Pigeon Guided Missiles

And 49 Other Ideas that Never Took Off

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Technology, Engineering, History
Cover of the book Pigeon Guided Missiles by James Moore, Paul Nero, The History Press
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Author: James Moore, Paul Nero ISBN: 9780752466767
Publisher: The History Press Publication: August 31, 2011
Imprint: The History Press Language: English
Author: James Moore, Paul Nero
ISBN: 9780752466767
Publisher: The History Press
Publication: August 31, 2011
Imprint: The History Press
Language: English

Scotland's Panamanian colony, the nuclear-powered car, a dome over all of Manhattan, the eagle-powered flying machine, the fire-extinguished hand grenade—history's heroic failures During World War II, behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner discovered that pigeons could be trained to recognize an object and to peck at an image of it; when loaded into the nose-cone of a missile, these pecks could be translated into adjustments to the guidance fins, steering the projectile to its target—a plan that was abandoned by the US Navy for more conventional solutions. This guide reveals this and other fascinating tales of daring plans from history designed to change the world, yet which ended in failure, or even disaster. Some became the victims of the eccentric figures behind them, others succumbed to financial and political misfortune, and a few were just too far ahead of their time. Discover why the great groundnut scheme cost British taxpayers £49 million; why the bid to build Minerva, a whole new country in the Pacific Ocean, sank; and why the first Channel Tunnel (started in 1881, more than a century before the one we know today) hit a dead end.

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Scotland's Panamanian colony, the nuclear-powered car, a dome over all of Manhattan, the eagle-powered flying machine, the fire-extinguished hand grenade—history's heroic failures During World War II, behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner discovered that pigeons could be trained to recognize an object and to peck at an image of it; when loaded into the nose-cone of a missile, these pecks could be translated into adjustments to the guidance fins, steering the projectile to its target—a plan that was abandoned by the US Navy for more conventional solutions. This guide reveals this and other fascinating tales of daring plans from history designed to change the world, yet which ended in failure, or even disaster. Some became the victims of the eccentric figures behind them, others succumbed to financial and political misfortune, and a few were just too far ahead of their time. Discover why the great groundnut scheme cost British taxpayers £49 million; why the bid to build Minerva, a whole new country in the Pacific Ocean, sank; and why the first Channel Tunnel (started in 1881, more than a century before the one we know today) hit a dead end.

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