Bat bombs
This weapon is exactly what it sounds like. Developed towards the end of WWII by the United States, the bat bomb was a bomb shaped case with lots of compartments, each filled with a Mexican Free-tailed Bat with a timed incendiary bomb attached to it. The idea was for the bomb to be dropped on Japanese cities at dawn, the bats would be released and nest in buildings, when the bombs would be detonated and hopefully start fires and chaos. $2 million was spent on the project before it was abandoned in favour of the more immediate widespread destruction of the atomic bomb.
The Great Panjandrum
Developed by Britain during World War II, the Panjandrum was a huge cart filled with explosives and powered by rockets. Designed to destroy the 10 foot high, 7 foot thick concrete defenses of the Atlantic wall, the huge cart had rockets attached to each wheel so it could crash through any obstacles to reach its target. Although it was intended to be a secret project, when it was tested on a beach full of holiday makers the secrecy was abandoned. The final test of the device ended in disaster when the Panjandrum veered off course, shedding live rockets in all directions and prompting everyone to dash for cover. The device exploded and the project was scrapped. It has since been suggested that the project was a hoax to distract the Germans attention away from the Normandy coastline.
Acoustic Kitty
The Acoustic Kitty project was launched in the 1960’s by the CIA. The aim was to utilise cats in spy missions against soviet embassies. Surgeons implanted a microphone in the ear of their test feline, and a small radio transmitter in its tail, that way the kitty could record and transmit sound. The story goes that this test cat was taken to a park to record the conversation of two men on a bench, but the cat got distracted, wandered on the street and was killed by a taxi. The project which reportedly cost over $20 million had to be abandoned in 1967.
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