Drunk History

[Neon Maniac]

We all know you did

[Alien Redrum]

Watched a real good one last night about Roswell. Totally changed my thinking on it. Don't get me wrong, I do believe we've been visited, but, man, the fact it very well could have been a 'weather balloon' is interesting, especially if the whole UFO thing was misinformation, which would make sense.

(It was about Project Mogul, which I definitely want to read more of.)

Also, they had one about inventors that was really good because one part was all about what a fucking piece of shit Edison was.

[Neon Maniac]

I don't think I ever got to the Roswell episode before Derek had his bout with alcoholism, but did they mention the foil? Because here's the thing that nobody who lives today realizes about 1947 -- They didn't have tin foil. Not like we do anyway. Reynolds Wrap came out with modern tin foil that same year, they used to have it on their packages saying something like, "Since 1947". So what did pass for tin foil back then, wasn't anything like we'd know it. When the military guy is showing the wreckage to his family and they're all freaked out about how you can bend the metal and it goes back to it's original form, you can write on it then smooth it out, etc. I think they were handling thick foil that was used on the weather balloon.

[Alien Redrum]

No, which was a bit convenient. I remember watching the Unsolved Mysteries episode and I was thinking about this very thing (although I neglected to mention it because I forgot until you jogged my memory).

But tin foil has been around since like the beginning of the 20th Century. HOWEVER, even with that, no foil I know of goes back to it's original form. And even if you could write that off as maybe it was miscommunicated and you could mold it back to its original form, it doesn't explain how they couldn't tear it. Tin foil you can tear the shit out of.

So that's definitely a hole in the theory.

God, could you imagine if it happened now, with all the cellphones and how quickly info gets out there?

[shiki-jitsu]

God, could you imagine if it happened now, with all the cellphones and how quickly info gets out there?

We just watched it happen with the balloons.

[Neon Maniac]

No, which was a bit convenient. I remember watching the Unsolved Mysteries episode and I was thinking about this very thing (although I neglected to mention it because I forgot until you jogged my memory).

But tin foil has been around since like the beginning of the 20th Century. HOWEVER, even with that, no foil I know of goes back to it's original form. And even if you could write that off as maybe it was miscommunicated and you could mold it back to its original form, it doesn't explain how they couldn't tear it. Tin foil you can tear the shit out of.

So that's definitely a hole in the theory.

That's not true though. You just ignored everything I wrote and then disagreed with it

So yes, "aluminum foil" was "invented" in 1905. But it wasn't the aluminum foil that we have today. Not at all liked it. The foil we know today was invented in 1947 by Reynolds Wrap. So the foil you're thinking of, that you can tear the hell out of all day... didn't exist at Roswell.

The foil from 1905-1947 wasn't a paper-like wrap like you want it to be. There were basically two types:

1. This was laminated onto wax paper and was used to wrap candy, gum wrappers, etc. The Roswell foil obviously wasn't that, and anyone there who'd had a roll of lifesavers would recognize it.

2. Thick foil, which was not used in the household or sold in stores to housewives. Think a bit thicker than the foil they use for disposable roasting pans and that kind of thing you can buy anywhere in the US today. That was used for a lot of mock ups where it was easier to form around a frame. That one fits the bill for most of the unsubstantiated claims. It does try to keep it's shape but you can bend it out. You can write on it and then flatten it back out. Think of something like this, but maybe twice as thick:

[Alien Redrum]

God, could you imagine if it happened now, with all the cellphones and how quickly info gets out there?

We just watched it happen with the balloons.

Excellent point!