Weren't grenades originally the same size and weight as baseballs so that people would be used to throwing them?
this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
335 points (98.0% liked)
NonCredibleDefense
3543 readers
86 users here now
Rules:
- Posts must abide by lemmy.world terms and conditions
- No spam or soliciting for money.
- No racism or other bigotry allowed.
- Obviously nothing illegal.
If you see these please report them.
Related communities:
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
WWI German grenades had sticks, which increased range a lot at the expense of accuracy.
Americans, raised on baseball, were able to get the pineapple grenades into impossible holes, which made them a lot more effective than the German-style grenade.
I actually heard that reasoning as well but after I read into it I came to the conclusion that this is most likely false. Roundly shaped grenades have been around for centuries and the first introduction of a pineapple-shaped grenades was by the Brits in WW1.
Also a grenade is around three times as heavy as a baseball.
But it makes sense that Americans were/are especially good at throwing grenades because of baseball.
Yeah, grenades and baseballs are the same size for the same reason: It's about as big a shape as a person can hold and throw far with a lot of accuracy. It was just a happy coincidence that my grandfather was both on a winning Little League team and the Nazis loved pillboxes with tiny holes. He was part of the 14th Armored and could probably land a grenade in a pillbox from a hundred feet away just like throwing someone out at home from left field.
Round grenades=throwable. Stick grenades=throwable and you have to carry a big fuck off stick too.
Would you rather have more grenades or have your current grenades come with a stick?
Wasn’t the construction of the old “pineapple” also more effective at generating shrapnel when it went off, too?
I dove into the Wikipedia article about handgrenades. There's a common separation between offensive and defensive grenades. Those which cause shrapnel are usually considered defensive grenades as they're having a larger, unforseeable area of effect and because of that you want to throw it from a defensive, covered position. But often times offensive grenades which usually cause harm only through their shockwave could easily be upgraded with a metal cover that will provide a shrapnel effect.
Grenades are way older than baseball.
Americans eventually designed them thusly, because Americans like me are simple people who like baseball, cold beer, and throwing explosives at Nazis.
You should get back to your roots then, lately most of the Nazis are Americans.
We are so inundated with American news that I'm not at all sure that this is true. We just don't hear about our own problems enough.
Check out my reply to another comment itt as I did a little research on this topic.
And your typical American boy had more experience throwing baseballs than grenades
Otherwise known as the modern atlatl.
What happens when the dog fetches it, though?
What dog?
Have you considered a trebuchet?
Are we going to dwelve into trebuchet mems.
I don't even think it's a meme. A trebuchet propelled grenade sounds very effective.
change the grenade to spicynade, add mech and name it Metal Gear
Is a trebuchet a man portable, fire on the go device?
Mid-range semi-portible, crewed infantry support device.
We need our infantry to lead a fun, flirty lifestyle. I'm not sure a treb aligns.
That's probably the most NCD statement I've ever had the pleasure of reading o7
It would be an interesting engineering project to build a small scale trebuchet that could be calibrated to throw grenades very specific distances by adjusting the counterweight.
you could use a shephard's sling instead to keep your early ranged units viable
This would be so much fun to use.
I've always wondered why nobody is using those.
RPGs and grenade launchers are more accurate, safer, and have longer range.
Credible. The minimal range increase you get with this isn't really worth the loss of accuracy. You'll be more accurate throwing with your hands at short ranges, and if you need to place a precise explosion at a range higher than about 50m this thing isn't getting it done. Just pack M320s on your boys and it's as easy as point and click.
Just jimmy up the pin to release as it's thrown. What could go wrong?
If the spoon stays in place when the grenade is the holder you can take out the pin before you swing. Since the release of the spoon triggers the grenade not the pin itself.
What exactly makes you think this hasn’t been done? The reason for this question is that your post implies you’ve seen everything.
Calm down bro. This is not Reddit
You must be flakey.
Incredible. We went from why people use dog leads with grenades as a genuine question to attacking people.