Art, obsession, and identity
There are all sorts of rumors and conspiracy theories about what the US military gets up to behind closed doors. We may not have solid proof that they're experimenting on aliens at Area 51, but some of the documented projects they've undertaken in the past are already stranger than fiction. The 20th century was a particularly interesting period in history, as the World Wars and the Cold War created an extra sense of urgency–and a willingness to try anything.
The more bizarre projects show up in movies all the time, from 'Men Who Stare at Goats' (2009) to 'Pineapple Express' (2008). Some of them are as ridiculous and entertaining as they're portrayed in the media, but others took a darker turn.
Click through this gallery to see some of the most outrageous experiments carried out by the US military.
Project Iceworm was a Cold War experiment launched by the US military in 1958. Someone thought it would be a good idea to hide hundreds of missiles under the ice caps of Greenland! It was believed that this secret vantage point would be ideal for mounting nuclear strikes on the Soviet Union.
The Army built a prototype ice base called Camp Century. It consisted of two dozen large underground tunnels carved out of the ice, reinforced with steel and snow. It held living quarters for more than 200 people, scientific labs, and an operating hospital.
It was a technological marvel, but shifts in the ice caps disrupted the integrity of the structure, leaving it unsafe (particularly for the protection of nuclear weapons). They were forced to scrap the project in 1966.
Renowned psychologist B.F. Skinner came up with an outrageous new weapon during World War II. What’s even more outrageous is that the US military actually funded the experiment. The idea was to train pigeons to guide missiles towards enemy targets more accurately.
Skinner had observed the excellent vision and maneuverability of the pigeon and believed those attributes could be harnessed for his experiment. He conditioned the pigeons to peck at certain predetermined images, such as enemy ships, and then placed them in a tiny cockpit with a screen that displayed the missile's flight path.
Having been conditioned to recognize their targets, the pigeon should peck at the familiar images on-screen, steering the missile to its destination.
Amazingly, the pigeons proved to be excellent pilots and Skinner’s work won praise from both psychologists and physicists. However, the US military decided that the idea was too outlandish to put into practice.
The 1950s saw the US government take on one of its most controversial projects. The 20-year-long experiment involved testing illegal substances and other questionable chemicals on soldiers. The goal was to identify non-lethal substances that could be used to incapacitate the enemy and help with interrogations.
More than 5,000 unsuspecting soldiers were used as guinea pigs for the experiments, often not knowing what exactly they were signing themselves up for. They were given LSD, PCP, mescaline, and marijuana, to name but a few.
Some unfortunate subjects were even exposed to dangerous nerve agents like sarin and VX. There were widespread reports of lasting psychological trauma and health problems as a result of the experiments. The project was shut down following public outrage and a Congressional hearing.
When the moment was right, the incendiary devices would be activated, and the towns would be engulfed in flames. The military tested out the idea, but it went awry and they accidentally set fire to their own Air Force base in New Mexico.
In 1972, the US military obtained information that the Soviet Union was investing millions into experiments on extrasensory perception (ESP) and psychokinesis. Not wanting to be left behind, they initiated Project Star Gate.
The famous psychic Uri Geller led the experimentation. Although he was known for bending metal objects with his mind, the military were more interested in his supposed ability to read, and even control, other people’s minds.
Psychics were invited in to undertake the role of a “remote viewer.” They attempted to use their abilities to gather intelligence about the enemy. They were involved in numerous counter-terrorism operations, and helped to trace fugitives within the US. The project was shut down in 1995, having gained mixed results!
In 1981, American General James Dozier was kidnapped by terrorists from his home in Verona, Italy. Initially, the Italian government refused to assist in the investigation, so the US military resorted to alternative methods.
They called in the psychics from Project Star Gate and asked them to assist in locating General Dozier. They made several guesses, one psychic claiming he was in Padua, another saying they could see a brick building with a red roof. In the end, it was Italian police who located and saved the general.
In the 1990s, the US military developed an experimental non-lethal weapon for use in urban combat. They outsourced the project to a company called Adherent Technologies, and the result was like something out of ‘Ghostbusters.’
They developed a weapon that is lovingly referred to as the goo gun or, alternatively, sticky foam. An extremely tacky material is compressed into a gun. Once expelled, the victim will be whacked with a wall of sticky foam and become tangled and immobile.
The goal was to create something so strong that it could stop a moving vehicle in its tracks. However, it's reported that they ran into issues due to the risk of suffocating living targets.
Seeing in the dark is extremely important in the field, so night vision goggles are a common part of a soldier’s ensemble. But the Navy wanted to take it to the next level by developing a night vision pill that imitated the ocular capabilities of a nocturnal animal like the raccoon.
Raccoons have pigments in their eyes that allow them to see infrared light, which is invisible to humans. The goal was to allow soldiers to be able to detect infrared signals, facilitating the communication of secret messages. However, it doesn't seem to have come to fruition.
Aircraft carriers are usually large ships. This makes sense, as they're supposed to be able to carry fighter jets and other aircraft that weigh tons! However, in the 1930s, the US military experimented with putting an aircraft carrier in the sky.
They created two such airships, called the USS Akron and the USS Macon. They were 800-feet- (244-m-) long beasts that looked like blimps and could carry five airplanes each. Unfortunately, they both eventually crashed, so the experiment was abandoned.
It’s reported that the US military regularly dispersed chemical weapons over unsuspecting cities to test how they spread. In many cases they would be harmless microbes, simply scattered to get an idea of how a more dangerous compound could be used in biological warfare.
There are few notable occasions, however, where the chemicals they released over their own unsuspecting citizens were not so harmless. In 1950, a US Navy ship used a giant hose to spray a bacteria into San Francisco’s famous fog. Shortly afterwards, a patient at a local hospital died after becoming infected with this unusual bacteria.
It’s reported that the CIA released the whooping cough virus over the city of Tampa, Florida in 1955. Cases of whooping cough in Florida tripled, and 12 people in Tampa died.
Sources: (History) (Wired) (Insider) (Listverse)
Fascinating military projects of the 20th century
Some of these were absolutely bizarre
LIFESTYLE History
There are all sorts of rumors and conspiracy theories about what the US military gets up to behind closed doors. We may not have solid proof that they're experimenting on aliens at Area 51, but some of the documented projects they've undertaken in the past are already stranger than fiction. The 20th century was a particularly interesting period in history, as the World Wars and the Cold War created an extra sense of urgency–and a willingness to try anything.
The more bizarre projects show up in movies all the time, from 'Men Who Stare at Goats' (2009) to 'Pineapple Express' (2008). Some of them are as ridiculous and entertaining as they're portrayed in the media, but others took a darker turn.
Click through this gallery to see some of the most outrageous experiments carried out by the US military.