Japan's Weaponized WW2 Opium Cigarettes

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  • Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
  • Pre-order your copy of Tobacco of the Emperor today!
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    Patrick Phillips is back with me today to discuss the very real Japanese tactic of smuggling opium-laced cigarettes into China in an effort to undermine Chinese military resistance to Japanese invasion...
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,7 тис.

  • @michaelb6729
    @michaelb6729 Рік тому +2702

    Lets get this on a tray .....

  • @jamesricker3997
    @jamesricker3997 Рік тому +1

    The Japanese Army didn't use opoids,they used methamphetamine.
    It was given to the troops to improve their "fighting spirit"

  • @jkbk121
    @jkbk121 Рік тому +11

    just a little more addictive than normal cigs 😂

    • @masterpython
      @masterpython Рік тому +2

      Not sure about that. Nicotine is more addictive than opiates so it would be like adding caffeine to heroin.

  • @voskhod6864
    @voskhod6864 Рік тому

    Golden Bat was sold in Japan until recently, but finally discontinued.

  • @adamcuneo7189
    @adamcuneo7189 Рік тому +1

    I know this is a channel about forgotten weapons, but I never thought I'd see a literal pack of cigarettes being used as a weapon, then again. The Japanese were crazy as f***, along with the Germans.

  • @luked2767
    @luked2767 Рік тому +1

    Opium in a cigarette would be a waste of opium.
    You want someone to try one just send it to me opium lasts well for hundreds of years if stored in a cool dry place.
    Unless they extracted opium salts and freebase them and homogenised it with the tobbaco I can't see it working very well.
    During that time opium was widely used and grown in china and was also a vital war material just as painkillers are today and a solid trade item that never looses value.
    It's so hard to find opium pipes as when the supply was cut off most would Scape the residue from the pipe and bowl.
    I have been in a opium den in manymar and the method of traditional opium smoking takes a long time for a relatively small dose.
    As someone with chronic pain who takes morphine or oxycodone I had to give it a try and while the smoke was smooth with a nice taste and very pleasant, I had to have 5 bowls to feel any euphoria.
    Over 2 grams of opium it took and even then it was pretty mild.
    The only effective drug in a cigarette would be fentanyl just because if it's sheer power and how cheap it is to produce.
    By weight opium is only as powerful as codeine (codeine turns into 10 percent morphine in the liver and good dry refined opium is 10 percent or so morphine by weight.
    Tastes awfull and bitter but I would use it oraly in a hand rolled pill with a little belladonna and powdered sugar
    Very very few opium smokers exist now that vaporise it the traditional way.
    It's been replaced by afgan freebase heroin or white heroin from the golden triangle.
    Or fentanyl and mexican heroin in the US
    You can still get opium tincture and it's amazing for GI problems..
    Poppy staw tea is widely consumed in Chinese medicine as the scored and cut pots still contain quite alot of morphine and alkaloids so it's a double crop.
    It's very labor intensive to harvest opium.
    I think it was the mitsubishi group who was the main opium supplier around china.
    The best brands of opium used to be made from imported Indian opium and refined in Canada by Chinese Canadians.
    Opium would have many different brands and quality's from the best to cheap pills made from dried poppy staw extract that was unsmokable.
    But i think it did not have the effect the Japanese wanted.
    I mean you could take over the population by handing out grain as most where starving to death.
    China had a very very raw deal in WW2 than most don't appreciate due to the European view of the war.
    Ironicaly it would have been better if they kept opium smoking legal as it's har to have a huge dose in one sitting by smoking.
    It's safe to work with and you know it's power plus can't inject it.
    Now with all the drug bans the US has the very worst opiod, a weapons grade opioid, febtsnyo and its even stronger analoges.
    As a chemist I have handled pure fentanyl but it's pretty scary, but I would handle it all day over say mercury salts or nerve agents.
    At least with that you die fast without pain or nalaxone will remove it from the receptors and your fine.
    You would realy have to pull a number to overdose from smoking opium.
    Eating it or drinking strong laudanum sure.
    But smoking no way.
    (Never take opiates or opiods unless prescribed or OTC or unless you really know what your doing, they are highly addictive and can kill, they are for many people the only thing that makes life barable due to pain, if you don't suffer from physical pain or bad GI problems don't use these substances if you want to grow poppy's and harvest it it's fine as you won't be able to get enough to get addicted and will run out lol .
    I wonder if any evidence of the effects of these ?as im sure opium powder in cigs would be litraly like 30mg of codeine oral or less,ubless they used purified opium salts converted to freebase and mixed it very well by putting the extract into a solvent and spraying it or mixing it with the tobbaco.
    You should take a few flakes out for a lab test to see what type of concentration.

  • @scvmbag707
    @scvmbag707 Рік тому

    the way I've been feeling for the last day and a half I would smoke one of these right now if I had one

  • @FuhrChris
    @FuhrChris Рік тому +1

    Was there any secret markings to distinguish between the drug ones and the ones for Japan?

  • @cyrilio
    @cyrilio Рік тому

    Luckily you don’t get addicted to a single use of opium. It actually takes a while to become (physically) dependent on opiates.

  • @mrmactknife
    @mrmactknife Рік тому +1

    Never knew this, very interesting. Forgotten Weapons and Mark Felton should do some collab's with more WW2 stuff like this.

  • @theprofessional155
    @theprofessional155 Рік тому +26

    Hey Ian do you know what they would do to stop their own soldiers smoking them ? Considering that they tried to circulate them they were bound to be found by Japanese soldiers. I don’t think regular troops were told about it.

    • @Alex-lg6nz
      @Alex-lg6nz Рік тому

      The Japanese planned to do this whole thing prior to the invasion, I'm assuming.

