13. The Flying Humvee
It’s a car. But it’s also a plane? It’s a transformer.
…Guess childhood dreams can come true?
14. Operation Merlin
If you’re looking for proof that smart people sometimes do dumb things – or that there are many different ways to measure intelligence – look no further. Because Operation Merlin is the only proof you’ll ever need. And boy is it definitive.
Let’s explain.
About a decade back, the Clinton administration was not so hot on the idea of Iran developing a nuclear program. So they decided to sabotage it, but in a sneaky way.
They teamed up with a nuclear physicist to ‘leak’ faulty blueprints to the Iranians and muddle their efforts.
Unfortunately, that’s where things went south. Because, while explaining the plans, the physicist noticed the flaws in the false documents, and inadvertently revealed them to the Iranian scientists. So instead of slowing down their nuclear program, Operation Merlin sped it up. A lot.
15. Project Sunshine
We knew that nuclear radiation was bad for people. We just didn’t know how bad, or what exactly it did. So we wanted to research it. A noble goal, right?
There’s just one problem. At the time, the only way to do it was by examining the victims, and the most useful subjects for study were recently deceased children.
Here’s a quote from the head scientist, Dr. Libby, explaining the situation:
“I don’t know how to get them, but I do say that it is a matter of prime importance to get them, and particularly in the young age group. So, human samples are often of prime importance, and if anybody knows how to do a good job of body snatching, they will really be serving their country.”
It doesn’t get much weirder than dead-baby snatching in the line of patriotic duty.
