Category Archives: Trivia

The Boys – trivia nad easter eggs from Amazon tv series

“The Boys” is an adaptation of a comic book series with the same title. It was created by the Irish writer Garth Ennis. Here are some interesting facts about “The Boys”.

SPOILERS!!!!!

Punisher kills the Marvel Universe

“The Boys” is an expansion of Garth’s idea from one of the first comics he created for Marvel – “Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe.” In this comic, Frank Castle’s family dies as a result of the actions of superheroes. It turns out that there are more people who have lost loved ones in similar circumstances. Punisher agrees to work for a secret organization that fights superheroes. From that point on, he systematically kills all Marvel heroes. In the end, only one hero, Daredevil, is left alive. Frank manages to defeat him, but to his horror, he discovers that he has killed his childhood friend. Seeing that he has become what he fights against, he decides to kill the last living superhero – himself.

The Boys film adaptation

The comic book was originally planned to be adapted as a movie. The director was Adam McKay (Succession). Unfortunately, after several years, the project got stuck in development hell. Several studios refused to produce it because they were afraid of the R-rating, which marketing experts believed would lead to a financial failure. It was not until a few years later that movies like Deadpool and Logan proved that even with an R-rating, a superhero movie can be sucesful.

Cancelation

“The Boys” was canceled after only six issues. The publisher deemed it too violent, vulgar, and obscene. The rights reverted back to the creators who quickly found a new publisher, and the work resumed. In total, 72 issues were produced.

Herogasm

In addition, a six-issue spin-off series titled “Herogasm” was created. The raunchy comic book depicts the sexual exploits of The Seven. Pretending to have a mission to save the world, the superheroes go to a Vought-owned resort and participate in orgies for a week. “Herogasm” was used in the sixth episode of the third season. In the TV series, the event is organized by former members of Payback.

Censorship

Although the Amazon executives were aware they were making an obscene series, some scenes were blocked by them as too explicit. One of the scenes that fell victim to the cuts was the one where Homelander masturbates on a skyscraper. It was originally filmed for the first season, but only after the success of the first season were they allowed to use it in the second season.

Simon Pegg

One of the more well-known cast members is Simon Pegg. His presence in the cast is not accidental. Hughie was inspired by Pegg’s appearance. Actors are often very sensitive about their image and in many cases, this could result in legal intervention. However, Pegg not only had no objections, but even wrote an introduction to the first album in the series, “The Name of the Game.” Pegg also had the opportunity to play Hughie in an animated series spin-off called “The Boys Presents: Diabolical.”

Hughie Campbell

Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell) is the son of the queen of romantic comedies, Meg Ryan, and actor Denis Quaid. The parents met on the set of the thriller D.O.A.

Justice League vs The Boys

The Boys is inspired by the Justice League, but some characters are endowed with powers from the Avengers and X-Men. Homelander is obviously Superman. Queen Maeve is Wonder Woman. Black Noir is a combination of Batman and Black Bolt. The Deep is a parody of Aquaman. A-Train is Flash. Starlight is a combination of Dr. Light, Dazzler, and Jubilee. Translucent is modeled after the Invisible Woman from the Fantastic Four. In the comics, this character did not appear at all.

The fictional film Dawn of The Seven, an obvious parody of Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

In contrast to his TV counterpart, the comic book Soldier Boy is cowardly and very naive. In one scene, he is sexually abused by Homelander, who convinced him it was a “test” to become a member of The Seven. The hero did not have a destructive beam – this is a creation of the tv series writers. Another difference is that Soldier Boy is not a character but a title in the comic book mythology. There were three successive Soldier Boys in the comics. The comic book Soldier Boy does not seek revenge on members of his team as it was not they who abandoned him, but he fled himself. Butcher kills the members of Payback.

In the comics, Stormfront is a man. The pseudonym comes from the name of an online neo-Nazi forum. The comic book Stormfront was the first superhero. More supes were created from his DNA, including Homelander.

The Deep is an obvious parody of Aquaman. However, his comic book counterpart resembles Black Manta – Aquaman’s enemy. The comic book version wears an old diving suit and claims he cannot take off his helmet due to a curse. In terms of character, the comic book Deep is the opposite of his TV counterpart. He is mature, serious, and often disgusted by his companions’ behavior. His biggest concern is money – he often initiates arguments about profit sharing.

