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The Mexicans should educate themselves about siege weapons. There is a much superior design that could launch heavier projectiles over a greater distance withou

The Mexicans should educate themselves about siege weapons. There is a much superior design that could launch heavier projectiles over a greater distance without sacrificing firing rate.

wyager 10y ago
From what I understand, the latest in non-chemical ballistic drug delivery mechanisms are capable of launching a 90kg brick of cocaine over 300 meters. Outdated drug catapults can't really compare.
- tim333 10y ago
  Old school tech can do more than 90kg. Here's a car being launched by trebuchet https://youtu.be/-wVADKznOhY?t=1m48s https://youtu.be/-wVADKznOhY?t=1m48s Not sure it make 300m though
  - Spare_account 10y ago
    The blend of Reddit meme and HackerNews fact-based replies is just right in this thread.
    - TOMDM 10y ago
      For anyone out of the loop, lots of references are being made to the https://www.reddit.com/r/trebuchetmemes/ https://www.reddit.com/r/trebuchetmemes/ sub. The culture change on hackernews is certainly speeding up, references like this used to be attacked nearly immediately by the hackernews community.
      - toast0 10y ago
        I'm guessing these didn't get modded down, because they're actually relevant and maybe interesting. Even if it's not interesting, it's certainly bikeshedding which is generally popular here :)
      - dukeluke 10y ago
        Reddit is decaying at an accelerated rate nowadays & many are looking for a good alternative. I know that's why I came here.
  - ptaipale 10y ago
    That is nice, but not exactly easy to do in secret near the border.
    - nerdponx 10y ago
      Wall or no wall, much of the border is unguarded at any particular time. And if Age of Empires taught me anything, it's that trebuchets can be packed up and moved before the other player---err, before the DHS and DEA even notice
- marvin 10y ago
  You must be thinking of the trebuchet. It's a classic design; I wouldn't call alternative designs outdated as much as unsuitable for their purpose.
- jnordwick 10y ago
  Can't escape Reddit no matter where you are.
ilugaslifg 10y ago
Selection bias. The cartels using trebuchets aren't getting caught.
- bananarepdev 10y ago
  Interesting theory there.
  - LoonyBalloony 10y ago
    The trebuchet being a infinitely superior war machine is NOT fake news
- swalsh 10y ago
  Like looking at planes that return from battle and placing extra armor in the places where there AREN'T bullet holes :D
- brudgers 10y ago
  More likely the well capitalized one's with sound business plans aren't. About twenty years ago, I heard someone describe the difference in the drug trade then and in the 1970's as the difference between some hippies with a boat and the green shipping container every Tuesday. Forty-seven pounds is not even hippies with a boat. They moved tonnes in fifty pound bails.
lacampbell 10y ago
Would the contents be intact though?
- KON_Air 10y ago
  As long as the container holds. It is not like they are launching the whole lab and staff with it.
civilian 10y ago
The trick is that you want your payload to be intact on impact. :3 Staining the Arizona desert with marijuana mulch doesn't help anyone except the jackrabbits.
- Normal_gaussian 10y ago
  Time delay air cushion or parachute could resolve those problems pretty cheaply.
  - M_Grey 10y ago
    This may come as a shock, but the drug dealing world is not full of rocket scientists.
    - dsacco 10y ago
      The drug dealing world is resourceful. I would be shocked to the point of incredulity if the primary obstacle to implementing basic improvements casually mentioned in HN comments was simply that they didn't have anyone they could consult on the matter. They're not going to be developing in-house nuclear weaponry, no, but cartels can and do find intelligent, experienced and competent people who can help optimize their supply chains. I don't think it's a matter of them not realizing there are superior designs; I think it's a matter of superior designs not being worth the extra cost or somehow having an unintended result.
      - M_Grey 10y ago
        Resourceful only gets you so far... at some point you need a team of engineers with stable jobs over a long period of time. I'd say the line is roughly between the junky subs we see now, and researching, developing and fielding a stealthy modern sub. It's not impossible, but it's not like finding a chemist who can teach a whole bunch of people who to follow a recipe. You're talking about specialized skills, and people who have those skills and have put them into practice tend to be watched.
      - 10y ago
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
zkms 10y ago
There's been cases of people trying to use "air cannons", sometimes mounted out of modified vehicles, to send drugs over the border: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2-teens-face-prosecution-air-cannon-smuggling-attempt https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2-teens-fac... but I'm more endeared by the fact that the state of the art in short-range ballistic drug transport is looking more and more like the IRA's improvised mortars (up to and including mounting them in modified vans): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrack_buster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrack_buster
jimnotgym 10y ago
And could be useful against a wall...

