It is hard to decide where to start today's post,there are so many weird layers to the story. The first thing that strikes me is a crazy scheme like this (hopefully) would never get off the ground (pun intended) today due to animal rights,but at the beginning of World War II that wasn't a consideration. A dentist (Lytle Adams) just happened to be visiting Carlsbad Caverns when Pearl Harbor was bombed and had been impressed by the bats that lived in the caves. Around a month later he sent a plan to the White House which involved strapping tiny incendiary bombs to bats and releasing them over Japanese cities. (End of crazy level 1) Adams had previously met Eleanor Roosevelt when he had flown her in his plane to demonstrate another scheme involving not having to land the plane to pick up cargo (is it possible this method is still in use today?) so he managed to be taken seriously despite the nature of his idea. (End of level 2) Bottom line $2 million gets poured into the plan known as Project X-Ray. The Army captured thousands of Mexican free-tail bats and fitted them with tiny bombs. The next step was to put them into hibernation mode in order to transport them. This was done by cooling them in ice cube trays,next they were loaded into a cardboard container that was supposed to open automatically and release the bats. Fortunately (or unfortunately,depending on your point of view) the tests didn't go as planned and the project was eventually canceled...Anyone up for a trip to the dentist?
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