Starlight is very similar to her comic book counterpart. The difference is the scene of her joining The Seven. In the series The Deep sexually assaulted her, but the other members are not aware of what happened. In the comics, Starlight was assaulted by Homelander, Black Noir, and A-Train.

Both Karl Urban (Butcher) and Antony Starr (Homelander) are from New Zealand. They both previously starred in the series Xena: Warrior Princess. Starr played two different characters, and Urban played four.

Batman 2022 – trivia, references and easter eggs

Good Times Groceries

The shop robbed at the beginning of the film is called ‘Good Times Groceries’. This is a reference to the 2017 film Good Time. After watching it, director Matt Reeves decided that Pattinson would be the perfect candidate to play Batman.

Zodiac and Seven

Other film inspirations included two works by David Fincher: Seven and Zodiac. From Seven, the filmmaker borrowed the style, the bleak atmosphere and the character of a murderer enforcing his own sick sense of justice. Riddler was inspired by the serial killer Zodiac.

Comic book inspirations

Matt Reeves cites three Batman comics as the main influences on the film: “Batman: Ego”, “Batman: Year One” and “Batman: The Long Halloween”.

In Batman: Ego, Batman’s informant kills himself and his family in a bid to save his loved ones from the Joker’s wrath. Targeted by remorse, Bruce returns to the cave and begins an internal monologue. In the end, Bruce reconciles with himself, accepts his guilt and embarks on another mission.

From the comic Batman: Year One, Reeves borrowed the idea of the hero taking his first steps.

Batman: The Long Halloween tells a story a mysterious avenger who kills mob-related individuals. Originally, Reeves wanted his film to be a direct adaptation of the Long Halloween, but later on changed his mind.

Venom

In the finale, Batman injects himself with a strange green substance that instantly puts him back on his feet, but drives him mad. In the comic Batman: Venom tormented by guilt over not saving a young girl, Batman begins to take a drug that gives him greater strength and stamina. Unfortunately, the same drug begins to make him addicted and causes fits of aggression. Venom is the same drug that gives Bane superhuman strength and muscularity.

Bludhaven

Near the end of the film, Selina Kyle says she is going to Bludhaven. In the DC comics, Bludhaven is the city between Gotham City and Atlantic City. Nightwing used the city as his base of operations

Hush

The journalist that Thomas Wayne is accused of killing is named ‘Elliot’. In the DC comics, Thomas Elliot is the assassin known as ‘Hush’.

60s Batman

There is a bust of William Shakespeare in the Wayne Manor. This is a reference to the 60s Batman tv series in which a similar bust was used to open the Batcave.

Secret friend

The “Secret friend” greeting card is a reference the card sent by the Zodiac Killer. The difference is the presence of an owl, which may be a reference to the Court of Owls – a secret group made up of members of Gotham’s wealthiest families.

The Circus

Alfred recalls his years in the ‘Circus’. The Circus is the unofficial name for the headquarters of British intelligence agency MI6. It is named after the intersection of Cambridge Circus, where MI6 was based in John Le Carre’s novels. It implies that Alfred is a retired British intelligence agent.

Chopin’s Funeral March

The film’s main theme is inspired by Chopin’s Funeral March. Interestingly, the same piece inspired John Williams to compose The Imperial March.

2nd longest superhero film

175 minutes means that The Batman is the longest Batman film and the second longest comic book film, just behind Avengers Endgame (181 minutes). However, if we were to take into account the various types of special editions, the longest superhero film would be Watchmen: Ultimate Edition lasting 215 minutes (2hrs 35min).

Nighthawks

The diner in which the Riddler is captured looks to have been inspired by Edward Hopper’s painting “Nighthawks”

Gil Colson and Rachel Dawes

Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Gil Colson privately, is married to Maggie Gyllenhaal, who played Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight (2008). In addition to their work in the district attorney’s office, both characters share the same fate – they died in an explosion caused by the main villain.

Bloodsport – trivia and fun facts

Frank Dux

Bloodsport writer, Sheldon Lettich, says he came up with the idea for the film while talking to a martial artist named Frank Dux. Dux claimed that in the 70s and 80s, he participated in a series of secret martial arts tournaments held for the best fighters from around the world. Frank claimed he was the first American to ever win the tournament. The problem is that, apart from Dux himself, there is no one who can confirm the existence of such a tournament.

