Do Not Try to Recreate This 16th-Century German Cat Bomb at Home

By Alexis C. Madrigal

It's not a good idea, no matter what the Feuer Buech says.

catandbirdrocket.jpg

Illustration, cat and bird with rocket packs (University of Pennsylvania).

Think you're the first person to consider the offensive capabilities of cats and birds in a hypothetical war against zombies space invaders enemies of the Holy Roman Empire? Think again!

The Germans beat you to it by about 425 years, as proven by this painting, which BibliOdyssey found and The Appendix Journal posted to its Tumblr. The manuscript from which it was drawn was called "Feuer Buech," which I'm guessing translates from the old German to English as "Fire Book." It's a "treatise on munitions and explosive devices, with many illustrations of the various devices and their uses."

The University of Pennsylvania, which digitized this manuscript, describes this image as, "Illustration, cat and bird with rocket packs."

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/do-not-try-to-recreate-this-16th-century-german-cat-bomb-at-home/272458/