Some of the first photos taken of Earth from above were captured in the early 20th century with pigeon cameras

@newjaninev2 Hey, the Americans were already trying to make a guided by pigeon missile during World War 2. It was called "Project Pigeon".

@Kwek00 Somehow I feel that wouldn’t end well for the pigeon!

@newjaninev2 Yeah, it was a bit of a Kamikaze type thing. 😅

@Kwek00 Hopefully they didn’t release homing pigeons

@newjaninev2 I've never read into the details of the entire program. But I've seen some of the footage in a documentary. I grew up with a pigeon racer, so pigeon stuff kinda randomly pops up in my life on a higher frequency then most other people.

It's just, when you release dads' pigeons in the south of France or even the north of Spain... they just come home. So if you use pigeons that are brought up and trained in a coop and put those in the missile... that could end up badly for the coop or the person that is standing in the area where the missiles' fuel runs out on the way to the coop. 😅

@Kwek00 So, unlikely to replace cruise missiles, I assume?

@Kwek00 Mind you, being taken out by an explosive pigeon has a certain cachet

@newjaninev2 The entire project didn't really work out Janine. And it's more like being taken out by a missile, that is being steered by a pigeon.

@Kwek00 Those were German pigeons smuggled out and fitted with afterburners and a laser taillight so they could lead the missiles back home.

Note to @DunningKruger; not mocking your original post & photo. Thanks for those.

@Really Nah, if wiki is correct, they were taught to recognise the target. And then they pecked with their beaks on a screen with sensors inside the missile, which would allow the missile to be steered.

@Kwek00 Where were the animal rights people? Not to mention the defence dept psychiatrists.

@Really I don't really think that was a very active part of the US their concerns during WW2.

@Kwek00 The bit about animal rights was TIC (Tongue in Cheek). Not about the psychiatrists though.

@Really The US wasn't the only upcoming super power that had a weird experiment with animals. ever heared of Stalins' Ape-Man super warriors?

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19926701-000-blasts-from-the-past-the-soviet-ape-man-scandal/

@Kwek00 [quote]ever heard of Stalin's Ape-Man super warriors?[/quote]No. but it takes a lot to surprise me nowadays.

@Kwek00 Ah yes, the good old days before the annoyance of ethics committees!

Sigh!

(sidenote: someone should have reminded the author of the article that humans [i]are[/i] apes)

@Kwek00 it sounds like Ivanov found a way to avoid the grinding realities of soviet daily life, and liked it for everything it was worth! 😂

@newjaninev2 "Birds Aren't Real!"

@Amylynne WTF?!? 😳

@Kwek00 just the latest Wacky Conspiracy theory

seems the us gov killed ALL BIRDS in the lat 70's replace them with CAM drones.
happy new year!

@Kwek00 It's an anagram for Leader's RT brain