Who is Frank Dux – the main character from the movie Bloodsport?

Other stories told by Frank involves: his fight against child kidnapping pirates, secret service for the CIA, Medal of Honor, and fighting in Vietnam war (despite being too young for that).

Sleeper hit

Canon Films did not believe in the success of the film and planned direct-to-video release. However, due to contractual obligations, limited screenings had to be carried out. Bloodsport was released to theaters only in five states. Not much of a turnout was expected, but to everyone’s surprise the film quickly made it to the lists of the most popular productions. After nationwide release film collected $11 million. When the film was released globally, it collected an additional $54 million making it Cannon Group’s most profitable film of 1988.

Kowloon Walled City

A portion of the scenes were shot in Kowloon Walled City. It was a densely populated, ungoverned settlement in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese military fort, over time evolved into a densely populated slum, characterized by its tall apartment buildings, narrow streets, and lack of basic services. The authorities initially tried to get rid of the wild tenants, but soon abandoned this intention. Thus, Kowloon became a no-man’s land. There was no state control, police, taxation or public utilities. Electricity was supplied illegally.

 

As buildings could only be located in a certain area, the city began to climb, eventually reaching a maximum height of 14 storeys (more was not allowed due to the nearby airport). This made it the most populated place on Earth. Due to criminal activity, the police only ventured there in larger groups and only in exceptional circumstances. For this reason, it was almost impossible to get there with a film crew, but the makers of Bloodsport succeeded. In 1993, the Hong Kong government demolished the Kowloon Walled City to make way for a park.

Kowloon Walled City in 1989 (wikimedia commons)

JCVD inspired Mortal Kombat

In the early 90s, company called Midway decided to pursue an fighting game starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. The creators, Ed Boon and John Tobias used a silhouette of Van Damme cut from Bloodsport to create a prototype. The game was planned as a tie-in for the film. Unfortunately, negotiations stalled as Van Damme was already involved in the production of another game (which never came out). Tobias and Boon willy-nilly had to abandon the film adaptation. Instead, they set the story of their game in a fantasy world. But they did not forget about Van Damme. The game features Johnny Cage, a self-confident, arrogant Hollywood actor whose signature move is split with crotch punch (a direct reference to the scene in Bloodsport). They also dressed him in the characteristic shorts.

Low budget

Due to budgetary constraints, fighters were played by people without acting skills (real fighters, stuntmen and dancers). Some of them did not speak English, and therefore most of the fighters have no lines of dialogue.

Michel Qissi

Michel Qissi, who plays one of the fighters, is a friend of Van Damme’s. Together they flew to the US in search of fame. He is best known for his role as Tong Po in the film “Kickboxer,” in which he starred opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Bloodsport sequels

The film has spawned three sequels. Daniel Bernhardt plays the lead role in all of them. Bloodsport 2: The Next Kumite, tells the story of a Alex Cardo, who ends up in a prison in Bangkok, where he learns from a fellow inmate a martial art called ‘iron fist’ and with its help wins a Kumite tournament. The only actor from the original to return to his role is Donald Gibb as Jackson.

 

Bloodsport 3 is a direct sequel. After his mentor is murdered, Alex Cardo uses his martial arts skills and takes on the one responsible.

 

Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite also features Daniel Bernhardt in the lead role, but this time his character is agent John Keller, who goes undercover to infiltrate a dangerous prison that hosts Kumite.

 

Razzie award

The role has earned Van Damme a Golden Raspberry nomination – for “Worst New Star”. He ‘lost’ to Ronald McDonald from Mac and Me. JCVD won his only Razzie in 1998 for “Worst Screen Couple” with Dennis Rodman in the “Double Team”

Donald Trump’s fovourite movie

Bloodsport is one of Donald Trump’s favourite films (favorite one is Citizen Kane). However, the former US president admits that he only watches the fight scenes, and fast-forwarding the rest.

Karate Champ

The game that Dux and Jackson are playing on the arcade machine is called Karate Champ.

Why are there small rubber hairs on tires?

Some people wonder why there are tiny rubber hairs on new tires. Do they have anything to do with grip? Water drainage? Or are they related to snow? None of these things – these hairs have no use and are a side effect of production.

