Most Influential Weapon Ever???

Just curious what you all may think is the most influential weapon ever made??

I'll start with a few thoughts of my own and then maybe you will all start throwing in your 2 cents with reasons why you chose what you did!!??

-A-Bomb (for obvious reasons that changed the lethality of a weapon)
-Nuclear Aircraft Carriers (Simply put, extreme might that is mobile and effective)

That is a start but I am sure that there are some strong opinions as to some other. Love to hear your thoughts, I guess the list could be endless but let's see what we get??

Peace, Mondo

It was the spear, unfortunately, I can't figure out which length was the best.

Id have to say the bow and arrow. Was truly the first weapon to "reach out and touch someone" rocks and sligs did not have the combination of accuracy, and hitting power.

The A-Bomb is another I would agree upon.

The Aircraft is also changed the way wars are faught on both land and sea

Hmm. interesting thought!!

I guess I was thinking a bit more modern, but you have made me rethink it. All things considered, it probably would be a more primitive weapon...would gunpowder be considered a weapon in and of itself then??

There are probably some wicked Roman or Greek weapons too, such as catapults and the like.
I still think the more modern weapons that strike fear rather than direct results offer a good possibility as to greatest weaponry!

Thanks for the thought, it's got me thinking..........peace, Mondo

reply to post by Mondogiwa


Well, if I ignore the obvious weapon, the nuke, my choice would be Napalm. It has very effective destructive capabilities but even more than that is the psychological effect that it can have on an enemy.
Humans, by nature are extremely terrified of fire, I can only imagine what it must feel like to see a 100 yard wall of flames heading toward you..
Another one to consider would be the Thermobaric weapon, the vacuum that it creates means that the enemy isnt safe, even in his caves.

It was the spear, unfortunately, I can't figure out which length was the best.

Historians claim that Alexander the Great's Army used spears that were about 16-18' long, it worked great in their phalanx style attakcs. With spears that long an infantry soldier in the 3rd or 4th row could be taking out enemies in the front lines.

[edit on 10/12/2007 by Kr0n0s]

I just watched the PBS special 'The Samurai sword'. Incredibly informative documentary. I had no clue the background regarding these weapons. I highly recommend it to anyone. The sword would be my pick only because of its historical significance. I watched on this special a master split an arrow in half that was aimed at his heart. Truly incredible.

Money



sorry for the one word but i think it says it all its man made and those that have it have all the power and influence

But for a "real" weapons what abut the colt or smith and western

and for "oldschool" what abut the long bow


and for modern day warfare what about the AK47 the gun of choice by radicals/revolutionists/miltants/terrorists/armys the list goes on it isrealible durable simple and cheap

AK-47 and a wad of cash your good to go buddy ...lol

Most influential weapon ever?
IMHO there are two
The Tank
The Airplane.

Most battles these days could simply be fought with those 2 weapons.

Or are they technically not weapons, but simply weapons carriers

The pen, for it is truly mightier than the sword.

Mmm...the false prophet? And what I mean by that is television, you know what I mean?

Originally posted by Mondogiwa
Just curious what you all may think is the most influential weapon ever made??

The television.

No joke.

reply to post by pluckynoonez


Say that to the man with the Gun in your face

im sure the answer will be "Draw" lol

Most influential weapon ever? The human mind. Sex might be a close second. My tertiary choice would be the written word followed by the AK-47. Without the human mind, well I guess it's sorta self-explanatory...

Cheers,

Vic

[edit on 12-10-2007 by V Kaminski]

reply to post by N.B.A.Y.S.O.H


Within arms reach, a pen in the [explicative] works just fine. Although I was thinking of the pen as policy...foreign policy and all the untold misery weve perpetrated on others.

reply to post by pluckynoonez


I understand i was being flippant forgive me

if only all wars were won and lost with merley the use of a pen many lives would be saved

My vote goes to Religion.

Lets face it. What other weapon in this world will make men go into battlefields and start killing mindlessly?

From the Crusades to the present, it still works!

Originally posted by N.B.A.Y.S.O.H
reply to post by pluckynoonez

 

I understand i was being flippant forgive me

if only all wars were won and lost with merley the use of a pen many lives would be saved

You are right in some ways, since, the opposition will need another pen to counter yours.

reply to post by Kr0n0s


I was kind of stuck on the whether the phalanx spear or the pilum was best. The Romans won a lot of conflicts by using the pilum-a spear that could be thrown at a distance of about thirty feet, also, the Gothic hordes that did Rome in probably used it.

What about mind-control or fear? It can be argued that all one needs is to poison his enemies' mind either using fear or manipulation.

Let's say bow and arrow is the most influential weapon, but if I can persuade an army of archers to do my bidding either through fear or manipulation, don't I have the 'better' weapon?

I think most of us tend to think in the here and now, so I'm going to make two choices. One as pointed out earlier, would be the bow and arrow. The ability to inflict death from so far away was certainly a new reality for those on the receiving end. Second would have to be the automatic rifle/machine gun. The new ability to throw so much lead at someone, in my mind, would be akin to the response of those being shot at by arrows.