# Wrong teachings when I was young **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 21, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673 "2012-11-21T02:19:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/121 "2012-11-27T01:11:35Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > x-bowmen can terrace, you know: half shooting at knee-height, the other half shooting while standing. That’ll form a denser clump than a straight line. Only bows can’t do that. 😉 Can’t reload while kneeling. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/122 "2012-11-27T01:17:30Z")
It’s the rear ranks that reload. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/123 "2012-11-27T23:48:28Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > It’s the rear ranks that reload. Same for muskets. Even breech loaders as depicted in this flick: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1csr0dxalpI/hqdefault.jpg "Zulu - Final Attack") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csr0dxalpI) Last minute. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/124 "2012-11-28T00:50:35Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Same for muskets. Even breech loaders as depicted in this flick: > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csr0dxalpI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csr0dxalpI) > > Last minute. Extremely effective scene. I can practically smell the gun smoke. What movie was it? ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/125 "2012-11-28T01:02:38Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Well, you could also drop and shatter a thin piece of ice. But then ice isn’t a liquid either, obviously. > [@](#): > > This thread hasn’t touched on food “knowledge” yet. Remember when oleo margarine was considered a healthy oil and people avoided olive oil? Now it’s deemed about the worst fat imaginable and olive oil is “in”. There’s no one margarine oil. It can be made from just about any plant oil, including olive. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/126 "2012-11-28T02:55:00Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Actually it changed its mind twice. Originally the panda bear was called the particolor bear. Then, after a little research indicated some physiological similarities to a raccoonish critter simply called “panda,” they were both renamed. The particolor bear became the giant panda, and the panda became the lesser panda (but that mostly gave way to “red” panda over time). > I think it was within the last 20 years or so that scientists decided that “Oops! We were right the first time!” I have a 1979 zoology text that groups _Ailuropoda_ (the giant panda) in Procyonidae (racoons, etc.). It looks like [this](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v317/n6033/abs/317140a0.html) 1985 molecular study is what finally placed them “officially” with bears. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/127 "2012-11-28T03:03:32Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > x-bowmen can terrace, you know: half shooting at knee-height, the other half shooting while standing. That’ll form a denser clump than a straight line. Only bows can’t do that. 😉 Musketry through the early 19th century rarely bothered with the front rank kneeling when firing in multiple rows - the rear rank just presses in. Only when you needed to present more bayonetage (i.e. forming a square) or weren’t going anywhere anytime soon might the front rank kneel. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/128 "2012-11-28T03:06:50Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > Extremely effective scene. I can practically smell the gun smoke. What movie was it? I _think_ that was “Zulu,” a 1964 movie with Michael Caine. (But not 100% certain.) ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/129 "2012-11-28T03:15:33Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > :dubious: I going to ask for a cite on that. If that were true there is no reason someone with a crossbow couldn’t tilt it up for greater range. > > It wasn’t just that the longbow had a greater overall range either. Since it’s arrow was larger than a bolt it’s kinetic energy was greater at the point of impact so could punch though plate mail at far greater ranges. In the hands of a skilled archer a longbow’s rate of fire made it look like a Gatling gun compared to a crossbow. Crossbows won in the end for the same reason muskets did, you can train any clown to use one in a month or so, longbows take a lifetime and actual musculature and skeletal change in the user. Longbows couldn’t penetrate articulated plate… well, in most cases it couldn’t. I suppose an extremely lucky shot on a weak part, that somehow bites into the steel,at very close range might… but it’s not really something that happened routinely. Landing in an articulation, on the visor, or on mail armor, yeah, that would be dangerous. EDIT: Argh, I respond to like the 5th post of a 4 page thread. Good one Kinthalis! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/130 "2012-11-28T03:16:54Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > But then ice isn’t a liquid either, obviously. > > There’s no one margarine oil. It can be made from just about any plant oil, including olive. Once you hydrogenate the oil (causing it to be solid at room temp) and create artificial trans fats, it becomes pretty bad for you. Even if you use olive oil or mix some pure olive in, the trans fats will still be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/131 "2012-11-28T09:18:57Z")