    • @slimebooger4758
      @slimebooger4758 Рік тому

      Bro, your gta 4 playthrough convinced me to watch the sopranos

  • @testpleaseignore
    @testpleaseignore Рік тому +1281

    Headstamp needs a book discussing the historic production of Molotov cocktails under Finland so we can cover both alcohol and explosives for Ian to check off his bingo sheet of publishing books to piss off the ATF

    • @ForgottenWeapons
      @ForgottenWeapons  Рік тому +697

      I will definitely include factory-made Molotovs in my Finnish book :)

    • @Ass_of_Amalek
      @Ass_of_Amalek Рік тому +43

      I doubt they were made with alcohol. molotov cocktails are generally made with gasoline because it is (and even more so was) cheaper. I think it also burns a little hotter and might ignite better.

    • @Marcel_Germann
      @Marcel_Germann Рік тому +48

      @@Ass_of_Amalek Gasoline and Diesel mixture. At least it is described that way in "The service in the (Austrian) Army" by Karl Ruef released in the 1970s. Interesting book about equipment and tactics for warfare in alpine regions. But unfortunately it's only available in German language, if you are able to find an example. Also gives a nice overview of their firearms and equipment at that time. From P38 over Sturmgewehr 58 (FN FAL) to MG 42/MG 74 and even MP 41 (PPSh-41).

    • @AsbestosMuffins
      @AsbestosMuffins Рік тому +12

      @Semechki for Putin there's probably been more than a few made of just burning spirits, its still effective

    • @seculartapes
      @seculartapes Рік тому +45

      @@Ass_of_Amalek somebody has to empty the bottles before you put the gasoline in though…

  • @hitomarusensha
    @hitomarusensha Рік тому +106

    Hello from Japan, Golden bat is indeed still on the market however it is not in the same form as it once was. See in Japan there was an age where cigarettes came in 3 classifications. those being 1st-3rd rate. 1st rate would be a more expensive brand usually sold by JT or Japan Tobacco in a higher quality cig and better presentation etc. (I believe some U.S brands like Marlboro fall under this category). Golden bat, along side other brands like echo were filter less but the tobacco used was light and mellow. This approach was because cigarette tax rates were based off of weight which is why golden bat and echo could sell a pack of 20 for around 40-50 yen and in pre 2019 they cost about 250 because of inflation. However, come 2019 the tax rate was increased for all cigarettes and kind of abolished the rating system which would have put echo and golden bat up to 1st rate price making it about 500 yen per pack. To get around this both echo and golden bat stopped making cigarettes and started making filtered cigars as they could then keep the price down to 250 as the regulations of cigars are different. Both golden bat and echo kinda have the same taste but honestly taste a little better since becoming cigars and of course they all have filters now. The only downside is golden bat is only sold in Hokkaido or on very rare occasions in a smoke shop that marks the price up to about 500-750 per pack. If you enjoy smoking and want something short but has a decent taste I recommend golden bat but honestly wakaba and echo both are good filtered cigars for a good price. Also cold smoke them, if you treat it like a normal cig it wont taste as good so treat it more like, well, a small cigar.

    • @butre.
      @butre. Рік тому +4

      there's a lot of parallels there with the US cigarette market. Cigars are taxed differently so a lot of inexpensive brands like Ohm or 305 will wrap with a tobacco based paper to change their tax status, or since flavored cigarettes are banned brands like Djarum will do it to make clove cigarettes

    • @ben-chan420
      @ben-chan420 Рік тому +2

      ok now I really want to try some japanese smokes
      can you even get them in the states?

    • @butre.
      @butre. Рік тому +1

      @@ben-chan420 there are some grey market sites that sell imported cigarettes from various countries, or sometimes you can get them on military bases and at duty free stores.

    • @deletedTestimony
      @deletedTestimony Рік тому

      Are the Golden Bat smokes and Golden Bat anime related at all?

    • @JohnnyWSmokeyJnrsMum
      @JohnnyWSmokeyJnrsMum Рік тому +3

      Golden bat are with a strong coffee the breakfast of champions. If your lucky some of the ma and pa tobacco shops in the country have old stock . Now I know the full story, thanks. I was bummed when they just disappeared off the shelf.

  • @Matt-xc6sp
    @Matt-xc6sp Рік тому +496

    Virgin Gun Collector: It’s too bad it’s illegal to put a reproduction stock on my Luger
    Chad Cigarette Collector: Here’s a pack of smack smokes

    • @kelteckin
      @kelteckin Рік тому +49

      Hey everything's legal when cops ain't around

    • @memeaids445
      @memeaids445 Рік тому +44

      @@kelteckin The only thing illegal is getting caught.

    • @RipOffProductionsLLC
      @RipOffProductionsLLC Рік тому +28

      Or those guys who collect old ration kits that still have the government issue methamphetamine tablets in them

    • @Buglife.352
      @Buglife.352 Рік тому +15

      Smack smokes lol love it

    • @ScottCalvinsClause
      @ScottCalvinsClause Рік тому +10

      😂smack smokes

  • @fratricidefrank
    @fratricidefrank Рік тому +301

    You would break the internet community of you were able to do a video with Steve1989. You both are such a calm and informative bunch. Thank you for brining the new generation knowledge

    • @ForgottenWeapons
      @ForgottenWeapons  Рік тому +241

      I would love to do that, but I have never been able to get him to talk to me. :(

    • @VonLinkinshire
      @VonLinkinshire Рік тому +79

      @@ForgottenWeapons we shall restlessly post comments on his channel until he does :p

    • @polygonekoma
      @polygonekoma Рік тому +11

      @@ForgottenWeapons That's really sad! I hope you keep trying. You and him would be a super awesom combo im pretty sure!

    • @LongTran-em6hc
      @LongTran-em6hc Рік тому +35

      You need 70 years old japanese MRE.

    • @chrisbrent7487
      @chrisbrent7487 Рік тому +20

      Steve would have been game to smoke one of the cigarettes too. The normal ones not the opium ones.

  • @cpcrook
    @cpcrook Рік тому +539

    "It's an empty box"
    Ian, disappointed: "oh, okay..."

    • @Ass_of_Amalek
      @Ass_of_Amalek Рік тому +49

      the question is whether it was empty before and after filming

    • @dmo530
      @dmo530 Рік тому +50

      Steve1989MREInfo got to review it first. Nice.

