Science in World War II Chemistry : A History of the Chemical Components of the National Defense Research Committee 1940-1946
W. A. Noyes, Jr. Editor
Little, Brown and Company Boston, 1948
Another Division of NDRC had rather unique requirements for an explosive, and Dr. G. B. Kistiakowsky suggested these could be met by a mixture of a
high explosive and flour. This mixture had almost exactly the appearance and properties of flour and in some circles there was concern that it might
fall out of military hands and be used as flour. It was, therefore, thought necessary to insist upon a material which, if used in this way, not only
would not explode during cooking but would be nontoxic. On this basis, most of the standard explosives would not be satisfactory because of their
toxicity when taken internally. It was found that one of the new explosives was sufficiently nontoxic so that an individual at one meal would be
unlikely to eat enough baked product from this mixture -- often referred to as "Aunt Jemima" -- to suffer seriously. The research group at ERL worked
under Dr. Russell McGill became quite adept at making biscuits and pancakes, much to the bewilderment of laboratory personnel who happened to see the
bakery in operation without knowing the objectives. A process was then developed to produce this explosive in large enough quantities to meet the
special requirements for which the flour mixture was eventually to be used.
"Space does not permit a complete list of all the compounds which were prepared in the synthetic program.... the following types of compounds were
synthesized: furan, cyclohexane, naphthalene, melamine, piperazine, and paraffins."
Anyone know what the explosive use was? The only new explosives named are DINA and Fivonite.
hissingnoise - 5-4-2010 at 09:17
Quote:
Anyone know what the explosive use was?
Er. . . Nitrostarch?
Want something extra in a biscuit?
Try Aunt Jemima's new Aphrodisiac Crackers!
More bang for your fuck!
Rosco Bodine - 5-4-2010 at 10:31
RDXfranklyn - 5-4-2010 at 20:07
Yes Exactly
Side note:
Wrappers of the plastic form of the explosive , warn
" Do Not Eat " , Marines are known to do that at times.
Just keep your hands and feet away from their mouths
when they're feeding.
