Military Dolphins Discover 1800s Torpedo 112
First time accepted submitter The0retical writes "A couple of mine-sweeping dolphins dredged up what is known as a 'Howell torpedo' dating from 1870 to 1889. Only 50 were ever produced, this being the second example known to exist. The 11-foot-long brass torpedo had a maximum range and speed of 400 yards at 25 knots. The new example will be displayed at Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Wash. alongside the only other example."
Wait, dolphins? (Score:5, Insightful)
Redundancy (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously - there are only two in existence, so they're displayed side by side in the same museum?
How wasteful is that? The US Navy has like a dozen museums, scattered all over the country. Why not share the bounty about a bit?
Re:50 or 2? (Score:5, Insightful)
"Only 50 were ever produced, this being the second example known to exist."
If there are 50 produced, then there are 50 known to exist.
There are 50 known to have existed, but many of them may no longer exist. See, torpedoes occasional blow themselves up, a minor design flaw that means they sometimes stop existing, at least in the form of a torpedo.
False positives? (Score:5, Insightful)
The LA times report mentions that another dolphin had alerted them a few days ago, but the operator didn't send anyone to check it out because they didn't expect to find anything. Does the system have a large number of false positives?
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:A more informative article link (Score:5, Insightful)
You are mistaken, there are no editors on Slashdot.
Re:1800s has a specific meaning. (Score:4, Insightful)
The world disagrees with you.
Re:False positives? (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't read that as indicating any percentage of false positives. The operator was simply looking for something specific, within a definite area. He KNEW that certain items had been deposited within strictly defined areas. Because this item was found outside of those areas, he wasn't interested enough to investigate. Apparently he recorded and reported the "hit" because days later when another "hit" was made, it was investigated.
In effect, "They've found something, but I don't think it's what we're looking for."