Tyre is made of layers of different materials, overlapped during the manufacturing process. At the very end, it is covered with rubber. At this point, the tyre is still completely smooth. At this stage of production, it is merely a mould from which the desired tread shape is extruded. For this purpose, a tyre goes into a special press. The walls of press are hot and cause the rubber to melt. At the same time, the machine pushes the tyre from the inside to mould it into the desired pattern. There are tiny holes in the walls of machine through which air trapped between the tyre and the walls of press escapes. As a result of pressure, after all the air has escaped, some rubber enters the holes and forms rubber hairs. These hairs are not removed, as they pose no risk to the use of tyres. In case of more expensive tyres, the manufacturing process is slightly different and uses more advanced equipment, so that the hairs do not form at all.

Sources:

https://www.tyrepower.com.au/news/what-are-the-little-rubber-hairs-on-tyres

Why do new tires have rubber hair on them?

https://www.toyotires.com.au/news/why-do-my-tyres-have-hairs

Why Stephen King wrote under the pseudonym Richard Bachman?

In 1977, Stephen King’s career flourished. His first three books, Carrie, Salem’s Lot and The Shining, had become worldwide bestsellers, and the author was already creating another blockbuster – over a thousand pages of The Stand. In addition, he had a drawer full of previously unpublished novels. With a frantic pace of creation (the author supported himself with stimulants), the writer had more material than he could publish. In those days, most publishers were limited to one book a year by a given author. The idea was not to over-saturate the market, which could negatively affect sales. To get around the restriction, King came up with the idea of publishing his old works under a pen name.

The birth of Richard Bachman

The first was the novel Getting It On. King chose the nickname Guy Pillsbury for it – after his grandfather on his mother’s side. Unfortunately, it turned out that some employees of the publishing house associated facts. This meant that this nickname would quickly become an open secret. King withdrew the manuscript and changed the title to Rage. It remained to come up with a new nickname. When the publisher called about it, King had no idea, so he started looking around the room. The music of the band Bachman Turner Overdrive was playing from the stereo and a Richard Stark novel was lying on the desk. King quickly combined the two names and thus Richard Bachman was born.

Rage was published in 1977. It was followed by the publication of: The Long Walk in 1979, Roadwork in 1981 and The Running Man in 1982. Although reviews were good, sales were low compared to books published under King’s name. Bachman was also not inundated with hundreds of fan letters. However, King liked the whole situation. He was amused by the compliments paid by the same critics who considered him a poor writer.

Thinner

In 1984, Bachman published his fifth novel, titled Thinner. It was King’s first novel written as a contemporary. Bachman’s previous novels were old King drafts lingering in a drawer from his college days. This made them different in style and subject matter. Thinner resembled King’s other books and was a typical horror story for the author. As if that were not enough, King made several allusions to himself in the book, which also could not fail to catch the attention of readers. One of them was a bookseller from Washington, D.C., Stephen Brown. Brown had already noticed some similarities in the previous ones, but Thinner was so close to King’s style that the bookseller decided to conduct his own investigation. It led him to the Library of Congress, where he found the ultimate proof. The copyright of Bachman’s novel was registered to Kirby McCauley – King’s agent. However, it turned out that Bachman’s first novel, Rage, was registered to King himself.

Brown wrote McCauley a letter detailing the result of his investigation. To his surprise, in response he got a call from Stephen King, who admitted the mystification and offered Brown an exclusive interview. The writer wasn’t entirely happy with the discovery of his secret, as he intended to write under a nickname for a long time to come, but in the face of unmasking and growing suspicion, he decided to end the masquerade. The author also revealed another secret. The photo appearing on the back cover depicted Richard Manuel – a friend of McCauley. Manuel was chosen because he lived in the provinces, so there was less chance that someone would recognize him on the street.

The Dark Half

The creators of movie The Running Man, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, benefited the most from the whole affair, as they managed to buy the copyright to a book by one of the most widely read writers for a penny. King also took advantage of the situation, writing the novel The Dark Half in 1989. It tells the story of a writer who creates under a nickname. When the writer reveals his secret to the world, his “dark half” comes to life and starts murdering people around him. The novel lived to see a movie adaptation and a game with the same title.

Despite the mystery’s revelation, Bachman published two more novels. In 1996, a novel titled Desperation was published under King’s name, and a novel titled The Regulators was published under Bachman’s nickname. The books told different stories, but featured the same characters. Another easter egg were the books’ covers, which when pressed together, formed a single unit. As Bachman was already officially dead at the time, the preface stated that this was a posthumously found novel. Bachman’s most recent novel is Blaze, published in 2007.