    • @Reinhard96
      @Reinhard96 Рік тому +6

      @@dmo530 bro don't say that... man has been missing too long and I'm getting worried. It could be he just has no content to cover, but as far as I've heard nobody has heard anything from him.

    • @reliantncc1864
      @reliantncc1864 Рік тому +7

      Next episode: "Now we take Golden Bat cigarettes to the range..." Of course cigarettes degrade badly with time and these would be like smoking cardboard.

    • @cpcrook
      @cpcrook Рік тому +4

      @@Reinhard96 he runs a landscaping company so I imagine with the usual seasonal work he's probably also busy with more work from the couple hurricanes this year.

  • @donjones4719
    @donjones4719 Рік тому +39

    When you really, really want to develop brand loyalty.

    • @davidcox3076
      @davidcox3076 Рік тому +3

      I just can't stop smoking Golden Bats! It's almost like they're laced with smack or something.

    • @Alex-lg6nz
      @Alex-lg6nz Рік тому

      Coca-cola

  • @seangannon6081
    @seangannon6081 Рік тому +469

    Stuff like this is why I absolutely love history. You wouldn’t think something as obscure as Japanese Imperial Tobacco would be so interesting until you actually look into it.

    • @markewings7525
      @markewings7525 Рік тому

      I agree, but not just history

    • @fffwe3876
      @fffwe3876 Рік тому +1

      opium in alcohol beverages was widely consumed in europe and US.
      even COCA cola contained real cocaine.
      Heroin in cough medicine and we gave it to children.
      😅😅😅😅

    • @yougonnaeatthat9889
      @yougonnaeatthat9889 Рік тому +3

      That's why I spent a lot of time in the library as a kid. My mother says I read every non-fiction book they had. Visited my hometown 5yrs ago, pretty sad to see all those old books gone. Weren't bright shiny and new. They had all of Teddy Roosevelt's books, first editions, probably sold them for a quarter. Not to mention all the hunters and gun cranks books from 1920s-70s. Keith, O'Connor, Pope and Young too many to mention its depressing. A lot of that stuff isn't on the nets.

    • @baileyayyy5085
      @baileyayyy5085 Рік тому

      this isn't really history specific most things are interesting if you get in the weeds

    • @yougonnaeatthat9889
      @yougonnaeatthat9889 Рік тому +1

      @@baileyayyy5085 isn't history?

  • @zawzawaung6789
    @zawzawaung6789 Рік тому +144

    Golden Bat smokes were on the market in Japan until at least 1979. That's the last year I saw them for sale. I smoked them for a couple of years. Of course they contained no opium. They were considered a smoke for poor country people, cranky oldsters, or young bohemians. I guess they still must be on the market in Japan, but I cannot figure out who'd smoke them. They were kind of like a filterless Lucky Strike or Camel.

    • @imadequate3376
      @imadequate3376 Рік тому +16

      Local native American owned tobacco shop near me carries the filterless luckies and camels.
      They are a bit pricier than the normal cigarettes but I personally enjoy the taste of both brand's filterless cigarettes, I definitely think they get a better cut of tobacco myself.

    • @bradpnw1897
      @bradpnw1897 Рік тому +7

      Only smoke for less than a year and I still crave camel wides no filters. They taste better

    • @RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus
      @RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus Рік тому +5

      I smoke filterless luckies and camels state side when I can find a good price for them, camels are better filterless than lucky strikes are if you want aromatics.

    • @RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus
      @RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus Рік тому +6

      @@imadequate3376the fact that a non-filtered cigarette is more expensive than a filtered one is fubar. They went up in price when hipsters found them, I swear they used to be like 6-8 bucks a pack at one point

    • @googiegress
      @googiegress Рік тому +1

      @@imadequate3376 When people buy them at the res by the carton and freeze them, are they still good later?

  • @t3hgraemek
    @t3hgraemek Рік тому +995

    Love it when Ian covers historical subjects instead of just guns

    • @programmer437
      @programmer437 Рік тому +30

      I’m a simple man, I see an Ian video, I click like.

    • @caprise-music6722
      @caprise-music6722 Рік тому +12

      Heck yes. He’s such a wonderful conveyor of history

    • @testpleaseignore
      @testpleaseignore Рік тому +21

      I still think my favorite video of Ian is the one where a tour guide recognizes him in France and lets him take over the tour and give a lecture on the French mutinies of world war I

    • @user-dc1dr9kr8x
      @user-dc1dr9kr8x Рік тому +27

      The name of the channel is forgotten weapons and certainly opium and the control of it is a weapon

    • @IvanIvanov-ni4rs
      @IvanIvanov-ni4rs Рік тому +16

      @@user-dc1dr9kr8x I sure could go for one of those opium laced cigarettes right about now 😵‍💫

  • @123edwardzpad
    @123edwardzpad Рік тому +38

    Golden Bat cigarettes are still available in Japan. Now they have a little activated carbon section in the filter, like the old Lark cigarette brand.

    • @Fausto_4841
      @Fausto_4841 Рік тому +2

      Parliament 100's have charcoal filters too

  • @mky45lg
    @mky45lg Рік тому +132

    Now that's a forgotten weapon. My gosh the many faces and aspects of making war on the enemy. Well done Ian. Very interesting.

    • @WayStedYou
      @WayStedYou Рік тому +16

      *Fentanyl has entered the chat*

    • @Ass_of_Amalek
      @Ass_of_Amalek Рік тому +18

      @@WayStedYou fentanyl, the opium war uno reverse card

    • @tonys335
      @tonys335 Рік тому +3

      @@Ass_of_Amalek Oh my God, Youre right

  • @lolzormachine
    @lolzormachine Рік тому +25

    This makes me think about the fentanyl problem in the US. Perhaps there's a similar intent from whoever's supplying it

    • @AM-hf9kk
      @AM-hf9kk Рік тому +6

      It certainly places the effort to decriminalize various drugs in a different light. Almost like it's not a great idea...

