World War One: Flatulence under fire

[Still Waters]

Maconochie's stew was a household name during World War One. The tinned "meat and vegetable rations" were welcomed by some troops but others described them as a "man-killer". They also had an unfortunate side-effect.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otland-27118824

[Leonardo]

"Foward, march!

Left, right *parp*

Left, right *parp*

Left *parp, right *parp *p-parp* *parp*..."

[spud the mackem]

"Foward, march!

Left, right *parp*

Left, right *parp*

Left *parp, right *parp *p-parp* *parp*..."

So that's what is causing the Ozone layer shrinkage.

[freetoroam]

Well thats one way of keeping the enemy at bay.

[g00dfella]

I'm surprised they couldn't cook their food at that era...I mean c'mon now..if a trained gorilla can do it then WTF?

IDK article seems bogus..

[ROGER]

Not to many camp fires going during the WW 1 trench wars .

[freetoroam]

I'm surprised they couldn't cook their food at that era...I mean c'mon now..if a trained gorilla can do it then WTF?

IDK article seems bogus..

These guys were on the front line, doubt there was much time or space to knock up a fry up or fish and chips.

Edited April 24, 2014 by freetoroam

[Peter B]

I'm surprised they couldn't cook their food at that era...I mean c'mon now..if a trained gorilla can do it then WTF?

IDK article seems bogus..

Google 'world war 1 trenches' and think again.

A couple of reasons come to mind:

1. The danger of a fire illuminating positions to the enemy.

2. The lack of fuel to cook something for 30 minutes.

3. The difficulty of maintaining a fire in a muddy or waterlogged trench.

[Gatofeo]

In the U.S. military of the 1960s and 70s, the worst gas offender in the canned C-rations was Scrambled Eggs & Ham. Not even Lima Beans & Ham could compete against the eggs and ham for creating the worst fahts (as they say in Bawstin).

The eggs and ham looked horrible: a gray, gelatinous mass with reddish-gray flecks of ham throughout.

Surprisingly, it didn't taste bad. It was even better when heated. But if you were unlucky enough to find Scrambled Eggs & Ham in your C-ration box, you saved it for a late night snack or early morning breakfast, so you wouldn't see it while eating.

The little tin of peanut butter made a good emergency candle: punch a hole in the top of the can, use a bit of your bootlace for a wick, and the candle would burn 30 minutes or more on the oil in the peanut butter. Then, open the can and enjoy the peanut butter on the crackers in the round tin.

I miss the old C-rations that came in cans. Since the early 1980s, individual field rations have come in sealed plastic pouches of varying sizes. The Scrambled Eggs & Ham didn't make the transition. Thank the gods!