I have been asked whether in the years to come it will be possible to kill forty million American people by the use of atomic bombs in a single night. I’m afraid the answer to that question is yes. To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb, Oppenheimer, Sky 2023
Robert Oppenheimer was the father of the atomic bomb. ibid. dude
This cultured non-violent man was responsible for birthing the most violent weapon in human history. ibid.
And they were led by this very enigmatic strange bright-blue-eyed young man who they all admired. ibid.
We did think about whether its destructiveness, its danger, could be vividly demonstrated over a barren and uninhabited target. And we were very doubtful of that. ibid. Oppenheimer
He becomes a rock star. He’s the oracle of American science. ibid. author
After the security trial Oppenheimer was never the same man again. He was a hollow man after that. ibid.
Most of these who are thrust into combat soon find it impossible to maintain the mythic perception of war. Chris Hedges, War is Force that Gives Us Meaning
The vanquished know war. They see through the empty jingoism of those who use the abstract words of glory, honor and patriotism to mask the cries of the wounded, the senseless killing, war profiteering, and chest-pounding grief. Christ Hedges, War: Realities and Myths
On January 6th 2021 the world watched as the then US President Donald Trump’s supporters broke into the Capitol building to try to stop the certification of the election of Joe Biden as the next President. It was the first time there had been a violent attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in the US. Storyville: War Game, captions, BBC 2024
The exercise was put together by the Vet Voice Foundation – a network of former US military personnel who believe the government is not doing enough to root out white supremacists and far-right militants in their own ranks. ibid.
The participants in the game included Generals, CIA analysts, and elected politicians, bringing with them experience from all corners of the US political system. ibid.
What ultimate weapons of destruction have ancient civilisation managed to create more than 2,000 years ago? Might the energy of the sun have been used against invading ships? Could a cannon powered by steam have crushed an enemy fleet? And might the ancient world have built a warship so huge it could match modern aircraft carriers? Ancient Impossible s1e1: Ultimate Weapons, H2 2014
The ancient world was not primitive. Their marvels were so advanced we still use them. ibid.
‘Archimedes was a brilliant inventor and mathematician.’ ibid. Bethany Hughes
Archimedes had a fearsome reputation in the ancient world as a mastermind of warfare. ibid.
What could be Archimedes’ most sinister weapon – a death ray. ibid.
Could Archimedes’ cannon have had the power needed for such destruction simply using steam? ibid.
Egypt: This floating superweapon appears to have carried more people than a modern aircraft carrier. ibid.
How did the Romans manage to defy gravity and make millions of litres of water flow uphill over mountains? How did the Ancient Egyptians carve massive granite obelisks thousands of years before the Washington monument was built? And why would the Roman army build their own mountain? Ancient Impossible s1e2: Moving Mountains
2,000 years ago it was Mission Impossible for the mighty Roman Army. They had to conquer this impregnable mountain fortress, surrounded by sheer cliffs, standing hundreds of feet above the Judean desert. ibid.
The Romans completed the wall around Masada in just a few days. But what they didn’t realise was how well stocked the rebels were. ibid.
If the Romans couldn’t starve the rebels out, they would take Masada by force. ibid.
Siege ramps have been part of warfare for thousands of years. ibid.
How do you get a thousand-ton obelisk on to a barge? … [A. Make it an axle] ibid.
Roman engineers kept the water moving through hills and valleys maintaining a steady gradient of less than one per cent. An astounding feat. ibid.
How did the Chinese manage to build a devastating repeating weapon 2,000 years before machine guns? What secrets lie behind the ancient world’s high-tech body armour made thousands of years before bullet-proof vests? What simple invention was behind one of the world’s most ruthless weapons: land mines? Ancient Impossible s1e4: Warrior Tech
‘And they invented this – the Chinese repeating crossbow.’ ibid. comment
‘Ancient Greece had lightweight armour that predates Kevlar by over 2,000 years.’ ibid.
The Romans had fully armoured knights over 1,000 years before the age of chivalry. ibid.
Their answer to Saxon raids was the Cataphract. ibid.
The Saxon super-sword was the first perfected use of composite metal in the world. ibid.
The ancient world clearly had more than one great scientific thinker. These ancient geniuses came up with many amazing theories and inventions. Many believe their intellectual capacity may have matched that of great moden thinkers such as Albert Einstein. Colossal monuments, powerful ancient superweapons, and technology so precise it defies reinvention. Ancient Impossible s1e5: Ancient Einsteins
How did the Greeks create one of the deadliest warships of the ancient world? Might the first battleships have been built hundreds of years before the industrial age? And why did Rome’s more notorious emperor build his pleasure ships? Ancient Impossible s1e7: Greatest Ships
The ancient world created pleasure ships to amaze. But they also created floating superweapons in desperate ancient arms race … Steel amour was … commissioned by a Korean admiral. ibid.
The use of flame as a a weapon at sea goes back to the ancient Greeks. ibid.
The game-changing lightweight armour that helped Alexander the Great conquer Asia. ibid.
Rome created snipers, repeating weapons and artillery barages to build an empire. Ancient Impossible s1e9: Roman Empire
The Ballista wasn’t just powerful, it was accurate. ibid.
The Roman army had fully armoured horses. ibid.