The Military World

Beyond what's in your closet, some of the most visible and widely known things in the world were born of the military. Here's a random sampling.

The Internet (1969)
Origin - Created by the U.S. Department of Defense to ensure better communication between military-funded researchers.
Contemporary use - Online banking, downloading music, looking at uh pictures.

The Jeep (1941)
Origin - Commissioned by the U.S. Army for use in World War II.
Contemporary use - Shuttling teenage girls from one kegger to the next.

GPS Navigation (1973)
Origin - Developed by the Department of Defense to aid transport of military goods and personnel.
Contemporary use - Providing directions so you don't have to ask for them.

Computer Video Games (1961)
Origin - Spacewar!, the first-ever computer video game, pitted two warring spacecraft against each other.
Contemporary use - Teaching our children how to run over prostitutes and engage in drive-by shootings.

Canned Food (1810)
Origin - Derived from technology developed during the Napoleonic Wars.
Contemporary use - Feeding the kids when the wife is away.

The Slinky (1945)
Origin - Created by a naval engineer who was experimenting with tension springs.
Contemporary use - Entertaining children between the ages of five and five and a half.

"Snafu" (Circa 1941)
Origin - Sprang from U.S. G.I. slang during World War II, an acronym for "situation normal; all F'd up."
Contemporary use - Describing the average work day.

The Bass Tuba (1835)
Origin - Developed to fill out the lower range of Eastern European military bands.
Contemporary use - Providing unathletic high school kids with something to do after school.

London (Circa A.D. 43)
Origin - Founded by the Romans at a military fort.
Contemporary use - Home of the British prime minister and Parliament, Savile Row, and bad weather.