Dasquian Belargic
Nov 5th, 2005, 12:36:45 PM
There are hundreds of explosions going off outside, and men are being burned at the stake. This can only mean one thing! It's November 5th, a.k.a. Guy Fawkes Night, when we celebrate the failure of some sneaky 17th Century terrorists attempts to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
gunpowder, treason and plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
'twas his intent
to blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow:
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip hoorah!
A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah!
Just recently, a TV program was aired in which a full-scale replica of the House of Lords was filled with test-dummies to see whether or not the plot would have actually had the desired impact. With the same amount of gunpowder as was to be used by the original conspirators, the program producers were able to prove that the blast would have undoubtably destroyed the building and killed everyone inside...
The power of the explosion was such that seven-foot deep solid concrete walls (made deliberately to replicate how archives suggest the walls in the old House of Lords were constructed) were reduced to rubble. Measuring devices placed in the chamber to calculate the force of the blast were themselves destroyed by the blast, while the skull of the dummy representing King James, which at been placed on a throne inside the chamber surrounded by courtiers, peers and bishops, was found a large distance away from the site. According to the findings of the programme, no-one within 100 metres of the blast would have survived, while all the stained glass windows in Westminster Abbey would have been shattered, as would all windows within a large distance of the Palace. The power of the explosion would have been seen from miles away. Even if only half the gunpowder had gone off, everyone in the House of Lords and its environs would have been killed instantly.
The programme also disproved claims that some deterioration in the quality of the gunpowder would have prevented the explosion. A portion of deliberately deteriorated gunpowder, at such a low quality as to make it unusable in firearms, when placed in a heap and detonated, still managed to create a large explosion. The impact of even deteriorated gunpowder would have been magnified by impact of its compression in wooden barrels, with the compression overcoming any deterioration in the quality of the contents. The compression would have have created a cannon effect, with the powder first blowing up from the top of the barrel before, a millisecond later, blowing out.
The impact of the test explosion in the specially constructed chamber visually surprised even gunpowder experts. The entire concrete chamber was demolished as if made from wood the moment of the explosion. Plans to examine the test dummies to see the nature of the impact of their injuries and whether they could have survived, were abandoned such was the force of the blast and complete destruction caused by the explosion.
... and there is your history lesson for today, children.
Rule Britannia!
Remember, remember the fifth of November,
gunpowder, treason and plot,
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
'twas his intent
to blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow:
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
Hip hip hoorah!
A penny loaf to feed the Pope.
A farthing o' cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down.
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar.
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head.
Then we'll say ol' Pope is dead.
Hip hip hoorah!
Hip hip hoorah!
Just recently, a TV program was aired in which a full-scale replica of the House of Lords was filled with test-dummies to see whether or not the plot would have actually had the desired impact. With the same amount of gunpowder as was to be used by the original conspirators, the program producers were able to prove that the blast would have undoubtably destroyed the building and killed everyone inside...
The power of the explosion was such that seven-foot deep solid concrete walls (made deliberately to replicate how archives suggest the walls in the old House of Lords were constructed) were reduced to rubble. Measuring devices placed in the chamber to calculate the force of the blast were themselves destroyed by the blast, while the skull of the dummy representing King James, which at been placed on a throne inside the chamber surrounded by courtiers, peers and bishops, was found a large distance away from the site. According to the findings of the programme, no-one within 100 metres of the blast would have survived, while all the stained glass windows in Westminster Abbey would have been shattered, as would all windows within a large distance of the Palace. The power of the explosion would have been seen from miles away. Even if only half the gunpowder had gone off, everyone in the House of Lords and its environs would have been killed instantly.
The programme also disproved claims that some deterioration in the quality of the gunpowder would have prevented the explosion. A portion of deliberately deteriorated gunpowder, at such a low quality as to make it unusable in firearms, when placed in a heap and detonated, still managed to create a large explosion. The impact of even deteriorated gunpowder would have been magnified by impact of its compression in wooden barrels, with the compression overcoming any deterioration in the quality of the contents. The compression would have have created a cannon effect, with the powder first blowing up from the top of the barrel before, a millisecond later, blowing out.
The impact of the test explosion in the specially constructed chamber visually surprised even gunpowder experts. The entire concrete chamber was demolished as if made from wood the moment of the explosion. Plans to examine the test dummies to see the nature of the impact of their injuries and whether they could have survived, were abandoned such was the force of the blast and complete destruction caused by the explosion.
... and there is your history lesson for today, children.
Rule Britannia!