Sadly, it's in wartime that a number of very handy inventions seem to show up. When it comes to finding a way to blow up the enemy, our minds can go into overdrive!
Explosives Disguised As Flour That Could Be Eaten
With the OSS aiming to disrupt Japanese operations in Southeast Asia, they turned to chemist George Bogdan Kistiakowsky. He created the perfect explosive that could be disguised as, of all things, flour—and it could be used to bake as well.
The “Aunt Jemima” mixture of three parts explosive and one part flour could be sneaked past Japanese soldiers without suspicion. If they did get suspicious, a realistic looking and tasting loaf of bread could be made and eaten to prove to the Japanese that the flour was “just flour".
Although the flour could be ingested, the original mixture would have made people very ill. This was amply demonstrated in an incident when a Chinese cook disobeyed orders and ate a muffin, becoming so ill that he nearly died.
Ultimately, a second version of “Aunt Jemima” was developed that was far less toxic than the first variant and could be consumed safely in quantity. In the end, more than 15 tons of the stuff was smuggled into Japanese-controlled areas with the Japanese none the wiser.
I don't care if the original recipe was toned down, I wouldn't volunteer to eat any of those muffins...would you ?
Coffee in the kitchen this morning. The rain is back with a vengeance !
