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Imponderable #76: France

11 Jan

January 11, 2013

I am sure you are all bracing yourselves. After all, I am not a fan of France. Well, read on, and you may be pleasantly surprised.

birdimp

This was in News of the Weird but I ask you, what is weird about it? Sometimes the old ways are the best ways. An EMP may knock out electronic communications, drones, satellites, etc, but it won’t kill the birds. Sure, the ones in the air during the pulse may fall out of the sky, but ten minutes later you can have another squadron up and running.

bird_ani1

So what if this is old school? The newer is better mindset is what sells out iPhones in the first hour they go on the market, but for 99% of us, it really better than whatever phone you have in your pocket?

This is only weird news in light of the fact that anything old is weird nowadays. Are black and white movies worse than new 3D films? Would Citizen Kane benefit from a James Cameron makeover? Should Johnny Knoxville star in a remake of Casablanca?

Armies still study The Art of War by Sun Tzu. While it was first published in English in 1910, the book is far older than that.

The only thing that is Imponderable about this story is that, of all the world, it is France that got it right.

France!

Sacré bleu!

(Interestingly, that French stereotype is rarely said in France. You can thank Agatha Christie for its American proliferation.)

No one has yet come up with a god substitute for a seeing eye dog, and why would they? So in light of all the knowledge of the ancient world, is it really Imponderable that carrier pigeons can make a comeback?

Dastardly-and-Mutley-Stop-the-Pigeon

 Looks good to me.