Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Incendiary pig (2nd nomination)

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was BJAODN and delete. Mailer Diablo 13:38, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Incendiary pig

Animals have been used in warfare, see bat bomb and antitank dog, yet this is certainly a hoax. The closest that we have is Samson destroying the Philistines' grain harvest. I checked Livy, Cassius Dio and Polybius, none of whom mention burning pigs being used by the Romans. Since all keep voters in the last AfD oinly made reference to the video game, this should be deleted as fake. Dr Zak 15:11, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

• Delete. Complete nonsense. Brian G. Crawford 16:15, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
• Delete, seems to be non-verifiable WP:V--blue520 16:20, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
• Delete per nom or redirect to Rome:Total War. "If not deployed correctly, they will likely run amok amongst friendly forces instead of charging toward the enemy." Friendly fire, BC! Шизомби 16:36, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
• Delete Nonsense. I wish Monty Python had thought of it. Could have made an interesting companion to the catapulted cow. Fan1967 17:39, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
• Copy to WP:BJAODN; then delete. Lambiam^Talk 19:34, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
• Delete Take a good look at the creator's edit comment: 00:10, 12 June 2005 68.248.11.138 (Started article :p) I think he meant it to be a joke. Pat Payne 20:48, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
• Delete. It is time it became roast pork. Anthony Appleyard 21:41, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
• Comment See War Elephant: A reportedly effective anti-elephant weapon was the pig. Pliny the Elder reported that "elephants are scared by the smallest squeal of a pig" (VIII, 1.27). A siege of Megara was reportedly broken when the Megarians poured oil on a herd of pigs, set them alight, and drove them towards the enemy's massed war elephants. The elephants bolted in terror from the flaming squealing pigs. Not quite the same, but it does give you pause. I don't think that one reference supports the .. um.. "depth" of article portrayed here. It certainly doesn't seem to be a widely used "weapon". - Vedexent 00:02, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Ooookay. So it's Pliny where this unconventional piece of weaponry is found. Should have thought about that! Thing is, he wasn't exactly great at distinguishing reliable sources from urban legends. Dr Zak 16:20, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

You mean like this one? Fan1967 19:37, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Ouch. Let's just say that some urban legends have greater impact than others. :-) Dr Zak 21:21, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

• BJAODN, then Delete. The most significant of these being its single use nature - the pigs can only be fired up once. made my day. -- ReyBrujo 03:11, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Delete I don't believe it either. Runcorn 16:57, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

• Keep I am of the opinion that these may be real. For example, this book review on Amazon.com written by Publisher's Weekly makes mention of them. It says "One antielephant weapon consisted of coating live pigs with pitch, setting them on fire and driving them at the elephants." I notice that Vedexent has made mention of a similar reference; while this type of weapon may not have been widely used, I feel it justifies an article in Wikipedia - perhaps with the note that they were not widely used. Nigelquinine 23:36, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.