The Riddle of Baghdad's Battery 1808
Jodrell writes "The BBC has an interesting article about a 2,200 year old battery discovered in Iraq in 1938. It is basically a clay pot containing a copper/iron core immersed in an electrolye solution (probably acidic vinegar). The article talks about how this priceless artifact as well as many others, from the same civilisation that invented writing and the wheel, could be threatened by the impending war."
No! (Score:5, Funny)
It's not a battery! It's a chemical weapon! Call Hans Blix!
can't resist (Score:5, Funny)
*Bunny marches by...* *thump thump thump*
I think I have one of these (Score:3, Funny)
Well duh. (Score:1, Funny)
How else would they power their vibrators back then? Camels on treadmills? Sheesh..
battery??? (Score:0, Funny)
this priceless artifact sounds more like someone droped a spoon or fork into a bottle of vinegar and forgot to take it out until a couple of mellinia later.
The real find... (Score:4, Funny)
I can see the headlines now (Score:5, Funny)
Subsequently, the defense department has changed Homeland Security status to Condition Copper, indicating a potentially shocking situation.
Re:No! (Score:1, Funny)
Tony: "Yes georgie, I have my thumb already on the button"
George: "Shouldn't we first ring our friends and allies"
Tony: "Huh, do we have some?"
Sorry, but I'm just so fed up with those two...
Quick - Call Jennifer Garner!! (Score:2, Funny)
Its a precious Rimbaldi artifact. Its part of a weapon! Send in Jennifer Garner and the CIA goon squad. A little spandex, a red wig, and it will be ours!
Unless That Battery Is Powering A Root Name Server (Score:1, Funny)
Predictions (Score:0, Funny)
2) We will never hear another word on this subject from the BBC or anyone else.
No Wires? (Score:-1, Funny)
Re:battery??? (Score:1, Funny)
Because it is a battery.
correct me if i am wrong but it wasnt until the 1700's that humans discovered electricity
You're wrong. Clearly, electricity was being generated by man made means before the 1700's. Even if the people generating it didn't know what it was. Consider yourself corrected.
this priceless artifact sounds more like someone droped a spoon or fork into a bottle of vinegar
Yeah. Especially if the spoon happened to be a rod of iron surrounded by a cylinder of copper. And the person who dropped this oddly designed spoon in the jar then sealed it in with asphalt. Exactly like you describe, incredible!
In future, try clicking on those green bits of text with the line drawn under them. They're called links. Then read the words on the page. Thats called the article.
Re:Priorities (Score:0, Funny)
Unless you're France and your oil stained thumb is holding down one side of the scale. =)
Wrong! (Score:5, Funny)
I find your joke offensive (Score:2, Funny)
I can't wait for this war. I look at my picture of Saddam Hussein every day and growl at it for two minutes. It's right next to my pictures of Quadafi, Noreiga, Ortega, Milosevic, and Clinton. I figure I'm helping America by calling people terrorists if they don't support Bush. That way the war can start and we can finally make a law banning those stupid protestors. Cheap gas for my honkin SUV!
Of course my main issue is terrorism. Nobody will protect us from terrorists better than Bush, look what a good job he's done! And since he knows all the Binladens, and the Saudi Arabians, he's sure to get tipped off beforehand and go hide somewhere. Imagine how well he will read his speech after our next tragedy, any day now! He and the Binladens can sell us lots of new weapons, and we can do it one more time. Happy days are here again!
Whiners (Score:3, Funny)
So, um... (Score:2, Funny)
Master - "And what is that battery of yours, young apprentice?"
Apprentice - "It produces electricity, master!"
Master - "And what does this electricity you talk about do?"
Apprentice - "Well, um... nothing really right now, but I'm sure that in a few centuries..."
Master - "You know, I think that wheel thing you came up with last week might be slightly more useful right now... and stop wasting our precious vinegar!"
Re:Wrong! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wrong! (Score:5, Funny)
Does paper last that long (Score:2, Funny)
I can't believe an article from 2,200 years ago is still readable now, and surely the BBC should hand it over to a museum
Re:No! (Score:1, Funny)
Re:No! (Score:2, Funny)
What makes you think Hans Blix is even remotely interested in finding chemical weapons?