The Mexicans should educate themselves about siege weapons. There is a much superior design that could launch heavier projectiles over a greater distance without sacrificing firing rate.

wyager 10y ago

From what I understand, the latest in non-chemical ballistic drug delivery mechanisms are capable of launching a 90kg brick of cocaine over 300 meters. Outdated drug catapults can't really compare.

tim333 10y ago
Old school tech can do more than 90kg. Here's a car being launched by trebuchet https://youtu.be/-wVADKznOhY?t=1m48s https://youtu.be/-wVADKznOhY?t=1m48s Not sure it make 300m though
- Spare_account 10y ago
  The blend of Reddit meme and HackerNews fact-based replies is just right in this thread.
  - TOMDM 10y ago
    For anyone out of the loop, lots of references are being made to the https://www.reddit.com/r/trebuchetmemes/ https://www.reddit.com/r/trebuchetmemes/ sub. The culture change on hackernews is certainly speeding up, references like this used to be attacked nearly immediately by the hackernews community.
    - toast0 10y ago
      I'm guessing these didn't get modded down, because they're actually relevant and maybe interesting. Even if it's not interesting, it's certainly bikeshedding which is generally popular here :)
    - dukeluke 10y ago
      Reddit is decaying at an accelerated rate nowadays & many are looking for a good alternative. I know that's why I came here.
- ptaipale 10y ago
  That is nice, but not exactly easy to do in secret near the border.
  - nerdponx 10y ago
    Wall or no wall, much of the border is unguarded at any particular time. And if Age of Empires taught me anything, it's that trebuchets can be packed up and moved before the other player---err, before the DHS and DEA even notice
marvin 10y ago
You must be thinking of the trebuchet. It's a classic design; I wouldn't call alternative designs outdated as much as unsuitable for their purpose.
jnordwick 10y ago
Can't escape Reddit no matter where you are.

ilugaslifg 10y ago

Selection bias. The cartels using trebuchets aren't getting caught.

bananarepdev 10y ago
Interesting theory there.
- LoonyBalloony 10y ago
  The trebuchet being a infinitely superior war machine is NOT fake news
swalsh 10y ago
Like looking at planes that return from battle and placing extra armor in the places where there AREN'T bullet holes :D
brudgers 10y ago
More likely the well capitalized one's with sound business plans aren't. About twenty years ago, I heard someone describe the difference in the drug trade then and in the 1970's as the difference between some hippies with a boat and the green shipping container every Tuesday. Forty-seven pounds is not even hippies with a boat. They moved tonnes in fifty pound bails.

lacampbell 10y ago

Would the contents be intact though?

KON_Air 10y ago
As long as the container holds. It is not like they are launching the whole lab and staff with it.

civilian 10y ago

The trick is that you want your payload to be intact on impact. :3 Staining the Arizona desert with marijuana mulch doesn't help anyone except the jackrabbits.

Normal_gaussian 10y ago
Time delay air cushion or parachute could resolve those problems pretty cheaply.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  This may come as a shock, but the drug dealing world is not full of rocket scientists.
  - dsacco 10y ago
    The drug dealing world is resourceful. I would be shocked to the point of incredulity if the primary obstacle to implementing basic improvements casually mentioned in HN comments was simply that they didn't have anyone they could consult on the matter. They're not going to be developing in-house nuclear weaponry, no, but cartels can and do find intelligent, experienced and competent people who can help optimize their supply chains. I don't think it's a matter of them not realizing there are superior designs; I think it's a matter of superior designs not being worth the extra cost or somehow having an unintended result.
    - M_Grey 10y ago
      Resourceful only gets you so far... at some point you need a team of engineers with stable jobs over a long period of time. I'd say the line is roughly between the junky subs we see now, and researching, developing and fielding a stealthy modern sub. It's not impossible, but it's not like finding a chemist who can teach a whole bunch of people who to follow a recipe. You're talking about specialized skills, and people who have those skills and have put them into practice tend to be watched.
    - 10y ago

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

zkms 10y ago

There's been cases of people trying to use "air cannons", sometimes mounted out of modified vehicles, to send drugs over the border: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2-teens-face-prosecution-air-cannon-smuggling-attempt https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/2-teens-fac... but I'm more endeared by the fact that the state of the art in short-range ballistic drug transport is looking more and more like the IRA's improvised mortars (up to and including mounting them in modified vans): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrack_buster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrack_buster

jimnotgym 10y ago

And could be useful against a wall...