    • @georgemoskal2098
      @georgemoskal2098 Рік тому +1

      You are on to something, wouldn't surprise me

    • @jerrybrush3859
      @jerrybrush3859 Рік тому

      The problems they are having with decriminalizing drugs arises from not also having a legal means of production. You just can't say it's ok now to have drugs and not have a system in place to produce as safe as can be expected drugs. When you do you have black market players who rush even harder to create a supply and you end up with a problem worse than before. Um, almost like politicians planned it that way wouldn't you say? The War on Drugs has been a complete failure and has done more to piss on our rights than probably anything else other than the so called Patriot Act. The WOD has gave us no knock warrants, helped usher in more firearm laws and a host of other things. It's time to say we tried it, we lost and time to try something else.

    • @randomname3247
      @randomname3247 Рік тому

      You don't know who is supplying it? CHINESE companies in CHINA where the communist gov't has an iron grip on what the people do so therin lies the responsible party. CHINA. Fool me once... Now it's China's turn.

    • @RAWNERVZ
      @RAWNERVZ Рік тому +2

      Or it feels good, I Don't wanna be a wet blanket but

  • @justinkane9967
    @justinkane9967 Рік тому +17

    Will we see an inrange test for these?

    • @morgs456
      @morgs456 Рік тому

      Lmao

    • @almightyyoke
      @almightyyoke Рік тому +1

      Now I’m picturing some guy standing at a firing range in a shooting stance then pulling out a box of cigarettes instead of a pistol

  • @kevanbrandvold1584
    @kevanbrandvold1584 Рік тому +249

    My grandpa passed away Friday afternoon and he was an absolute gunnut. little fuddy but so am I now and I don't care. Your videos have always made me feel so close to him, I'd send him links to my favorite ones and wed talk about guns and he'd tell me stuff only Ian and grandpa could know. And now I watch this videos with a lump in my throat but still feeling close to grandpa.

    • @akaroth7542
      @akaroth7542 Рік тому +13

      Sry about your Grandpa. Sounds like you're carrying on his interests. I have my Grandpa's hunting stuff. Glad to take care of it for him. Hopefully you can do the same too : )

    • @Romin.777
      @Romin.777 Рік тому +9

      My condolances. :)

    • @kevanbrandvold1584
      @kevanbrandvold1584 Рік тому +4

      @@akaroth7542 that's the plan and Thank you. I was lucky enough to take over a good bit of it before he passed and talk to him about a couple hunts that his gear went on.

    • @akaroth7542
      @akaroth7542 Рік тому +4

      @@kevanbrandvold1584 I'm glad he trusted you with it and you'll be able to pass it down : )

    • @kevanbrandvold1584
      @kevanbrandvold1584 Рік тому +5

      @@akaroth7542 the siblings, cousins and I will probably have to split up his personal effects but my grandpa left it up to my brother and I to help my Gramma and he always told us just make it fair, we know what means what and to who so if my brother cherishes something it's his and if one of my cousins who wasn't very close to him could use a latern or something or some camping gear or even a rifle he said let em have one. He gave me more in teachings and time given than any of those material possessions, it wasn't enough though. I don't think any amount could have been, but I could have stretched just a little more for an eternity if I had the chance.

  • @maxkennedy8075
    @maxkennedy8075 Рік тому +42

    That is a bond villain tier plot by the Japanese holy shit

    • @Tekdruid
      @Tekdruid Рік тому +5

      @@Feroce Well the Brits were openly selling straight opium but kinda yes.

    • @dk3062
      @dk3062 Рік тому

      They weren't "just emulating the Brits" That's speculation. Don't give them excuses for their evil.

    • @J-BiRTH
      @J-BiRTH Рік тому +3

      @@dk3062 If I recall there actually is quite a few instances of Japanese Imperialists in the 1880-1930 era explicitly stating that their goal was to emulate the British in becoming a colonial empire, and they certainly acted it out in their wars of expansion in that time. so it's more than speculation.

    • @Archimedes.5000
      @Archimedes.5000 Рік тому +2

      @@dk3062 lol what

    • @Fausto_4841
      @Fausto_4841 Рік тому +1

      except it actually worked. bond villains are always failures.

  • @dhawthorne1634
    @dhawthorne1634 Рік тому +146

    That spiked ammo story reminds me of the trap firewood story I heard a few years ago. This guy's grandfather was having issues with someone stealing his firewood one winter. Suspecting it was his neighbor, he commented on how the neighbors woodpile didn't seem to be shrinking, asked if they had gotten a smaller woodstove, a more efficient one, etc. The neighbor just brushed it off and the theft stopped for a while. Eventually the grandfather realized that his woodpile was shrinking faster again and decided enough was enough. He cut off the end of a small, unsplit piece of firewood, bored out the center, filled it with black powder and used the piece he'd cut off to form a plug that would blend in with the rings. He then put it back on the woodpile a few layers down so it would have a chance to weather before anyone would get to it. Sure enough, a few weeks later the piece was missing and a few days after that his neighbor's stove pipe beat the Russians into space. It also blew the door of the stove open and ejected most of it's contents.
    Those big old cast iron stoves were really overbuilt. A modern stove would have probably grenaded.

    • @DONTMESSWITHRUSSIA
      @DONTMESSWITHRUSSIA Рік тому +23

      Gotta give it to the man. Simple, but devastatingly effective.

    • @TheSporelord01
      @TheSporelord01 Рік тому +28

      One hell of a reaction to stealing wood. Straight up could’ve killed the neighbor and/or burned down his house. Not sure if I’m impressed, terrified, or both.

    • @alphagt62
      @alphagt62 Рік тому +34

      @@TheSporelord01 if you’ve ever had to chop your own firewood, you’d be protective of it too. I’m sure if the law knew, they’d have arrested him for making booby traps, which is very illegal. And there is always the chance the neighbor may want to retaliate with something equally horrible. But the moral of the story is, don’t be a thief.

    • @mkv2718
      @mkv2718 Рік тому +8

      @@TheSporelord01 seriously, could’ve actually tried to catch him in the act, or maybe put a bunch the coloring agents for smoke bombs in the in the wood so he could see the results without worrying about killing a guy.
      certainly creative, but definitely an overboard response if you ask me. catch him and confront him, don’t try and kill the guy. yikes 😬

    • @mkv2718
      @mkv2718 Рік тому +1

      @@alphagt62 true, but maybe don’t be a vigilante either and just catch the dude in the act so you can turn him into the cops or something.“this was something as i mentioned in my above reply, he could have used the filling / coloring agent from colored smoke bombs or something. heck, i know a lot of copper based chemicals with burn green or blue. that would have caught the guy without possibly blowing him up.

