if it's stooopid, but it works... it ain't stupid.
Posted on 11/10/2006 4:12:45 PM PST by Sub-Driver
No Joke: NJ Mom Collects 'Silly String' for Iraq Troops
by KYW's David Madden
A Camden County, NJ woman is working on a plan to send cans of the children's aerosol toy "Silly String" to troops in Iraq.
Stress relief? Hardly.
Marcelle Shriver’s son has been in Iraq for a month now. She says Army and Marine units spray the string through the doorways of buildings before entering them -- to make sure there are no bombs inside:
"If the string falls to the ground, there are no trip wires. If the string hangs in mid-air, then they can see that there’s a wire and they do not go in until they can dismantle it."
And he wants more. She’s gathered two cases of the string so far, and $140 to help in shipping. She needs more of both.
Donations are being taken at St. Luke’s Church in Stratford, NJ, and at Our Lady of Grace in Somerdale.
(Excerpt) Read more at kyw1060.com ...
The churches are about 15 minutes away from my house and my daughter plays volleyball against their team, they can count me in! I'll be dropping some silly string by!
BRILLIANT! American ingenuity at its finest, and from a bunch of poor, stupid, uneducated kids probably from Mississippi dumb enough to get stuck there!
Also, it's a shame the genius EM that thought of this will never be known. This is deserving of a medal. But the thought of saving American lives is the best reward.
Well, true, but a left handled rubber swab handle is more effective than our congress.
if it's stooopid, but it works... it ain't stupid.
You read my mind.
necessity- mother of invention (kind of)
John Kerry could have received a purple heart if the silly string "shrapnel" had struck him back in those dark days.
Next on Oprah - It's all fine till someone puts an eye out!
Thread over, perfect response...
For Robert...
I suggest she contact the manufacturer. Maybe, just maybe they would donate some or give her a good price.
Perhaps the article could be forwarded to them, so they could make the offer to her unasked?
I just finished reading an excellent book..."No True Glory", it is about the battle for Fallujah, the whole process both political and military that led up to it, and the great, sad and humorous stories of our Marines in the city.
In one scene, the Marines asked for flamethrowers and were turned down by the generals in charge. You can imagine, with the hubub from shooting an injured insurgent, what would have happened if there had been pictures of the insurgents being burned alive by Marines with flamethrowers.
There was a story about a bunch of Marines who had one of their favorite buddies killed by a bunch of insurgents holed up in a house. The Marines tried for a while to attack them with no success, then someone noticed there was a big fuel tank with cooking or heating oil on the roof.
They fired a round into it, let it all drain down into the house, then threw in a flare to ignite it. As I recall, the author said "The Marines smoked cigarettes and listened impassively to the screams from the insurgents within..."
I'll bet it was impassive. I wouldn't want to have to fight those Marines after I killed one of their buddies.
Something else to add in to the Christmas Packages from Proud Patriots.
Why didn't Rummy have tons of Silly String ready for this war? They have to buy their own?
I thought this was a joke at first. Makes sense.
Great idea! Neil...PINGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!
Even though the reason for wanting Silly String is deadly serious, I can still envision a Zucker-esque battle where a platoon of Marines take out an al Qaeda type by hosing him down with silly string to the point where he cannot move.
Is this for real?
As a former Combat Engineer, I am kicking myself for not having thought of this. Bravo!
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