Sort of a silly episode. Should not have singled out specific weapons/weapon systems but rather categories (ie: precision guided munitions as opposed to the JDAM; stealth technology as opposed to the F117A).
BTW, Mack, the 'military industrial complex' is not a weapon or weapon system by any definition or stretch of the imagination.

I don't think that they should have left it up entirely up to votes either. The list was pretty pathetic.

I liked the episode, though I missed the first half. It is interesting to see the viewer’s choices.

I remember the days when Discovery channel and History channel put a lot of effort into interesting and innovative programming. Now all you get is dramatic yet simplistic "entertainment" shows. I miss the days when they would show all sorts of interesting technology with off camera narration to provide details. Now almost every show spends half the time focusing on the host which isn't that interesting and all this drama and bravado is painful to watch. Sadly I don't really enjoy watching these shows anymore because they lack content and spend so much time with the babbling host.

I agree the top 10 wapons was a little too open ended and hard to narrow down. They should have narrowed the category somehow. And yes I agree that the Discovery channel has gotten simplistic to get to mainstream people that don't like documentaries, but they do have to make money.

Finally, I do give kudos for correctly identifying the Military industrial complex as the most influential weapon .

wcmontour - you slam Mack for not following the definition of weapon so here it is from Mirriam Webster...

Main Entry: 1weap·on
Pronunciation: \ˈwe-pən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English wepen, from Old English wǣpen; akin to Old High German wāffan weapon, Old Norse vāpn
Date: before 12th century
1 : something (as a club, knife, or gun) used to injure, defeat, or destroy
2 : a means of contending against another

So yeah the word weapon did predate the military industrial complex by many thousands of years, yet the word is appropriate. Conventional battles are generally won largely by the ability to get more/better weapons to the battlefield. (ie a means of contending against another or something used to injure)...

WWII was won largely by the US/Russian complex cranking out more material than the Axis could deal with. In some cases the weapons used were even inferior to their German/Japanese counterparts, yet the ability to make them and get them to the front in large numbers made the difference...

Various Nukes/guns/tanks/etc will come and go, but the ability to make "better" and more weapons over the long term is the ultimate weapon.

Well Put exitstrategy.

My choices in no particular order:

Gunpowder
The Tank
The Submarine
The Airplane
The Machine Gun
The Jet Engine
Radar
Penecillin
The Helicopter
The Atomic Bomb

I think that top weapon that changed the world is: nuclear bomb.

After nuke was dropped, ALL army rules had to be revised. This is the single weapon that can obliterate the world if used en masse.

My number 2 choice: ICBMs with nuclear warheads

My 3rd: Machine Gun - several million casulalties in WW1 back up my choice here.

And 4th: Tank - weapon that defeated machine gun.

I am not listing weapons here that are more or less technological advanced, but when above weapons were implemented on the battlefield, the way war is fought changed.

AK-47, M-16s and such were later derivatives of machine-g

honestly i think the f-16 should have been on there .. nothing kicks more ars than a fully loaded f-16 if u dont agree go to google and type in f-16 youll sexy its scary

what about the Multiple Launch Rocket System????surely it has a home in the top ten as well....i agree to the fact that there should have been different catagories

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rushfire15,

All I can say is SORRY I was not around to vote...AK47 should have been like number 1 or 2. It has killed and been used more than anything else out there. So did it change history OH YEA.

Great show I hate when I miss them.

After spending 4 yrs on the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk I have to agree that carriers are the ultimate weapon. I even had the rare oppertunity to be aboard the Hawk when it bumped into a Russian Sub in the open ocean, Guess who won that accidental meeting??
I am sure some folks are going to say that the A bomb is the ultimate weapon but its an outdated weapon that we can't use anymore, however, we can and do use our big boats everyday!

just my two cents
AO3 Retired Spyder.

quote:

Originally posted by pyro-fanatic:
honestly i think the f-16 should have been on there .. nothing kicks more ars than a fully loaded f-16 if u dont agree go to google and type in f-16 youll sexy its scary

F22

quote:

My 3rd: Machine Gun - several million casulalties in WW1 back up my choice here.

I think that's getting a little too general. I know the History Channel had it on their list, but why don't we add the firearm, ship, and airplane to that list?

Really I think exitstrategy hit it squarely on the head when he said that they should have narrowed the categories. There are so many different kinds of weapon technologies and most people only consider a few of these when thinking "weapon." For instance, I was in the Army Infantry so my concept of a weapon leans towards firearms, explosives, artillery, and to a certain extent vehicles. Then I have a friend who is an ex- Air Force pilot turned engineer so he thinks more in terms of aircraft, naval vessels, and their respective payloads.
There simply was not enough room on the top ten list to properly represent all of the weapon groups. I mean if a person wanted to get really nit picky, one could contend that the spear is the number one weapon of all time. If you guys think the AK 47 or the Atomic Bomb has killed a lot of people or altered history dramatically, try a weapon that was used for thousands of years (well into prehistory) in thousands of conflicts large and small. That's a death toll that is completely incalculable and an overall worldwide affect that could not be fully quantified even with a hundred years of research. But that would be something for the History channel, right?
In essence I believe the Top Ten List episode was nothing more than a popularity contest for weapons. The only weapon that I fully back being on this list is the AK 47- though I can not fully agree with it's 7th place position.

I agree with Mack that scientific development is the number one weapon that has changed the world or war. Because without the scientists studying and inventing new weapons the US Armed Forces may have not won as many conflicts without them. So my number one pick is Weapon developement and study.

I can't believe very few people think this. The Tactical Nuclear Weapon should be #1. After all, it scared the entire world, along with 2 superpowers, and it also has caused massive tensions between the West, the USSR, and several rogue and hostile states.

I still stand behind my opinion of an a-bomb and an h-bomb being the ultimate weapons that chaged the world and continue to shape our international conflicts.

Country A is small but has 12 icbms, Country B is large but has 50,000 ak-47s.
This setting in WW-2 would result in 'poland' syndrome.

Now nukes in any form are strict detterance because of their damage possibility. A-bomb is obsolete, not ICBMs. Even when icbms get obsolete nuclear warheads will shrink down and down in size until mass production of a weapon such as: american nuclear tactical field gun, becomes reality

The Atomic weapons are only good if you are the only country that has them. after other people join the nuclear club, they are not good. You can't use one thanks to the other countries that could send them on to you. If you must know we made a cannon that fired an atomic shell, it was not worth anything by a danger to the crew if the wind blew the wrong way.

The Aircraft Carrier is the best weapon out their. As the Navy says it 4.5 acers of US soil anywere you want to put it. The Essex proved that it has a long reach and can take out a problem far from home. The Nimitz is the same way. An AK-47 is useless at takeing out a bunker unless you can get inside and kill the guys in it. That is waste of manpower. An Aircraft carrier can do it without a problem.

I'd agree that vote taly on the weapons was pathetic. This is my list of the top ten weapons.


10. crossbow
9. tank
8. firearm
7. bow and arrow
6. airplane
5. warship
4. spear
1 (tie). atomic bomb, stone knife, gunpowder, and fire

This message has been edited. Last edited by: benverh,