  • @Bacteriophagebs
    @Bacteriophagebs Рік тому +189

    2:15 "We see what those guys did, I'll bet we can do that, but better" is basically the national motto of Japan. The Japanese invented very few things on their own over the centuries, but they've probably _improved_ more things than any one other nation.

    • @Necrodermis
      @Necrodermis Рік тому +13

      its usually more "we like what you have, lets modify it for our needs". A lot of their best inventions however are from the 20th century. My favorite is the Chindogu: pretty much the art of creating a gadget designed to solve one particular task well while also creating more problems.

    • @matts3425
      @matts3425 Рік тому

      I thought the killer golden bat was from a lab in Wuhan, China. Guess it was Japan who gave it to them in the first place...History is crazy.

    • @cedhome7945
      @cedhome7945 Рік тому +7

      If you work in the automotive industry they make everything different so nothing fits from one year to the next and everything rusts and corrodes after a few years ..if that's progress you can have it !

    • @Bacteriophagebs
      @Bacteriophagebs Рік тому +5

      @Cancer McAids Of course sometimes the way they "improve" things is just by dialing it up to eleven, but that's usually more of a cultural thing than a technological one.

    • @jakublulek3261
      @jakublulek3261 Рік тому +4

      From my experience it went British/Americans invented it, Japanese improved on it (with couple notable exceptions like Czechoslovakian Jawa being copied by Honda into Super Cup). Japanese living outside of Japan are very productive when comes to inventions, so it must be for the most part cultural thing.

  • @klettersteig599
    @klettersteig599 Рік тому +11

    Hey Ian, could you do a video on the rocket-propelled grappling hooks used during D-day at Pointe du Hoc? After looking at pictures of the cliffs I wanted to know how it was possible for the GIs to scale the cliffs and found reference to these grappling hooks. It’s very hard to find information about these on the internet. Also surprising, because grappling hooks are usually thought of as a joke, but we’re somehow effectively used there.

  • @51tt1n6duck
    @51tt1n6duck Рік тому +12

    Next episode: forgotten booze

    • @stocktonjoans
      @stocktonjoans Рік тому

      that'd be the poison liquor the feds used during prohibition, right?

    • @51tt1n6duck
      @51tt1n6duck Рік тому +1

      That'd do, or Tresckow's liquor gift

    • @jimmyrustler8983
      @jimmyrustler8983 Рік тому

      Starting with the venerable "3 Penis wine".

  • @RonOhio
    @RonOhio Рік тому +30

    My uncle was a senior NCO in MACV SOG, the reference to the C4 "performance enhanced" ammunition supplied to the Viet Cong makes me wonder, are there any books in print about those kinds of dirty tricks or specialized weapons? Perhaps somewhere out there there is a Vietnam vet or a historian with an unpublished manuscript.

    • @thedolt9215
      @thedolt9215 Рік тому +16

      That was called operation eldest son… Lots of information on the Internet

    • @pierren___
      @pierren___ Рік тому +4

      Just research " CIA manuals" and whatever details you wanna add

    • @PersonalityMalfunction
      @PersonalityMalfunction Рік тому +1

      Several good books written by John Stryker Meyer, including "Across the Fence" and others.

    • @danielcotts8673
      @danielcotts8673 Рік тому +1

      @@thedolt9215 In March 1968 a SF Trooper told me to avoid VC ammo with black around the primer.

    • @MrPolicekarim
      @MrPolicekarim Рік тому +2

      During the Malayan Emergency, the British gave their enemies, the CT, grenades that would explode instantly when the ring was pulled. Also guns that shot backwards. Killing the firer.
      During WW2, the UK Spec Ops Excecutive, their version of the OSS. They got caught with dead rats filled with explosives. They also did that to coal.

  • @zehnerdygamer3329
    @zehnerdygamer3329 Рік тому +22

    I would enjoy Headstamp branching out a bit - this sort of thing, maybe a few books on vehicles - and even maybe general histories.

    • @reliantncc1864
      @reliantncc1864 Рік тому +4

      Vehicles would be great! I would love to see work on the less-covered vehicles like armored cars, tank destroyers, and rocket artillery like the Calliope.

  • @kylesavy6250
    @kylesavy6250 Рік тому +3

    Very intersting video. I would love to see a similar thing on the British weaponization of opium in the far east.

    • @innerspace56
      @innerspace56 Рік тому

      This is that. The british were in control here, and still are.

    • @mikesully110
      @mikesully110 Рік тому +1

      The British Opium War was more about pure greed than any military strategy though. They went to war to continue selling opium; they didn't sell the opium to achieve a military objective. The Chinese only accepted silver for their goods, and Britain was running low on Silver, so they needed a way to get it. Solution, sell Opium to the Chinese in exchange for Silver, then use that Silver to buy the really wanted Chinese goods like silks, tea etc.
      I just wonder though, why didn't the Chinese just grow their own opium??

    • @kylesavy6250
      @kylesavy6250 Рік тому

      @꧁Mike Sully꧂ very true mike.. a very profitable means to an end. Do you now any good literature on the subject? I would love to now more about the whole thing. Such a complex matter.

  • @Jimtheneals
    @Jimtheneals Рік тому +13

    I didn't think I would be interested in this topic; boy was I wrong. This is cool too. Now I want to know more. Thanks Ian!

