Comments for And now for something completely different in terms of a Whatzis...

And now for something completely different in terms of a Whatzis...

2006-08-17T12:52:02Z

Heck, I've even given you a *size* referent *and* I haven't pulled in close to remove all context. In case it isn't obvious - that's a nickel.*

It *is* completely consistent with Castle Artifacts.

So, whatizzit - purpose, origin, etc. Yes it's on the net.

You may begin.

*I know at least *one* of you was going to answer "It's a nickel!" - so I took that away from you snarky bassids.

Update: Some hints in the hunt for the Snipe. Seek a German Clark in Belgium. And destroy him.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-08-18

2006-08-18T15:24:34Z

Correct, Eric. The phosgene was delivered by other guns. This bottle is from a stash of bottles discovered in the same place as those loaded munitions were found. These were never filled. This is the document Eric is referring to.

Comment from Eric Wilner on 2006-08-18

2006-08-18T14:39:56Z

Oh! Now that I look at that diagram of the 77mm Clark munition on page 2 of proceedings14.pdf, it actually shows the bottle! D'oh! Looks like the 77mm gas shell contained the glass bottle, stopper end at the base of the shell, surrounded (except for the stopper end) by TNT. I presume the phosgene was distributed separately, as only Clark I and II are listed as toxic agents for this shell.

Comment from MajMike on 2006-08-18

2006-08-18T13:09:55Z

arsines in Ypres?? (try saying that five times fast)

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-08-18

2006-08-18T11:23:00Z

Eric shoots, Eric scores! Sneezy/vomiting agent, intended to be used in conjunction with phosgene by breaking the integrity of the mask so the phosgene could do it's nastiness. You're actually almost there. And you *do* have enough info now to google (sue me, Sergey) your way to victory!

Comment from Old Fat Sailor on 2006-08-18

2006-08-18T09:06:38Z

For a solution used to impregnate early gas mask?

Comment from Eric Wilner on 2006-08-17

2006-08-18T03:27:34Z

Waitaminit... German Clark. Would that be Clark I, chlorodiphenylarsine, or Clark II, cyanodiphenylarsine? Sneezy gas? I can't seem to find anything on the historical use... physical characteristics are consistent with keeping in bottles with maybe a wax seal, no pressure vessel required. This is close to Karla's guess of mustard gas, while not actually being mustard gas....

Comment from Justthisguy on 2006-08-17

2006-08-18T03:16:38Z

Ammo for Bates 8-barrel bottle thrower. (What you were thinking, ibm)

Comment from ibm on 2006-08-17

2006-08-18T02:23:05Z

Projectile from a Smith gun? No, not a Smith gun. There was another thing that threw something Ian Hogg described as a bottle filled with an incendiary mixture ( and no tin a nice way ). IBM

Comment from Old Fat Sailor on 2006-08-17

2006-08-18T00:17:03Z

Mercury salts bottle for the irrigation of the Disease of Love?

Comment from Eric Wilner on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T23:13:52Z

Ah... non-perforated glass stopper. A glass stopper suggests something nasty-corrosive, that would eat cork or rubber. Nitric acid for Sprengel explosives? (Binary liquids - how topical!)

Comment from MajMike on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T22:16:16Z

It's Not Unusual.

Comment from Boquisucio on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T22:06:32Z

Were Petula Clark German songs played in Belgium by mistake??? They should fire that D.J.

Comment from MajMike on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T21:42:48Z

iocane poison (from Australia)

Comment from Trias on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T20:52:14Z

Fire the bottle snipe the bottle?

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T20:41:11Z

Oh, and I should make something clear - what looks like a hole in the stopper, isn't. The stopper is also made of the same glass as the bottle.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T20:36:00Z

Karla's spanking you boys. Run with it, Karla!

Comment from Karla (threadbndr) on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T20:27:34Z

Very slender neck inside diameter and tiny, tiny dispensing hole in lid. This whole thing is only about 7 inches long, and the neck of the bottle is what 3/4 inch? That glass looks turn of the last century to me - like it's mold blown. Too small for grenade/moltov cocktail. Were mustard gas shells loaded in the field? Belgium and German make me think WWI trench time.

Comment from William C. Thomas on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T19:15:02Z

Morphine container?

Comment from MajMike on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T19:07:26Z

traveling inkwell.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T17:56:11Z

Snerk. Um, inventive, Boq, but, sadly, along with MajMike's Recoil Booster (dude - you should make it and market it!), wrong.

Comment from Gwedd on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T17:40:41Z

BOQ, Absinthe, perhaps... but where is the slotted and spoon and sugar cubes? And for heaven's sake, where would the French find ice water to go with it? I can't see making a proper louche of the absinthe without ice water.... yuck.... Absinthe, though, would explain a lot... particularly the French fascination with Zouaves when everyone else is in khaki or muffti..... Respects, AW1 Tim

Comment from Boquisucio on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T17:30:52Z

Its a WW1 era French Self-possession Aiding Device. Though those in the French MOD Procurement and Logistics Branch, referred to it as: Dispositif de Secours de l��lan-et-Valour, it is better known in the Civilian World, as Good ol�Absinthe Wormwood Liqueur. They were standard issue to the French Poilu at the Western Front, and was employed in the vain attempt to create an artificial spine and will on to the French soldiers facing the Huns on No Man�s Land.

Comment from Eric Wilner on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T16:11:26Z

OK, so it's a 15th century Turkish plague bottle. The fuse hole in the stopper is actually an air hole so the fleas don't suffocate. Think of "Fleas in a Castle" as being a precursor to "Snakes on a Plane."

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T15:49:38Z

Hmmm. A challenge.

Comment from MajMike on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T15:47:07Z

i'm leaning towards picric acid crystals stored under water....

Comment from jim b on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T15:44:52Z

So it's a veritas bottle? I think the main reason I keep checking this stuff is there is a slight chance (very slight) that one day I may see something I have actually used.

Comment from Tim on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T15:34:50Z

Well, duh. It's a bottle rocket.

Comment from Trias on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T15:09:19Z

I suspect it's a mustard gas or white phosphorous container.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T14:56:04Z

In humor, veritas.

Comment from Eric Wilner on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T14:54:04Z

Heavy glass bottle, with a fuse hole in the stopper: early hand grenade? I have a vague recollection of some grenades having been made of glass, though specifics elude me. I'll guess WWI, and French. Alternatively, it's a Venetian nerve-gas bomb, an early version of the ones seen in Moonraker (the movie, not the book).

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T14:53:11Z

HDW: Nope.

Comment from hdw on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T14:49:04Z

Nitroglycerin bottle?

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T14:27:34Z

MajMike - 1. I wish that was true, that's hilarious! 2. You're closer than you think. Wrong century though. And you wouldn't have wanted to consume the contents. As if *that* won't give it away...

Comment from MajMike on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T14:15:03Z

dark glass, so some kind of liquid contents that doesn't behave well or degrades with exposure to light. slender bottle, so exposed surface area of the liquid contents is being minimized. probably due to volatility of said liquid at ambient temps. i'm looking at a Civil War era green bottle for battlefield use of Trappey's Bull Hot Sauce (makes hard tack edible).

Comment from MM2 on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T13:59:00Z

Gun oil?