# 1920s style death ray **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 24, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345 "2003-08-24T17:10:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/1 "2003-08-24T17:10:52Z")
I don’t get it! ☹ I know what thread it originated in, but…why 1920s style death ray? Is this some witty allusion that I’m missing? ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/2 "2003-08-24T18:06:17Z")
Well, depending on the size of your 1920s style death ray, it could be a phallic symbol. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/3 "2003-08-24T18:13:40Z")
It’s not always a 1920s style death ray, either. Depending on the model, and how many options it offers, sometimes it’s a 1920s dial death ray. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/4 "2003-08-24T18:14:47Z")
When he said “1920’s style death ray” he was refering to the work of Nikola Tesla. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/5 "2003-08-24T18:16:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > \*\*Well, depending on the size of your 1920s style death ray, it could be a phallic symbol. \*\* It’s not the _size_ of the 1920s style “Death Ray”, it’s how you _use_ it. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/6 "2003-08-24T18:40:56Z")
OK, could someone please direct me to the damn thread were all this nonsense began. This is driving me batty. Happy ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/7 "2003-08-24T18:46:49Z")
Here it is: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=202225&highlight=scalar](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=202225&highlight=scalar) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/8 "2003-08-24T18:47:02Z")
The thread is [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=202225). The reference to “1920s style death rays” was just a way of dismissing scalar weapons as sci-fi-level kookiness. But the whole craziness began because **dogface** accidentally triple-posted his quip, prompting everyone else to start repeating the phrase over and over. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/9 "2003-08-24T18:48:36Z")
Damn, Biffy, your 1920s style death ray has way more power than mine. I’m so… diminished to a mere beam. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/10 "2003-08-24T19:23:18Z")
I got the impression **Dogface** didn’t mean to dismiss scalar weapons. He was just comparing the ‘scalar weapons’ the OP asked about to something which he himself was familiar with. What he actually refered to is still a mystery, maybe some old comics or movies? Maybe he can be enticed to speak up? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/11 "2003-08-24T20:00:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ForumBot \* > \*\*I don’t get it! ☹ > > I know what thread it originated in, but…why 1920s style death ray? Is this some witty allusion that I’m missing? \*\* The concept of “death rays” pretty much originated with H. G. Welles _ **War of the Worlds** _. In the 1920’s when Hugo Gernsback began publishing _Amazing Stories_ (an anthology magazine of science fiction stories), he started out reprinting the works of Welles and Verne, these inspired folks to write their own stories and submit them. A common theme in the stories(many of which were pretty crappy) that was prominantly featured on the covers was an alien or supervillian with a powerful beam weapon (AKA a death ray). You can see some examples of them [here.](http://www.vgreen.org/Pulp.html) ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/12 "2003-08-24T20:38:33Z")
Ah, they’re 1990’s style “Scalar Weapons”. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-ray/197345/13 "2003-08-24T21:26:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Seven \* > \*\*Ah, they’re 1990’s style “Scalar Weapons”. \*\* Uh, no. “Death rays” are vaguely described weapons which are more akin to a laser. The typical bad guy would point a “death ray” at the hero, or something the hero held dear (say Washington DC), push a button, and _zap!_ no more city, hero or whatever. As I said in the scalar weapon thread: > [@](#): > > Whereas, scalar weapons re thought to be a various combination of things. The idea is that it’s a “tunable” weapon, i.e. you’ve got one really massive thing that can do a variety of jobs. There’s the possibility for over-the-horizon radar, weather manipulation, creating an “atmospheric shield” to cause incoming nukes to detonate before they reach their targets, subterrainian radar, and the capability to cause earthquakes. Mind you, I’m not claiming that it can do all or even any of these things, only reporting what the “experts” say about them. > > As you can see, such a weapon would beat a conventional rifle in a lot of circumstances, hands down. Want to invade a country? Cause an earthquake or hurricane in the target country to “soften it up” before you send in the troops. The best part is, it looks completely natural, so no one suspects that you’re behind it. Even better, you can destablize a country without ever firing a shot. You can read the “experts” thoughts on scalar weapons [here.](http://www.earthpulse.com/haarp/)