  • @apiwichteralapsuwan2660
    @apiwichteralapsuwan2660 Рік тому +10

    British : * opium war*
    Japanese : *WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN*

    • @JD-tn5lz
      @JD-tn5lz Рік тому

      Chinese wrote it down also. Nearly all illegal fentanyl seized in the states (and yes, I was on the LEO side of the business) that's been traceable goes right to...PRC, that means China

  • @minoru-kk
    @minoru-kk Рік тому +2

    It should be noted that opium was readily available in China at that time and IJA was lagging behind the local merchants in fraud. When KMT had opium addicted, they hadn't been smoking enemies cigar.
    Edited: Cannabis was commonly distributed in Japan until Gen Mac banned them including medicine. Opium cigars were also sold as 'asthma tobacco'

  • @MilsurpMikeChannel
    @MilsurpMikeChannel Рік тому +9

    Ian's follow-up question... "So, did they make this in pipe tobacco, and where might I find some? For educational purposes only of course."

    • @mattthekiller9129
      @mattthekiller9129 Рік тому

      Next video: stoned Ian goes "WOOOOO DUUUDE"

    • @DonnySimpanero
      @DonnySimpanero Рік тому +6

      @@mattthekiller9129next video: Ian smokes tobacco laced with fentanyl and gets narcaned 6 times on camera

    • @ProSimex84
      @ProSimex84 Рік тому

      @@DonnySimpanero Jesus christ lol

  • @leebatt7964
    @leebatt7964 Рік тому +4

    My grandfather (born 1908) was stationed in China (navy). We had his opium pipe in our china cabinet when I was a kid. Unfortunately it got stolen during one of my high school parties. He was a career soldier (cpo), a hard ass and quite the partier from what Ive been told. Died in 1967 when I was a one year old of pancreatic cancer. Wish I had got to know him.

  • @shatterquartz
    @shatterquartz Рік тому +33

    Considering what tobacco does to you, if you're going to get addicted to a poisonous drug, it might as well be one that has a real kick to it.

    • @TheOriginalFaxon
      @TheOriginalFaxon Рік тому

      Yea opium is addictive but not physically very harmful to you. Addicts with a clean and pure source of morphine can live relatively normal and comfortable lives if they're able to support themselves financially and not let their use get in the way of their work (if they even need to work). This is why so many old people get piled with drugs you wouldn't see younger working people getting, due to the side effects addiction come with.
      Tobacco? That shit will fucking kill you, and while it might not do it on the scale of a short modern war, it'll certainly keep you calm and focused through that war while you inhale other toxic shit that ultimately cumulatively kills you, just look at all the soldiers in the US dying from burn pits and exposure to other burning and toxic shit during wars in recent times. Add the most carcinogenic drug on the planet to that mix and you've got a great way to take out a nation's soldiers in their prime teaching years, when they'd be passing on everything they learned to the next generation of soldiers. Too bad we did it to ourselves this time, but given the significantly higher smoking rates in China to this day, I'd say it's still probably killing more of them than us. I doubt that was the original goal of tobacco exporters, as nobody had any idea it caused cancer back then, but I wouldn't put it past the US and Japan to have both encouraged China to smoke more so that it would kill them more. Hell, the CCP itself is probably encouraging it at this point due to their oncoming demographic crisis. The fewer old people they have to support the better, and they're cold hearted enough to let it happen all while green washing the rest of the economy in the interest of future generation's health, to look like they're doing something about the extreme cardiopulmonary cancer rates they've been experiencing due to both pollution and smoking

    • @Armorlord04
      @Armorlord04 Рік тому +4

      Tobacco itself isn't particularly bad, the heavy processing by cigarette companies to change the pH balance to one that can can be breathed in is more harmful.

    • @JD-tn5lz
      @JD-tn5lz Рік тому

      Ever dealt with a morphine addict?
      Idgit.

    • @TheOriginalFaxon
      @TheOriginalFaxon Рік тому

      @@JD-tn5lz many, I worked in San Francisco for a number of years. Most were really chill and respectful, and only a handful were homeless. There was enough darkness near the register that you could always make the serious addicts by their pinned pupils and demeanor alone, as they bought their food and coffee. We were only a few blocks from prime heroin sales neighborhood. Lost a staff member to an OD in 2018, same year one of my ex girlfriends died the same way. Used to be just pills and tar but everything is going to fent now and it's killing anyone not already deep in it. The ex who died used to get mountains of MS30 Contins for her Chrons since she'd already had a ton of her bowel removed and the rest was inconsistently stable.

    • @JD-tn5lz
      @JD-tn5lz Рік тому +1

      @@TheOriginalFaxon yes, just consider rural areas where resources like addiction centers and social services are not available. Consider also the physical crimes that addicts commit to fuel their addictions.
      No, I have not met one fully functional (semi-functional, a few...at Jiffy Lube) opoiod addict. Not in over twenty years in the business.
      Have to say it, but that the functional ones stand out gives truth to the phrase "the exception proves the rule."
      Also, you're not realizing the massive collateral damage to families. The mothers or fathers entrapped with caretaking for an "adult child." The parents not being able to fully integrate socially because of their child still being "baggage." It just kills parents, especially retirees.
      The amount of domestic violence brought by opoiod addicts upon their families.
      The damage to children once a parent becomes an addict...incredible and indelible.
      The burden of law enforcement responding to criminal and non-criminal calls for service generated by addiction issues.
      The addicts you see at an addiction center are "top-tier" addicts, go to the streets and find the homeless, or couch hoppers, or the "failure to launch" addicts that are the vast majority.
      Oh, not since 2018 here, btw. Since 2001.

  • @huntermccoy7641
    @huntermccoy7641 Рік тому +2

    The name golden bat is great. Basically Japan's version of Superman. God people had good senses of humor

  • @stoops187
    @stoops187 Рік тому +19

    I want some opium cigarettes right now

    • @jimmyrustler8983
      @jimmyrustler8983 Рік тому

      @@kane357lynch Or Cocaine wine 🤤

    • @agdgdgwngo
      @agdgdgwngo Рік тому

      @@kane357lynch TBF you can just get some coke and regular chewing gum.

    • @stoops187
      @stoops187 Рік тому

      @@JaykPuten exactly

  • @the_real_Kurt_Yarish
    @the_real_Kurt_Yarish Рік тому +6

    Too bad this episode didn't end with Ian saying "Tune into the next video where we'll take some Opium Cigarettes out on the range and see if they really are that bad." lol

  • @stocktonjoans
    @stocktonjoans Рік тому +93

    America: "We got people addicted to nicotine, even though smoking is really fucking bad for you"
    Japan: "Hold my Sake"

    • @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917
      @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 Рік тому +7

      Lol people have been addicted to nicotine long before "America/The US" was a thing.