Bachman’s novels are regularly reissued, but with the notation “Stephen King’s literary nickname,” or “The Bachman books.” The only book that King does not want to reissue is Rage. However, the reason is not the low literary value, but the subject matter. The book is about a school shooting, so King is afraid of negative connotations with real events of this type.

The last time King used his pseudonym was during his appearance in the series Sons of Anarchy. In it, the author plays a grim mortician who disposes of corpses for criminal groups. The character’s name is actually Bachman.

Why don’t we use water-fuelled cars?

It is estimated that as much as 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water. We have a gigantic, almost infinite supply of this resource at our disposal. Taking into account that we are likely to exhaust our fossil fuel reserves later this century, wouldn’t it be worth looking at water as a potential energy source? If only water could be used as a fuel, we would gain energy security. Some people even claim to already have such technology and own a water-powered car. So why aren’t water-powered vehicles in mass production? Inventors claim that their efforts are being bombarded by energy corporations that do not want to lose their monopoly on supplying humanity with fuel. The truth, unfortunately, is quite different.

Water-powered cars are a pipe dream. Of course, this is not nonsense completely made up, as energy can be obtained from water and used to propel a vehicle. Unfortunately, there is a long way from theory to practice.

Electrolysis of water

A water molecule contains one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms, connected to each other by chemical bonds. Of course, water alone cannot be “burned” in any way, but it can be separated into oxygen and hydrogen. Yet accomplishing this is surprisingly simple. To build a car powered by water it is enough to install a simple electrolytic cell under the hood of the vehicle. Our car only needs to supply electricity to the system, which will initiate the electrolysis of water into a gaseous mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, often referred to as HHO or oxyhydrogen. This will produce a fuel that can be used to power a car. As you can see, it is simple to perform water electrolysis from the video below.

Thus, powering a car with water is extremely simple. So why hasn’t the world been dominated by water-powered cars? The answer is very simple – in order to convert water into fuel, we need to use as much energy as we get from electrolysis. And this is under ideal conditions. You still have to deduct heat losses in the engine, alternator and electrolyzer. To sum up, by converting water into fuel, we lose more energy than we gain.

Hydrogen cars

As of now, there is no method to obtain more energy from electrolysis of water, and it doesn’t look like it will happen in the future. However, it is surprising to see cars on the road that operate on the exact opposite principle. Instead of breaking water into molecules, hydrogen cars use a reaction to bind hydrogen and oxygen into water molecules, during which electricity is generated. This process is much more energy efficient and could be the automotive future. Such cars are relatively expensive for the moment and have some drawbacks, but in the future the technology should make it possible to reduce the cost of producing them.

What is Chekhov’s gun?

Chekhov’s rifle, also known as Chekhov’s gun, is a compositional principle invented by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Chekhov is widely regarded as one of the great masters of Russian literature. The principle reads:

One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off. It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.

In practice, the idea is that the filmmaker should not focus the reader’s or viewer’s attention on things that have no meaning later on. Suppose we are watching a movie. The first scene shows the main character training at the gym. He is pushing a lot of weight, boxing and running on a treadmill. The scene tells us a lot about the character. He takes care of his physical condition, is very strong and knows how to fight. If we are dealing with action cinema, this scene is significant, as it makes clear about the main character’s skills. But what if we are dealing with a courtroom drama, during which the character does not use physical strength? The scene becomes completely unnecessary. This is what Chekhov’s gun principle is all about. A screenwriter shouldn’t focus on things that aren’t important, but on things that bring something to the work.

Anton Chekhov (Wikimedia commons)

We can find examples of Chekhov’s gun in almost every movie. Tradition of the series about the adventures of James Bond is a scene in which the main character receives some gadget, which later helps him get out of trouble. In the movies about the adventures of Harry Potter the wizard, in almost every scene the character learns some spell that will be used in a dramatic moment. Unfortunately, this principle also has a drawback. If used in an unskillful way, it can make the movie predictable. In the film “Prometheus,” when we as the viewer are introduced to the surgical chamber, we can immediately guess that it will be used to remove an alien. Once this happens we do not feel any tension or surprise. For this reason, the filmmakers try to camouflage Chekhov’s gun.

