TIL the word shrapnel came from Lieutenant-General Henry Shrapnel, a British officer who invented a shell that scattered pieces of itself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Shrapnel

324 points · 24 comments · view on lemmy.world

24 Comments

human@slrpnk.net · 58 pts · 121d (1 reply)

Sounds like a dick

backalleycoyote@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 119d

That’s what they said about another inventor, John Dildo.

JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social · 31 pts · 121d

I'm reminded of an old army joke:

"Hey sarge, what should I do if I step on a landmine?"

"That's easy, private-- jump in the air and scatter yourself in to a hundred pieces."

AstralPath@lemmy.ca · 30 pts · 121d (1 reply)

Helluva family legacy you've created there, Henry.

Fuck this guy.

pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 121d

Yes! Fuck that guy!

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 23 pts · 121d (6 replies)

And the bobsled was invented by Robert S. Ledd. He was roomates in college with James Nasium.

pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 121d (1 reply)

Good ol Jim!

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 120d

He always had the smoothest floors.

finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 121d (3 replies)

And the French Tickler was invented by Jacques Littledick.

Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 120d (2 replies)

Jaques Petitcoq was his name you anglo-sized it.

zedgeist@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 120d (1 reply)

you anglo-sized it.

How big is an anglo?

Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 120d

Depends on if it is SAE or Imperial.

halfapage@lemmy.world · 21 pts · 121d
[ removed ]
Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 18 pts · 121d

I'm sure someone was bound to come up with it eventually anyway, but fuck that guy.

Not_mikey@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 16 pts · 120d

In 1814, the British Government recognized Shrapnel's contribution by awarding him £1,200 (£82,600 in 2025) a year for life.[5] Bureaucracy, however, prevented him from receiving the full benefit of this award

Didn't even get rich off it like alfred nobel, just did it for his love of killing Frenchmen.

Wutchilli@feddit.org · 12 pts · 121d

This is some warhammer 40k naming convention shit

Agent641@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 120d (1 reply)

Is Henry Shrapnel related to John Sucking Chest Wound?

YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 120d

I think he's closer to his great aunt's side, you know the Fragmentations?

aeronmelon@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 121d (2 replies)

Henry Shrapnel, who was good friends with John Grenade.

anomnom@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 120d (1 reply)

You mean Hans Grenade, and they were on opposite sides of the trenches.

BehindetheClouds@reddthat.com · 3 pts · 120d

He changed his name after the war to sound less German.

finallymadeanaccount@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 121d (2 replies)

Arsehole.

BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today · 5 pts · 120d (1 reply)

That was a different guy, Lt. Colonel Arsehole, who invented the Anus. Until then, all humans were full of shit, not like the enlightened humans of the 21st century.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 120d

He settled in Athol, NY, which used to be near the town of Dildo, but they moved it to Newfoundland.

possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 120d

Alfred Nobel created dynamite along with many other deadly explosives

On his death bed he created the Nobel peace prize.