    • @baomao7243
      @baomao7243 Рік тому +3

      @@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 It was a joke.

    • @Stephen85
      @Stephen85 Рік тому

      @@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 not really. Native Americans used it, but they couldn't procure enough to be addicted. Europeans started growing it and spread it around the world. People didn't even know to smoke other drugs until then. I still don't really get how it worked. If there were already opium dens then they already had the drug and the withdrawals from opium or heroin only last about a week. It's not that big of a deal, just stop smoking that weak mixture of morphine and codien. One use isn't going to make anyone an addict either. Just give it a month or two after you quit and you are back to normal.

    • @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917
      @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 Рік тому +1

      @@baomao7243 And?..

    • @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917
      @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 Рік тому +3

      @@Stephen85 I probably should have been more clear (not expecting this to turn semantical), but I was referring to the United States (and the previous colonies), as most casual uses of “America” (as an entity) refer to.
      Irregardless, tobacco was cultivated fairly extensively on a regional basis and widely used throughout the American continent, being a readily accepted trade item throughout.
      But of course supply depends on logistics. Not every region in the continent was able to accommodate tobacco cultivation . But in Mexico and the now American South, tobacco was a key agricultural commodity.
      Not to mention, it seems you are confusing addiction with dependence, which are two separate things. Dependence depends (npi) on consistent availability. Addiction doesn’t.

  • @bodyno3158
    @bodyno3158 Рік тому +28

    There's a reason why the general Chinese population has very strong opinion on psychoactive substances, even including prescribed medicines for mental disorders.

    • @shawnr771
      @shawnr771 Рік тому +8

      Started long before WW2.
      Check out the Opium Wars.

    • @JD-tn5lz
      @JD-tn5lz Рік тому +10

      @@shawnr771 check out that nearly all fentanyl recovered by law enforcement in the States was produced in PRC. They may not be original or even fast learners, but they learn well.

    • @shawnr771
      @shawnr771 Рік тому +2

      @@JD-tn5lz and?
      The only reason it is here because people are buying it.

    • @JD-tn5lz
      @JD-tn5lz Рік тому

      @@shawnr771 you certainly have little knowledge on the nature of addiction, especially in a society where there are few repercussions to not being productive.
      Go get some education

    • @AdamantLightLP
      @AdamantLightLP Рік тому

      @Shawn R Or alternatively the CCP is trying to weaken its greatest enemy from within? Thats the point he was making. The Chinese had to buy the opium too.

  • @ML-sj3gi
    @ML-sj3gi Рік тому +2

    It says seven 7 sen on the side of the packet.
    The Japanese Yen used to be like the dollar, with 100 sen to 1 yen.
    But due to the war the yen dropped to 1% of its value or less, and so the dollar (yen) became the cent (yen) and the sen largely vanished.

  • @drapedup76
    @drapedup76 Рік тому +6

    The disappointment when he finds out the box is empty 🤣

  • @albertsaffron7582
    @albertsaffron7582 Рік тому +3

    “Let me tell you grandson, these golden bat cigarettes are nothing like they used to be back in the good old days”

    • @spaceycaveco.698
      @spaceycaveco.698 Рік тому

      Grandson: You say that about everything, Gramps.
      Gramps: You callin' me a liar? Here, watch this Youstube vid and then smack yourself upside the head afterwards.

  • @cedhome7945
    @cedhome7945 Рік тому +3

    How about a book on the odd medicine supplements issued to troops over the years. I've heard the Germans where given speed what else was issued?

    • @shawnr771
      @shawnr771 Рік тому +1

      Time Ghost History WW2 channel delved into this topic.

  • @fire_tower
    @fire_tower Рік тому +10

    Arguably the deadliest weapon featured on the channel.

  • @captaintoyota3171
    @captaintoyota3171 Рік тому +1

    Why cant i buy opium ciggs as an adult today? Seriously you think fentynal would be such a big issue if adults could get opium legally and safely? NO it wouldnt. Seriously we must stop prohibiting substances. Yes its addictive but so is tobacco and caffine long as adults know the risks they should be able to take them. THE REASON addiction catches ppl is they r not aware of its dangers. Stop prohibiting adults from using NATURAL substances. Yeah we r so lost

  • @chipsdubbo5.56
    @chipsdubbo5.56 Рік тому +12

    4:47 Ian giving the drug talk to his kids:
    "You get the spicy cigarette and you wake up and realize you're addicted to opium "

  • @-Zevin-
    @-Zevin- Рік тому +1

    Now Steve1989MREInfo is going to find a pack of these, "Today I'm going to try these golden bat cigarettes from WW2, let's get them laid out on a tray, nice!" Him trying the German meth chocolate and getting all sweaty and shaking was gold "wow I can really feel the caffeine" I don't think he did enough research prior to that episode.

  • @imadequate3376
    @imadequate3376 Рік тому +3

    Doihara was sentenced to death and the hanging carried out in 1948.
    The Japanese politician involved and basically ran the opium cigarette production plant was a guy named Naoki Hoshino and he was given a life sentence but released in the 50s and went on to be the president or chairman of several companies most notably the Tokyu Corporation which made electric rail cars.

  • @MrPaxio
    @MrPaxio Рік тому +1

    lol japanese had to hide opium in cigs, these days merica is like: "LIL BIT OF PAIN AYE? HERES A FENTY SHOT"

  • @anthony1977ist
    @anthony1977ist Рік тому +5

    And now the same thing is being done to us. Though TicTic, fentanyl, and wokeism.

    • @JD-tn5lz
      @JD-tn5lz Рік тому

      Nearly all traceable fentanyl recovered by LEO is produced in the PRC...communist China. I actually never saw any that wasn't.