NOTES. Below are spoilers from the TV series Breaking Bad and the movie Jaws

The following scene from the TV series Breaking Bad is an example. In it, a resigned character is playing with a gun. In the background we see a seemingly insignificant plant. However, as it turns out later, it was this plant (Lily of the Valley) that was used by the main character to poison one of the secondary characters, which launched a whole series of tragic events.

Another good example comes from Steven Spielberg’s film Jaws. When the character played by Roy Scheider causes an oxygen cylinder to fall out, he gets a rebuke from his colleague:

“Damn it, Martin! This is compressed air! You screw around with these tanks, and they’re gonna blow up!”

The scene looks natural, and it’s hard for the viewer to guess at this point that the scene with the cylinder was no accident.

Sometimes the rule is broken deliberately. An example is the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” where the main character is confronted with a well-trained opponent armed with a powerful sword. After the demonstration of the opponent’s skills, the viewer expects a spectacular fight scene. Meanwhile…

 

Why are Kinder Surprise illegal in the US?

Many people are unaware of the consequences of trying to bring popular Kinder Surprise into the United States. In addition to having the egg itself confiscated, tourists can expect a hefty fine of several to several thousand dollars. Why has one of the largest countries in the world issued a crusade against chocolate eggs?

Sulfanilamide Elixir

The United States law called the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibits the marketing of food products that contain a hidden inedible product. This means that a wedding cake with a plastic figurine standing on top is acceptable, but a cake with a hidden surprise that you have to get to by cutting out pieces of it is not. However, the bill was in response not to plastic toys hidden in cakes but to a tragedy that occurred in 1937 when more than 100 people died as a result of mass poisoning from a poorly prepared drug. In 1937, a product called Sulfanilamide Elixir was introduced to pharmacies. Diethylene glycol, a substance now used in antifreeze, among others, was used to dilute the substance. Glycol is toxic to the body. Unfortunately, drugs and food products were not subjected to as rigorous testing as they are today, because there were only laws prohibiting the use of drugs in their manufacture. Unaware of the toxicity of this substance, a chemist mixed an antibiotic with glycol and flavored it with raspberry juice. As a result of consumption of the preparation in 15 states at least 100 people died, including children. This caused a huge public outcry. The owner of the company added fuel to the fire by stating that he was not responsible for the deaths because he did not know about the product’s toxicity. The chemist responsible for the formula committed suicide.

Bottles of elixir sulfanilamide (Wikimedia commons)

In response to these events, the U.S. Senate passed a law that imposed a host of obligations on manufacturers of drugs, cosmetics and food products. The law is still in effect today. No one knew at the time that it would threaten the tiny toys hidden in chocolate eggs in the future.

Nestle Magic

Why isn’t anyone trying to change in terms of the unfortunate eggs? This is where the free market comes into play. In 1997, Nestle tried to launch a product in the US that was their answer to Kinder surprise egg. The product was called Nestle Magic and was a chocolate ball with a Disney toy hidden inside. Nestle armed with lawyers tried to challenge the position of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the representatives of which believed that the toy was unsafe. Nestle began lobbying the Senate to change the controversial law. However, it turned out that their competitor, Mars, was doing the same thing, only against them. Mars initially denied any involvement in the case, but it later emerged that the company was funding the case against Nestle. Successfully. Nestle lost. And because there is a law of precedent in the U.S., any company trying to introduce a similar product stands to lose in advance.

Kinder didn’t give up trying to bring eggs to the US market and thus Kinder Joy was created. This is an attempt to get around the act by selling an egg consisting of two halves. One half of the egg is filled chocolate and the other half hides a surprise toy. At the moment, it is the closest substitute for the iconic eggs in the US market.

Kinder joy ad (Source: Kinder.com)

Sources:

https://www.kinder.com/us/en/kinder-joy

https://www.fda.gov/files/about%20fda/published/The-Sulfanilamide-Disaster.pdf

 

Can humans eat grass?

Let us assume that we are a victim of some disaster and we have run out of food supplies. Can we eat grass to survive? In theory, yes – grass is non-toxic and edible. Unfortunately, in practice, eating grass will do us more harm than good.

