User:Multiliteralist/UnNews:DaVinci was an imbecile
2 aaltosulkua news|5 April 2010}} 2 aaltosulkua date|5 April 2010}}
Da Vinci proven worthless, people of the world disappointed
Recent studies have clearly shown that the famed Leonardo Da Vinci (artist, inventor, architect) was not the genius we usually take him for. It can even be argued that the world has been misled into thinking Da Vinci was something special. This becomes clear when his inventions are compared to some of the more recent inventions made by other, more up-to-date inventors. Those include but are not limited to Thomas Alva Edison, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking, all of whom have invented far more impressive things than Da Vinci. One cannot help wondering what the Inquisition had against him - he hardly counted, when we look back through history. The Artillery Park, A Stretching Device for a Barrel Spring, Designs for a Boat - these were some of Da Vinci's most famous inventions. It is no wonder not all historians are too impressed by the famous Leonardo's attempts.
The most striking example of his so-called genius was the Ornithopter. Clearly an early attempt at developing a helicopter, this clumsy-looking device was supposed to run on - what? As most of us know, gasoline, atom, and other modern fuels had not yet been invented during Renaissance. What was Da Vinci thinking? Maybe he planned to build his Ornithopter 150m wide, to make it fly by having slaves spin the spiral, which does not look like it would lift the machine very far above ground anyway.
That aside, imagine this machine being used in modern warfare. Ridiculous, isn't it? The materials used in the design are so vulnerable to fire that no enemy would be needed. The machine would easily be ignited while launching missiles, crashing down in less than a minute. Also, no steering mechanism is visible. Even if you could fly with the 'thopter, you would be at the mercy of winds. Thus, the only possible function the machine would serve would be to give out your position to the enemy. Handy for them, right? They could then shoot it down with a fucking BB gun.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Jonathan Jones "Leonardo Da Vinci as a developer of war engines" BBC News, March 31, 2010