The World of Baddies

15 Unexpected Spoils of War

War is hell, except when it comes to getting stuff, in which case: War is hella good, yo.

Countless technological breakthroughs and medical leaps forward have taken place due to necessity brought about by conflict — it was, what, 10 years after the first airplane that aerial combat became a huge part of the First World War? It’s an ugly truth about human progress: A lot of it comes out of really shitty shit.

Sometimes, though, when a war is over, you get to take a bunch of crap from the baddies. It in no way makes up for all the horror and bloodshed and death and pain, but as the dust settles, sometimes you get to go, “Hey, this cool boat’s ours now!” Or: “I’m going to make this same soup at home.”

Other times you’re left with a bunch of stuff you don’t need anymore now that you aren’t in conflict, and finding a use for it can bring about all kinds of far-reaching changes.

But war still sucks. Don’t do it, kids.

Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.

15 Nazi Scientists Got Us to the Moon

Operation Paperclip, in the years following World War II, involved bringing 1,500 Nazi scientists to the U.S. to use their intelligence for non-Hitlery purposes. One, Wernher von Braun, developed the Saturn V rocket - no Saturn V, no walking on the Moon. CRACKED — Source / Cradle of Aviation

14 Lessons in Great Art from Terrible People

Nazis seized art from people for multiple reasons S - Jewish owners, or an aesthetic and vibe that seemed against Aryan ideals. Either way, the efforts to return it all later arguably did a lot for public art education. CRACKED — Source

13 The Former Nazi Ship That Diversified Britain

The Monte Rosa was used to carry Nazi troops, and after the war was seized by the British, renamed the Empire Windrush and used to take immigrants from the West Indies to the U.K., something Hitler would absolutely be against. CRACKED — Source / RMG

12 What the Coast Guard Can Thank Hitler’s Pal For

U.S. COAST GUARD The USCGC Eagle is a beautiful ship, a three-masted, 295-foot sailboat used in Coast Guard training. However, it began life as SSS Horst Wessel, launched by Rudolf Hess with Hitler in attendance. CRACKED — Source

11 An Unlikely Counterculture Icon

The Volkswagen Beetle was designed under Nazi orders as the people's car, but in 1946, the factory entered British hands. Beetles were exported to the U.S., and thanks to some clever advertising, ended up becoming an iconic part of the swinging 1960s. CRACKED — Source

10 The Drug Replacement That’s Saved Countless Addicts

METHADONE 2ml 100 units/ml(U-100) For Injection only important - insert Methadone was created by the Nazis as a replacement for opium, which was in short supply. Their research was seized by the Allies, and methadone was introduced in the States in 1947. While sometimes abused, it has saved thousands upon thousands of lives. CRACKED — Source / October Road Inc

9 The Greatest Maps in History

may ИНИР DOM 5 PC YO и СТРИТ 4 АВЕНЮ 11 H adboendpm 10 гражд. обороне 4: мин. внутр. дел резерв ع 61 A 2090000 54 связи академия УЛ 23 СТРИТ 5,5 комибста no остьи E атом знера 3 Теодор УЛ НОНСТИТЮЩЕН АВЕНЮ a M мин movoa архив упр. no дела 36 льт ин. ветеранов MC MI зай войны музей 59 201 M . $ пам 4 ОТРИТ УЛ ВАШИАРТОН ДРАЙЕ 8.8 ٠٧٠ Вашикетону Y M M пам. Линкольну ٠٧ музе MY et УЛИЦА MUH ит УЛ ИНДЕПЕНДЕНС-А СТРИТ Кутц 7 3,0 приливный бассейн KOMUMEM 3,4 по печит VI УЛ ЛИ CT — Source

8 Hitler’s Holiday Home

and Rampf Son - MeinKa Adol Eher= Vert Vitle After World War II, the Bavarian government was given copyright for Mein Kampf (which they outlawed publishing), Hitler's Munich apartment (now part of a police station) and his Alpine holiday home. Worried this could become a tourist destination, they blew it up. CRACKED — Source

7 Jägermeister, Kinda-ish

mm WITH + COUNTRY OX TEL Jägermeifter SELECTED 56 BOTANICALS COLD MACERATED ELICIO MAST JAGERMEISTER U Ha SINCE 1878 II ... SPECTED Jägermeister was created just before World War II, and was popular with German troops, nicknamed Goering-schnapps (Jägermeister, or huntmaster, was Goering's title). It didn't become a party drink until the 1970s, but without Nazis quaffing it, the booze mightn't have made it that far. CRACKED — Source / Drink Stack

6 Shitloads of Fertilizer for Economy-Destroying Turbo-Farming

In the Cold War, the U.S. government had tons of unused ammonium nitrate from World War II weapons programs, and converted it into fertilizer to out-produce the Russians. This led to efficient farming, overproduction, dirt-cheap food and farms shutting down. CRACKED — Source / The Balance Money

5 A More Varied Diet…

An unexpected by-product of war is dudes coming home with a hankering for more exciting food than they were used to at home - for everyone that was horrified by Vietnamese fish sauce there was someone going, Fuck yeah, that's pungent. CRACKED — Source / Rough Guides

4 …But Also a Shitty One

TVDINNER Swanson QUICK FROZEN POT DINNER BEEF ROAST LEAST POTATORI PERS - JUST HEAT AND CERVE! - ... - Surplus food left over after World War II was sold in supermarkets, and kickstarted the convenience food industry - canned crap, frozen crap and later microwavable crap all boomed as a result. No war, no Hot Pockets. CRACKED — Source / History

3 An End to War, Period

After World War I, the government had a surplus of bandages. The company that had made them, Kimberly-Clark, bought them back, and knowing they'd been unofficially used as menstrual products by nurses, invented the sanitary napkin. CRACKED — Source / Smithsonian Mag

2 To the (Meatless) Wiener Goes the Spoils

During World War I, Cologne Mayor Konrad Adenauer developed sausages without meat to deal with shortages. While Germany didn't embrace his soy-based Friedenswurst (or peace sausage), after the war, they were taken back to Britain and Adenauer was granted a patent. CRACKED — Source

1 War: It’s Fanta-Tastic

Fanta® Fanta® KLASSIK KLASSIK Fanta, the world's favorite orange soda, was developed in Nazi Germany by the Соса-Соӏа Company as a way of getting around trade embargos that prohibited exporting coke syrup from the US to Germany after Pearl Harbor. It turned out DELICIOUS. CRACKED — Source

This post was originally published on this site

Leave a Reply Cancel reply