Gay bomb
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- This article is about the chemical weapon. For the controversial Afghanistan War photograph, see fag bomb.
The "Halitosis bomb" and "Gay bomb" are informal names for two theoretical non-lethal chemical weapons, which a United States Air Force research laboratory speculated about producing.
In 1994 the Wright Laboratory in Ohio produced a three-page proposal on a variety of possible nonlethal chemical weapons, which was later obtained - complete with marginal jottings and typos - by the Sunshine Project through a Freedom of Information Act request.
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[edit] Leaked documents
In both of the documents, the possibility was canvassed that a strong aphrodisiac could be dropped on enemy troops, ideally one which would also cause "homosexual behavior". The documents described the aphrodisiac weapon as "distasteful but completely non-lethal". The "New Discoveries Needed" section of one of the documents implicitly acknowledges that no such chemicals are actually known. The reports also include many other off-beat ideas, such as spraying enemy troops with bee pheromones and then hiding numerous beehives in the combat area, and a chemical weapon that would give the enemy bad breath.
[edit] Body odors
Body odor remote-engineering, such as halitosis and hyperhidrosis was another possibility discussed. How these would be produced would again be by a non-lethal chemical weapon -- possibly one that would affect the hormonal and digestive systems. Diabetes which is also another frequently reported ailment, can of course contribute to this goal. It appears that a 'heavy sweating bomb', 'flatulence bomb' and 'halitosis bomb' were also considered by a committee at the time. The plan was to make an enemy so smelly they could be quite literally sniffed out of hiding by their opponents. It was also considered fairly damaging to the enemy's morale as well.
[edit] Ig Nobel Prize awards
Wright Laboratory won the 2007 Ig Nobel Peace Prize for "instigating research & development on a chemical weapon—the so-called 'gay bomb' / 'poof bomb' —that will make enemy soldiers become sexually irresistible to each other."[1] However, Air Force personnel contacted were not willing to attend the award ceremony at Harvard University's Sanders Theater to accept the award in person.
[edit] See also
- Homokaasu, a fictitious poisonous chemical substance
- Bremelanotide, the only known synthetic aphrodisiac
- The Nude Bomb, a 1980 comedy film about a bomb that dissolved clothing
- Frey effect (science).
[edit] References
- ^ Winners of the Ig Nobel Prize. Improbable Research (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-18.
- "Harassing, Annoying, and 'Bad Guy' Identifying Chemicals" (PDF). Sunshine Project. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
- Smith, Michael. "Pentagon planned love bomb", Telegraph.co.uk, The Daily Telegraph, 15 January 2005. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- "US military pondered love not war", news.bbc.co.uk, BBC News, 15 January 2005. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
- Bransten, Jeremy. "U.S.: Pentagon Unveils The Next Generation Of Nonlethal Weapons", GlobalSecurity.org, 30 January 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
- Plante, Hank. "Pentagon Confirms It Sought To Build A 'Gay Bomb'", cbs5.com, KPIX-TV, 8 June 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- Bernard, Jerome. "Pentagon once mulled 'gay bomb' to promote love not war", Daily Times, 16 June 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-30.
- "Ig Nobel awards celebrate the sillier side of science", CNN.com, CNN, 5 October 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
- Michael Smith, “The Gay bomb", The Telegraph, 15/01/2005.
[edit] External links
- Simpson, Mark (13 June 2007). 'Armed and Amorous'. The Guardian.
- Hambrick, Greg (12 June 2007). Gay Bomb, For Real. Gay Charleston: A Charleston City Paper Blog. Charleston City Paper. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
- Kay, Jonathan (12 June 2007). "Jonathan Kay on the Pentagon's plan to build a 'gay bomb': Why is this 2005 story news again?". Full Comment. National Post. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
- The Gay Bomb, with parody diagram. Unknown Website Parody. Unknown Publisher (12 June 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
- Hadassah's Bizzare - Electro Poetry & Absurdist Prose. Gay Bomb. Axon D'Luxe (22 November 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
- US military planned 'gay bomb'
- Air force looked at spray to turn enemy gay
- Air Force Considered Gay 'Love Bomb' Against Enemies
- US Military "Gay Bomb" Video
- Gay bomb plan by US
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