“War is the continuation of politics by other means,” said Carl von Clausewitz. We say: Today’s military inventions are tomorrow’s toys for the continuation of the war. However, if weapons are the invention of a society that seeks destruction, then what kind of sick game would we be playing? Condemned by a society that has looked to war as the solution to the problem of power throughout history, yesterday’s inventions of war are the inheritance of present generations by way of entertainment.
In the modern era, military expenditures have been a priority for war. In a capitalist world, constantly threatened by war, military innovations have been part of the race for technological competition. We are not surprised to learn that most military technological advances were created by the U.S. and Germany in the context of WWII, a time in history when the world’s war spending was focused on the creation of war technologies.
Since then, and in the subsequent Cold War, hundreds of technologies were created for military use, but today they are objects of everyday use. Nowadays, it is paradoxical that we use daily some of those objects that were once thought, designed, and developed specifically for war and that we present here:
GPS: Practical Location Tool or “Intelligent” Weapon of War?
The Global Positioning System is a navigation system that today we use daily to locate anywhere in the world in an easy way, but it was born out of a strategic military need. The GPS, which allows a very precise location of objects, people, and places around the world, was invented in 1964 by the U.S. Department of Defense; by 1967, it became commercially available as satellite capacity increased. It works by a satellite synchronization that allows to cover the entire planet, through the precision that allows the GPS clock synchronization.
The advantages of this system are that it saves time in locating a space, and is economical and practical; however, is terrifying the fact that GPS was born as a multipurpose compass of the U.S. for the selective bombings that took place in the Persian Gulf War and the current war in Syria.
The Microwave: Cooking Device or Radar Locator?
The everyday act of heating soup in the microwave or turning on the television is made possible by electromagnetic waves that operate in a frequency spectrum that can be used in broadcasting and telecommunications. Microwave technology is used by radars to obtain terrain information such as weather information.
Radar technology was born in 1946 to create a tank locator as a war machine. The design of a metal box with an opening that would allow the introduction of energy in the form of microwaves has been applied to food and has revolutionized cooking around the world.
Ultrasounds: Medical Technology or Strategic Defense?
This technology allows many to monitor their pregnancies or see what’s going on with some other organs, but few know that it was a WWI invention. Due to the German submarine threat, the devices, called hydrophones, picked up the turbulence generated by the submarines and made it possible to locate the position of the enemy.
Who would imagine that a defense technology used for submarine warfare would be as effective in determining such things as a pregnancy in the earliest stages of gestation?
Laminated Glass: Anti-Theft Cars or Gas Masks?
The anti-theft or anti-shock glass that can now be seen in many luxury cars, was a glass that worked for the windshields of cars, called “indestructo.” It is a high-security unbreakable glass, but despite this, the automobile companies were not interested before WWI in acquiring them. It began to be used in gas masks, and it was not until 1937 that it became fashionable.
Safety laminate, introduced by Ford, made it possible to manufacture glass that was highly resistant to impact and to avoid more serious accidents, since when this type of glass breaks it does not shatter.
All-Terrain Vehicles: Sports Car or Battle Mobile?
Created by the U.S. Department of Defense around 1941 under the need to move in difficult terrain during the war, the Jeep was born as a vehicle that allowed the movement of troops for modern warfare.
After 70 years of the creation of these all-terrain vehicles, these cars have a history in which they played diverse roles: they were reconnaissance vehicles, ambulances, and material transfer vans during WWII. From the Sahara desert to the fields of New Guinea, these cars have made history.
Sunglasses: Stylish accessory or Protective Goggles?
The sunglasses that became so popular in the U.S. around the 1960s, especially with the hippie movement, today are worn by millions of people, especially in hot areas, but were created as an instrument for military pilots.
To protect aviators during WWII, who complained of headaches from flying at high altitudes without protection from the sun’s rays, which caused nausea and headaches, Bausch & Lomb created polarized glasses, and around 1937 Ray Ban created anti-glare glasses.
Tea bags: Practicality or Waste Society?
Hardly anyone today takes the trouble to boil herbs in their pure state and it is easy to buy tea bags at the supermarket. Tea, originally from the East, burst into the West with the British colonization, and at the beginning small individual metal infusers were used; however, tea bags were created by the Americans at the beginning of the 20th century for the practicality of disposing of the tea bag after use.
Canned Food: Fast Food for Modern Life or Accessible for the Trenches?
Today, opening a can of tuna to prepare a quick meal is commonplace. However, many times in history, food preservation was a problem that sought to be solved by various means. Although the invention goes back to Peter Durand around 1820, canning, which was food for soldiers, became popular during WWII and has become a great resource for storing food not only for the trenches but even in natural disasters. In the case of war, there are multiple anecdotes of how the soldiers opened the cans with their bayonets because on many occasions there was no can opener.
Watch: Pocket Elegance or War Practicality?
The wristwatch is a great invention from WWI. Before this armed conflict, watches were worn only by women on their wrists and by men in their pockets. However, the need for soldiers not to be distracted by taking out their watches led to the invention of military wristwatches. Some modifications and adaptations that watches have, such as fluorescent hands or lights allowed night vision.
Internet: Global Communication Network or Worldwide Surveillance System?
The Internet network is a computer network that initially contemplated the shared use of computing capabilities. It was a military project created by the U.S. around 1969, which paid to create the ARPANET network for communication; the U.S. Department of Defense created it in the context of the Cold War in competition with the USSR. The network that connected all military defense agencies; by the 1990s, became a global network that has interconnected the world.
We would ask ourselves if, in today’s communication era, the Internet is really a “neutral” space and truly open to communication on networks. We know that the Internet is still a global surveillance network, in which millions of users provide private information that is not always confidential.
The use of these wartime inventions would make us think that our modern world often resembles a war field. Fulfilling work objectives almost in record time has led us to the practicality of using these tools that, daily, become our weapons because of their usefulness.
Could it be that tomorrow biometric identification systems, military robots, and intelligent weapons will be the toys of future generations?
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
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