# 1920s-style Death Rays. No, Really! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717 "2004-01-09T21:19:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/1 "2004-01-09T21:19:35Z")
OK, I’m just sitting there, minding my own business, reading Jim Steinmeyer’s book, _Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear_, when suddenly I come upon Biff, the disappearing motorcycle, an illusion by the great British magician, David Devant. > [@](#): > > When the curtains opened, the audience saw a large packing box raised off the stage on blocks. The rider, adorned in leather riding boots, cap, and goggles, roared up a short ramp and into the box, which was made of vertical wooden slats. With engine idling, the box shook ominously. The end of the crate was closed, and it was slowly pulled into the air on ropes. > > …The suspended box continued to rumble, as exhaust fumes oozed from between the boards… The crate seemed to explode into its component pieces, dropping planks of wood into an ever-increasing pile of loose timber on the stage. The empty framework swung quietly in the air. The motorcycle and rider were gone. And how did Devant make this plausible to the audience? > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, Devant busied himself at the side of the stage with a strange sort of electric light. He insisted that his mysterious green lamp was a notable improvement on the **X-rays or theoretical “death rays” that had recently been in the headlines.** No exact date is given, but from context Biff appears to have been introduced between 1912 and 1914, when the motorcycle was a nifty, new, high-tech doodad. The headlines about “death rays” should also narrow down the time. Anyone with access to British newspapers of the day? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/2 "2004-01-09T22:18:30Z")
The most likely date is 1924-25. The “Death Ray” flap of the period appears to have been launched by a British experimenter named Henry Grindell-Matthews, who claimed to have invented such a device in 1924. [Here’s a blurb on this curious character](http://www.100megsfree4.com/farshores/deathray.htm); while something of a charlatan (certainly where the death ray was concerned), he also was legitimately responsible for the development of some interesting devices, including a means of projecting huge images onto clouds. Grindell-Matthews also was the subject of a major article in the September 2003 issue of _Fortean Times_ magazine (FT174). Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/3 "2004-01-09T23:01:14Z")
Nikola Tesla also believed he could build a death ray, and claimed that the [massive explosion at Tunguska](http://www.psi.edu/projects/siberia/siberia.html) in 1908 was caused by a test of his machine. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/4 "2004-01-09T23:17:57Z")
Whoops. _Harry_, not Henry. Why do these keys not obey my will? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/5 "2004-01-09T23:28:16Z")
**El\_Kabong** , the problem with Grindell-Matthews is that Devant retired in 1919 because of illness. We need an earlier death ray. **Miller** , did Tesla actually claim this at the time? I thought only his nutcase acolytes made these claims at a much later date. (And before we go any further - no, it’s not true in any case as your link makes very clear.) In fact, [here’s](http://www.frank.germano.com/tunguska.htm) a believer’s link that actually compares Grindell-Matthews and Tesla. But I don’t see anywhere in there that Tesla ever made the claim for himself. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/6 "2004-01-10T01:01:46Z")
Wasn’t there a thread started about this death-ray topic a little while ago? I can barely remember it because it faded into obscurity due to little or no interest in the subject. ---
**Author:** ![raizok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@raizok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raizok)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/7 "2004-01-10T01:53:32Z")
Shit, I thought this was the [World of Tommorow](http://www.skycaptain.com/home.html) thread. My bad. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/8 "2004-01-10T02:12:41Z")
I _think_ he did. Hard to say, since googling “Tesla death ray” yields a very high loon ratio. And, of course, the non-loon cites don’t tend to devote a lot of attention to the death ray-related areas of Tesla’s research. [Here](http://uforeview.tripod.com/tesladeathray2.html) is a cite that has a scan of a newspaper clipping where Tesla tells a reporter about using his death ray on enemy airplanes, but it is dated 1940. And it comes from a site called “UFOReview,” which pretty much puts a stake through the heart of its credibility in general. [This](http://www.techtv.com/conspiracies/features/jump/0,24331,3528276,00.html) cite supports the idea that Tesla thought he had cuased the Tungeska explosion, and looks a lot less sketchy than the previous cite, but it’s a tech site, not a history site, and might be repeating rumors from other sources. Plus, they end with a “Conspiracy or not? You decide!” tag, which is a bit sensationalistic. However, most interesting of all is [this](http://www.worldofthestrange.com/nlv119.html) site, which looks a bit fringey, but mentions that, “In 1924 a plethora of “death ray” and “anti-aircraft ray” stories appeared in the New York Times.” And cites further such stories in the Australian press. No mention of Tesla’s thoughts on Tunguska, but it does (miracle of miracles) actually have something to do with the OP. Unfortunetly, it also has banner ads for books about crop circles, and ends with speculation that the Aum Shinrikyo cult was able to duplicate Tesla’s research and create fireballs in some place called Banjawarn. Sorry, best I can do with the resources at hand. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/9 "2004-01-10T02:32:22Z")
Ah, they’re legitimate threads involving intelligent discusssions about 1920’s style “Death Rays”. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/10 "2004-01-10T03:06:28Z")
> [@](#): > > El\_Kabong, the problem with Grindell-Matthews is that Devant retired in 1919 because of illness. We need an earlier death ray. Sorry, fresh out. The _FT_ article may have discussed “death ray” stories of the immediate post-WWI era, but I can’t check as I lent out my copy. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/11 "2004-01-10T07:41:59Z")
Gee, where is the Message Board member **Dread Cthulu**? He always likes to join _any_ discussion on this fascinating controversial subject. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/12 "2004-01-10T08:30:23Z")
[url=http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&username=DreadCthulhu]DreadCthulhu sleeps with the fish people of Innsmouth. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/13 "2004-01-10T08:31:29Z")
[Monkey farts](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&username=DreadCthulhu). And I liked the joke, too. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/14 "2004-01-10T16:01:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > **El\_Kabong, the problem with Grindell-Matthews is that Devant retired in 1919 because of illness. We need an earlier death ray.** Well the Martians burnt up quite a bit of [[The War of the Worlds: Book 1, Chapter 5, The Heat-Ray](http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/www/warworlds/b1c5.html)]Horsell Common with theirs in the 1890’s but then that was strictly speakin a Heat Ray 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/15 "2004-01-10T18:48:50Z")
Darn, I never have a spare death ray around when I need one. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/16 "2004-01-10T19:01:01Z")
Gaham Wilson cartoon: Nagging wife asks husband working on project, “And just what do you plan on doing with that silly death ray once it’s finished?” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/17 "2004-01-10T19:01:29Z")
How does a “1920s-style” Death Ray differ from, oh, a 1940s-style Death Ray? The art deco casing? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/18 "2004-01-11T08:36:01Z")
Are we gonna do this again? ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/19 "2004-01-11T15:49:57Z")
Yup. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717/20 "2004-01-11T16:58:29Z")
I have been waiting patiently for someone on this board to ask why fans of science fiction in general and Spider Robinson’s work in particular have been so vocal in panning _Callahan’s Key_. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1920s-style-death-rays-no-really/223717.md?page=2)