If he finds them, and there's a war, he's out of a job.
War Giveth, War Taketh Away (Score:2, Funny)
Warriors made it, huh? How ironic.
Re: Dalai Lama (Score:2, Funny)
Re:RTFA: Did they throw away 11 others too? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:typical liberal responses (Score:2, Funny)
Had I been writing at length and with studied thought I would have devoted a chapter or two to the two concepts and been able to cover them in greater depth and with greater accuracy.
As it was I was dashing off a quick Slashdot post as fast as I could type, off the top of my head, and could have done a better job of it.
Yours,
KFG
Crystal clear. (Score:1, Funny)
Also, most of those things that you are talking about the US not doing in World War II were done by the US in Vietnam and other recent wars. Consider Timothy Mcveigh. I remember seeing a special on him. Apparantly his unit during the Gulf War used to use a bulldozer attached to a tank to bury Iraqi soldiers alive. Amazing what antics soldiers will get up to, even if they are the "good guys". And, lets not forget that the first Gulf war and the subsequent sanctions killed literally thousands of times more civilians than American soldiers.
Anyway, it is pretty obvious that the days of crystal clarity are long gone. No amount of moralizing can bring them back. Only clearly moral actions can bring them back. That is not something that we seem to be seeing from the current President who is compromised on this matter in so very many ways.
Oh my god. I just had to check to remind myself what the actual article was. Of course, the article does discuss the impact of war, so maybe we are not that offtopic. In any case. 2,000 year old batteries!!! They really do seem to pretty clearly be batteries. Unless the ancients liked to flavor their highly acidic wine with iron and copper that is. I would be more astounded, but I have come to realize that history is like a puzzle set with only ten percent of the pieces still in the box. There are so many things that have happened that we do not know of and will never know. The world is probably littered with cities and civilizations that dwarf the ones we know of, but have simply faded out, leaving little trace. Many of the things we think of as newly discovered, such as electricity (well, ok, we know it is not newly discoverd, the word electricity comes from the Greek for amber, which was used to generate static electricity millenia ago and, of course, the article mentions the use of electric eels), may well not be. Well, anyway, those batteries are really neat. I hope they don't get blown up.
I find ALL comedy offensive (Score:2, Funny)
I'm a Democrat. When I hear about flag burners, I burn the Constitution just to support them. I think war is awful, whatever the cause, but when I ran to avoid military service, a minority took my spot. I believe in free speech as long as I agree with it. I think it's sad that America is no longer allies with the great powers France and Germany, and that we are making new friends with Pakistan, Turkey, Bulgaria, and the other poorer, darker skinned peoples of the world. I think our military is a bunch of suckers, but I wanna shoot some Tomahawks into an asprin factory! Now there's some corporate downsizing that I can support! Sorry, Iraqui Michael Moore!
I think we should wait for this war, though. Given enough time, Saddam Hussein may disarm on his own, and if he doesn't, I'm sure that he will use his weapons of mass destruction peacably on his own people. They're just Iraquis, anyway. I look at my picture of our unelected president George Bush every day and growl at it for two minutes. It's right next to my pictures of Margaret Thatcher, Clarence Thomas, and Ronald Reagan. I figure I'm helping America by calling people warmongers if they support Bush. That way Saddam can have all the time he needs and we can finally make a law... well, the important thing is just that we keep making laws, laws, laws! Finally, a DMCA that WORKS!
Of course my main issue is terrorism. Nobody protected us from terrorists better than Clinton, look what a good job he did! And since he really stood behind our troops and supported our intelligence int the field, he must have been tipped off beforehand about the attacks on America September-before-last and hid somewhere. Imagine how he will feel our pain after our next tragedy, any day now! He and his talented wife in the senate can tell us how evil we Americans are for using more than our fair share of Mother Earth's resources, and how attacks against our country are really all our own fault for supporting the Zionist occupation of Palestine. Happy days are indeed here again!
Isn't this fun?
Jackass.