Pentagon’s Lightning Gun Sold for Scraps on eBay
There was a time, not all that long ago, when the Pentagon sank tens of millions of dollars into remote-controlled lightning guns that it hoped would fry insurgent bombs before they killed any more troops. Now, disassembled parts from the one-time wonder-weapons are being sold on eBay. At least one buyer snatched up the gear,…
How America Battled Communism by Blasting Insects Full of DDT
The history of mankind’s battle against malaria has been long and largely ineffectual. The Fever looks at the rise of DDT in post-WWII America. For most of humankind’s history with malaria, political indifference, scientific controversy, and tightfistedness have reigned. The post–World War II development of a potent new compound called dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane—or simply DDT—changed all that.…
