Razzle Dazzle Ships

During WWI German U-Boats were very effective at sinking enemy ships be they military or commercial. The Navy tried different color schemes but due to the ever changing sky and water what was camouflage one day made them stand out even more the next. Enter British Artist and naval officer Norman Wilkinson who created the Dazzle Camouflage or Razzle Dazzle as it was know in the United States. The technique used bright colors and contrasting diagonal lines to make it hard for the U-Boats to judge the size and speed of the ship. Although the photos are all in black and white the ships were very bright and colorful. In a way what Wilkinson did was turn these War Ships into floating pieces of Cubist art.

The Last Fighting Tommy

Fighting Tommy's was the name given to WWI soldiers who fought in the trenches. This passed July the last of the "Tommy's" Harry Patch passed away at the age of 111. At the time of his passing Mr. Patch was the third oldest living person in the world. During the war patch could not bring himself to kill another human being and instead shot a charging German soldier in the shoulder and when that did not stop him he shot again aiming for the knee. Patch will be buried tomorrow and in honor of that Radiohead have recorded a song about him featuring his own quotes. You can find it on their website Dead Air Space.