Tag Archives: Snopes.com

Hostile radar equipment (1995)

Tornado - for joke about speeding ticket

Top this for a speeding ticket…

Two British traffic patrol officers from North Berwick were involved in an unusual incident, while checking for speeding motorists on the A-1.

One of the officers (who are not named) used a hand-held radar device to check the speed of a vehicle approaching over the crest of a hill, and was surprised when the speed was recorded at over 300 mph. The machine then stopped working and the officers were not able to reset it.

The radar had in fact locked onto a NATO Tornado fighter jet over the North Sea, which was engaged in a low-flying exercise over the Border district.

Back at police headquarters the chief constable fired off a stiff complaint to the RAF Liaison office.

Back came the reply in true laconic RAF style:

“Thank you for your message, which allows us to complete the file on this incident. You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Tornado had automatically locked onto your ‘hostile radar equipment’ and sent a jamming signal back to it. Furthermore, the Sidewinder Air-to-ground missiles aboard the fully armed aircraft had also locked on to the target. Fortunately the Dutch pilot flying the Tornado responded to the missile status alert intelligently and was able to override the automatic protection system before the missile was launched”.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/techno/radar.asp

Combined horseshelter/ advertisement for Jens Braun

horseshelter as advertisementThe truth is usually much more fun than whatever fantasies people make up about things. This case of the horseshelters above is no exception. Snopes dug into the claim that the building of the table and chairs were a reaction to the council refusing a farmer to build shelter for his horses. Snopes.com discovered that the huge table and chairs were an advertisement for their owner’s business along with being shelter for the horses.

This unusual shelter has been around at least since 2002. If you try to find anything on the net about Jens Braun, these stories pop up all over the place. 2002 is the earliest mention I find of this story. After that it pops up with and without the legend. One story even claims that Jens Braun of Döllstädt at Erfurt felt that his horses had the right to a table and some chairs, just like anyone else.

horseshelter as advertisement TimeTime had the following caption: 
Three horses try to hide from the rain under an oversized table and chair in a pasture near Doellstaedt, eastern Germany. The huge garden furniture was installed by a local wood merchant to promote his products. (Wednesday, June 18, 2003)

Associated Press has a set of pictures depicting the advertisement shelters. They tell us that wood dealer Jens Braun came up with this unusual idea of a combined shelter/advertisement for his business.

The horses seem to enjoy being able to hide beneath chairs and table. Very Gulliver.