monkeys to use silver discs as money which they could use to buy grapes,  Jell-O and other treats and recorded what they did with them. At some point of the experiment, one of the monkeys gave a silver disc to another monkey and got some sex in return! It was the first "exchange of money for sex in the history of monkeykind." !

Here's a link to wikipedia's entry on Prostitution among animals if you want to read some other examples of prostitution in the animal kingdom!

So, now let's move to the next, much cooler in my opinion fact of the day.

2. The U.S Military Had Developed An Experimental Bomb With Real Bats Inside!

The Bat bomb (credit)

Back in the 1940s, both the axis and the allies had developed or were trying to develop all kind of weird and strange weapons. Take for example the huge-ass german "Landkreuzer P. 1000" tank that never came to be..

(credit)

And the quite successful russian kamikazee anti-tank dogs that were trained to carry explosives to tanks, armored vehicles and other military targets...

(credit)

As for the bat bomb, it was an experimental weapon developed by the U.S during WW2. The bomb wasn't actually a bomb, more like a bomb-shaped casing that had over a thousand compartments. Each compartment was designed to house a Mexican free-tailed bat that in turn would carry a small, timed incendiary bomb. 

The bat bomb was designed to be dropped from regular bombers at dawn. At some point mid-air, a parachute would be released and the compartments would open to release the bats. Then the bats would try to find shelter in nearby houses, attics or whatever, go kaboom and spread fire, death and chaos. The main intended target for these bombs were the cities of Japan, which primarily consisted of buildings made of wood and paper. Smart!

Several tests were made and the bat bomb concept almost became a reality.  The National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) observer even stated that "it was an effective weapon."  but eventually the bomb got cancelled by the Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King when he was informed that it wouldn't be ready by mid-1945.

In the end, the U.S. used a much more effective bomb to succumb Japan's spirt. One that didn't require the sacrifice of thousands, if not millions of bats....  A weapon that thirstied though for the blood of both the born and the unborn ones:  

(credit)

Well, excuse me now as I get ready to gorge myself with more food and alcohol. I know the post ended in a sad tone, it wasn't my original intention..

See you tomorrow!