I remember this classic: in a firing squad, only one shooter is fires a live bullet. The rest shoot blanks. Even as a kid I thought any shooter worth his salt should know the feel of a live bullet compared to a blank. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/132 "2012-11-28T10:36:24Z")
Another advantage of crossbows over longbows, which I don’t think has been noted, is that crossbows require not just less physical strength but less physical flexibility. Shooting a bow requires a much larger range of motion than a crossbow, especially one equipped with a crank. This means, essentially, that you can put a lot more armor on a crossbowman than you can on a longbowman. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/133 "2012-11-28T13:08:49Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > I remember this classic: in a firing squad, only one shooter is fires a live bullet. The rest shoot blanks. Even as a kid I thought any shooter worth his salt should know the feel of a live bullet compared to a blank. Actually, I thought it was that only one shooter had a blank, the rest had live ammo. I’ll take your word for what the shooter will know after firing, but it seems they wouldn’t allow just one live round to be fired (suppose he misses?). ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/134 "2012-11-28T14:03:59Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > But then ice isn’t a liquid either, obviously. But ice flows. For example, glaciers. And ice is a crystalline solid, not an amorphous solid, like glass. So odds are glass can flow, too. Based on the evidence, however, it’s unlikely that it does to any measurable degree over historical timescales. My WAG is that you’d have to set up a 10 to 100 thousand-year-long experiment to see any measurable flow. Not exactly practical to resolve what is essentially a semantic point. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/135 "2012-11-28T14:45:42Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > I remember this classic: in a firing squad, only one shooter is fires a live bullet. The rest shoot blanks. Even as a kid I thought any shooter worth his salt should know the feel of a live bullet compared to a blank. I’d heard the complete opposite; only one shooter has a blank. That way everyone can think “I _may_ not be responsible for the death.” ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/136 "2012-11-28T15:57:25Z")
I’ve never shot a gun - how does a blank feel different, is there less recoil? More? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/137 "2012-11-28T16:08:51Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I’ve never shot a gun - how does a blank feel different, is there less recoil? More? There is considerably less recoil. Almost none, in fact. They also sound different in a way that I can’t really describe. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/138 "2012-11-28T16:35:18Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > It’s ok to use small amounts of aluminum foil in a microwave oven. > I still don’t know if this is true or not; I’ve never been brave enough to test it. It’s not a matter of amounts. Aluminum foil can be specially treated to make it able to go into the microwave (invisible coating), but if it gets the tiniest rend, it will become active again: fireworks in the kitchen! Better just not stick anything metallic in there. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/139 "2012-11-28T16:56:35Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Longbows couldn’t penetrate articulated plate… well, in most cases it couldn’t. I suppose an extremely lucky shot on a weak part, that somehow bites into the steel,at very close range might… but it’s not really something that happened routinely. > > Landing in an articulation, on the visor, or on mail armor, yeah, that would be dangerous. > > EDIT: Argh, I respond to like the 5th post of a 4 page thread. Good one Kinthalis! That wasn’t really the point, the point was longbows effective range is greater than a crossbows. **the\_diego** insists crossbows had a greater draw strength (which I’ll concede) and that is the only thing that needs to be taken into consideration (which I disagree with), which is like saying a motorboats top speed only depends on the horsepower of the engine and every other factor is irrelevant. Since he’s been unwilling or unable to provide a cite to back the claim he made, I looked, but could find nothing substantive either way. And yes, that was\* Zulu\*, fantastic film, but currently fighting for it’s life in my mind with _Guns at Batasi_ for best colonial military movie. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673/140 "2012-11-28T18:10:05Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > Extremely effective scene. I can practically smell the gun smoke. What movie was it? https://www.youtube.com/embed/uN7pc-ZgWBk?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque Shaka Zulu [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wrong-teachings-when-i-was-young/641673.md?page=8)