He believed that if time-release incendiaries could be attached to bats, some kind of container holding them could be dropped over the city after dark and the bats would simply roost and burn Tokyo to the ground.[5] The plan was subsequently approved by President Roosevelt[6] on the advice of Donald Griffin.[7] In his letter, Adams stated that the bat was the "lowest form of animal life", and that, until now, "reasons for its creation have remained unexplained".[4]: 6 He went on to espouse that bats were created "by God to await this hour to play their part in the scheme of free human existence, and to frustrate any attempt of those who dare desecrate our way of life."[4]: 6 Of Adams, Roosevelt remarked, "This man is not a nut. It sounds like a perfectly wild idea but is worth looking into."[2][3]

It gets worse after that. Mercifully, they don't really go into the details in the article, which mainly involved the bats either still being hibernating or else with the bomb part too heavy, basically they were just dropping innocent bats out of planes to splat onto the ground in big numbers like Wile E. Coyote until someone put a stop to it all.

[–] Arghblarg@lemmy.ca 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

they were just dropping innocent bats out of planes to splat onto the ground in big numbers like Wile E. Coyote until someone put a stop to it all.

Oh, the humanity... "As god as my witness, I thought ~~turkeys~~bats could fly!"

[–] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

The male Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 3 with a very distraught expression in reaction to hearing something disturbing.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

Genghis to the wife he took from his newly conquered city: "We'll bang, okay?"

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Is that historically accurate or just a legend?

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

There's some dispute over it. The 'tying brands to birds' trick is noted as a strategy by a handful of other historical figures noted for their ruthlessness - it's not entirely clear whether it's just terror propaganda or an actual technique that was used.

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

I just don't see how that would work in practice. But then, I've never besieged a city, so what do I know.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

I mean, the panicked animals returning to their usual haunts seems plausible. The intention of setting the place on fire is to spread chaos internally before/during a traditional assault on the walls. Generally there's an element of deception and bad faith in the stories, that the animals were requested as tribute for peace and then immediately deployed as a weapon of war.