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The Riddle of Baghdad's Battery

Posted by michael on from the three-bars-on-baghdad's-cell-phone dept.

Jodrell writes "The BBC has an interesting article about a 2,200 year old battery discovered in Iraq in 1938. It is basically a clay pot containing a copper/iron core immersed in an electrolye solution (probably acidic vinegar). The article talks about how this priceless artifact as well as many others, from the same civilisation that invented writing and the wheel, could be threatened by the impending war."

3 of 943 comments (clear)

  1. Re:battery??? by aridhol · · Score: 5, Insightful
    It wasn't until the 1700's that Western civilization documented the discovery of electricity. There are many civilizations more mature than the West, especially at that time. They all had their own discoveries that surpassed ours.

    Just because the Europeans hadn't heard of electricity doesn't mean it wasn't known elsewhere.

    --
    I can't say that I don't give a fuck. I've just run out of fuck to give.
  2. Threatened by what exactly? by Titusdot+Groan · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Threatened how? Will the US be targeting ancient batteries with their smart bombs? Will any land troops be looking in museums for for ancient clay pots to destroy? Should the US not invade Iraq simply because that this precious artifact may be destroyed? How did this thing survive the crusades and the Gulf War?

    Similarily, when the Taleban was destroying ancient Buddha's should this have been a reason to invade all by itself?

    I hate how every news article has to somehow relate to the cause of the day ...

  3. This really is troll food, but whatever... by smoondog · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is bizarre reading these posts and seeing people quote as fact the propaganda of the American government and media.

    What is truely bizarre is that you manage to write so much, but give no examples of this propaganda. While I agree with you that the American media has a tendancy not to question statements by American leadership, this post is another example of ignorance (and arrogance?) toward American media and Americans in general.

    The real tragedy here is that many Europeans truely believe that America is a country filled with mindless drones who believe everything they read and that everything they read is a lie. This is simply not true.

    Many Americans have differing beliefs, and many (american) media outlets do reflect this heterogenecity. Examples include the 100,000+ people that marched in San Francisco against military action in Iraq. Or last night, Dan Rather's interview with Saddam Hussein. Do you think the Bush administration wanted that aired? Many newspapers have written in editorial pages reservations about the Bush administration stance. Ignorance is everywhere, and perhaps that smell is coming from your own back yard and not your short wave radio...

    -Sean