There are two problems with eating grass. The first is that human stomachs are not adapted to digest raw leaves and grass. As a result, if we eat grass, we won’t absorb any nutrients from it, but only irritate the stomach, which can lead to problems such as dehydration caused by diarrhea. Raw grass can also be a source of germs, which will make our situation even worse. Finally, we may also pick some other plant along with the grass, which may even be poisonous. Animals, such as cows, can eat grass because they have stomachs with four chambers.

The second problem with eating grass is chewing it. Raw grass contains a lot of silica, which abrades the teeth. In animals adapted to eating grass, teeth grow slowly all the time, renewing the worn surface. For us, the dental clinic will be of necessity.

To get the most out of the nutrients in grass, it would have to be cooked. However, this actually is pointless. If we are not in a crisis, we have no need to eat grass, and if we are (e.g. if we have lost our way), we are unlikely to have a pot with us. Well, and even if we did, in the best case we would get a decoction resembling tea and its nutrients would be minimal.

 

Sources:

Foraging Survival Foods

Can You Eat Grass to Survive? What Does It Taste Like?

 

What happens to the tank crew after being hit by an anti-tank missile?

Anyone who follows the news from Ukraine has probably seen footage showing the destruction of a tank or an armored vehicle. Such a view is generally unsettling – a torn tank, charred corpses and missing limbs. Why are these vehicles destroyed so easily and what happens to the tank crew when hit?

Well, actually the answer depends on many factors: location of hit, angle at which the missile hit the target, construction of missile, its weight, thickness and type of armor, alloy used for its production, number of layers and many other factors. There is too much of this to discuss every possible example here, so we will simply focus on discussing what happens to the crew after an accurate hit on the most vulnerable part of the tank. For this purpose, we will discuss the three most common types of anti-tank missiles.

High explosive squash head

High explosive squash head (HESH) consists of a shell filled with a plastic explosive and a detonator located at the rear of projectile. On hitting the target, the explosive deforms under the force of impact to form a flat disk, which is detonated by the detonator. The purpose of this projectile is not to penetrate armor, but to cause tearing of the inner part of armor. Under the influence of the shock wave, stresses are created, as a result of which the inner wall of the tank is torn and turns into dozens of shrapnel massacring the tank crew.

HESH missile (Source: Wikimedia commons

The defense against high explosive squash head is armor consisting of several layers. Another way to protect a tank is reactive armor. To a layman, such armor looks as if the tank is encased in dozens of bricks. Each of these bricks is a cube of explosive material with the task of dissipating the energy created by a hit.

Reactive armor (Source: Wikimedia commons)

High explosive anti-tank

High explosive anti-tank (HEAT) create a cumulative stream when they explode. Their effect can be compared to a lens that concentrates sunlight. All the energy is concentrated in one small point. The heat thus generated breaks through the armour and is forced inside. It is interesting to note that the piercing power of the cumulative projectile does not depend on the speed of projectile, but on the explosion set off at the moment of collision with the target.

At the moment of a hit the fate of crew is bad. Through a small hole to the inside of tank is forced powerful pressure and murderous heat, which burns all the oxygen and the crew alive. The whole is completed by flying shards of molten metal. But even that’s not the end – the impact also causes a shockwave, which can detonate ammunition stored in the tank. The tank then explodes in a spectacular manner. Often such an explosion causes the turret to be blown off.

The defenses against cumulative projectile are: reactive armor, layered armor and spaced armour. The latter is a mesh or sheet plate attached to the tank. The sheeting initiates the detonation of projectile before it reaches the armor. The answer to this, are missiles with two charges – the first breaks reactive armor or other protection, and the second pierces the armor proper. This is how the Javelins, popular among Ukrainian soldiers, operate.

Armour-piercing, fin stabilized, discarding sabot

Armour-piercing, fin stabilized, discarding sabot (APFSDS) is an arrow-like type of projectile. When fired, the projectile looks like a rocket, but after a moment the rear end is discarded, leaving only a sharp spike flying towards the tank. Projectiles are made of hard metals such as depleted uranium or tungsten. The projectile is designed to pierce armor. Once hit, the crew is killed by a shockwave and glowing debris.

APFSDS (Source: Wikimedia commons)

The way to defend is to use active protection system. APS is the system that concealing the tank, disrupting their guidance or kinetically attack the missiles. The angle of tank wall at the time of hit may also help.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/technology/tank-military-vehicle/Armament#ref521350

https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/weapons/ammunition/highexplosivesquashhead.htm

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/High-explosive_anti-tank_warhead