  • @Google_Does_Evil_Now
    @Google_Does_Evil_Now Рік тому +1

    Afghanistan - after 20 years of Western military occupation - Afghanistan makes 97% of the world's heroin.
    Afghanistan now has a very serious heroin addiction problem.
    Remember Western soldiers complaining about being tasked with protecting fields of opium poppies for the drug lords?
    If we controlled all the airports in Afghanistan then how was the heroin travelling so easily all around the world?
    Taliban, also known as local people, are strongly against heroin and poppy growing. Not only do they now have a seriously well established, well trained, well armed, expert tactically trained drug warlord armies to deal with, they also have a huge heroin addiction issue, and all funding had been cut, as well as sanctions.
    Why would anyone do this to another country that wasn't attacking them?

  • @davidca96
    @davidca96 Рік тому +3

    I honestly never knew this, and I consider myself a lot more educated on World War 2 history than the average person. Just goes to show you never stop learning, great video.

  • @randmayfield5695
    @randmayfield5695 Рік тому +1

    Funny thing. Back in the 70's up on the edge of the Golden Triangle in northeastern Thailand one of the main drivers of the illicit drug culture was the Thai stick marijuana which was bud sprayed with opiates and put on bamboo sticks. It was common for US servicemen to buy stereo equipment from the base exchange, remove the tubes and stuff them with Thai stick minus the stick then use epoxy to put them back together. The tubes were tested for air tightness then blanched in carbon tetra chloride to remove any odor. When personal belongings were shipped back to the states, so was the dope.

  • @TerryDowne
    @TerryDowne Рік тому +5

    The Japanese were not out to just get the Chinese hooked. During the 1930s, the Japanese government and military were deeply involved in the international drug trade. Prior to WWII, major shipments of heroin came to the US via the Japanese-occupied zones in China. The stuff was synthesized in Kobe, Japan, loaded in Shanghai, and shipped to New York via French ports. Louis (Lepke) Buchalter, better known as the boss of Murder Inc., ran the American end of the operation and was eventually tried and convicted for doing so.

  • @campusballistics1138
    @campusballistics1138 Рік тому +1

    When Japanese colonized Taiwan,one of the first things they do is to monopolize sales of opium, gradually banning while profiting from it. Another example of their learnings from opium war I guess.

  • @Flyingpapaya
    @Flyingpapaya Рік тому +4

    "Golden Bat" is also one of the first superheroes and has been part of Japanese media since the 1930s.

  • @huggleskuishy
    @huggleskuishy Рік тому +1

    Dude I thought this was SteveMREinfo1989 and thought y’all were about to smoke those things

  • @armorer94
    @armorer94 Рік тому +3

    The Chinese sure have bad luck with bats...
    Too soon?

  • @tzi_music
    @tzi_music Рік тому +1

    *You Love Japan? 🎎 I'm sure that you will love my music too! 👹 I make Beautiful Instrumentals with Oriental Motifs! 😉*

  • @YuraEnjoji
    @YuraEnjoji Рік тому +32

    Japanese here, it's trivial but "emperor" is spelled "天皇" rather than a more generalized term "皇帝," and the former obviously still packs a lot of weight here especially among the spicy(also sour and salty :P) group of ppl... I can't help but to feel the author taking a cautious approach naming this book, possibly hoping to get it translated and distributed in Japan too haha

    • @juliannestingray5948
      @juliannestingray5948 Рік тому +1

      probably, but i doubt Japanese gov't would sell a book about Imperial Japan

    • @Archimedes.5000
      @Archimedes.5000 Рік тому +3

      @@juliannestingray5948 you don't have to sell through japanese government, this is no china...

    • @alZiiHardstylez
      @alZiiHardstylez Рік тому +1

      @@juliannestingray5948My dude, I'm pretty sure half the Japanese population have Rising Sun flags in their house and a shrine to Hiro Hito. Pretty much the last bastion of a homogenised society, I don't think they'd want to lose that.

    • @nessunodorme3888
      @nessunodorme3888 Рік тому

      @@alZiiHardstylez You probably meant to say, "homogenous" if I understood you right. I hope this doesn't seem like pompous scolding, cuz that's not my intention.

    • @alZiiHardstylez
      @alZiiHardstylez Рік тому +6

      @@nessunodorme3888 Apologies. I was drinking milk at the time of writing.

  • @joshcruise2657
    @joshcruise2657 Рік тому +2

    Chinese f*ntanyl anyone? The cycle continues.

  • @24kachina
    @24kachina Рік тому +5

    Fantastic history, very satisfactory

  • @ericmakaveli4311
    @ericmakaveli4311 Рік тому +1

    Wonder if the BAT is still considered good luck in China considering the BAT has been terrible luck for China at least twice... shoutout Covid.

  • @chipsdubbo5.56
    @chipsdubbo5.56 Рік тому +3

    This is really interesting. It's fascinating what tactics armies have tried over the years. That's why i think Vietnam is really interesting, not only is my dad a Vietnam vet but there were lots of new tech and experimental tech. Being tried by the US

  • @magresmith
    @magresmith Рік тому +1

    "They allowed other vices" may be the biggest understatement ever in regards to the actions of the Imperial Army during World War II. Is there actual evidence that this worked? Like lower incidents of guerrilla attacks in areas where these cigarettes were available? Just successfully selling them doesn't mean they were effective.

  • @salvydelacrack4155
    @salvydelacrack4155 Рік тому +20

    The basic knowledge I have about Opium tells me that it wouldn't burn properly in a cigarette. I'd be curious what to know what they did differently to make it work. 🤔
    Good stuff Ian. I love this and will be buying this book for sure.

    • @Mr037rally
      @Mr037rally Рік тому +10

      I've smeared it on a cigarette paper and rolled it. These are probably dipped in opium or it's sprayed on the tobacco😎

    • @no1DdC
      @no1DdC Рік тому +2

      I would assume it was processed in some way or another in order to work with this delivery method.

    • @DonnySimpanero
      @DonnySimpanero Рік тому +16

      Madak (a blend of opium and tobacco) has been a recreational drug since 16th century china. So they had a process perfected for years beforehand. They’d boil hemp and opium and then mix that with tobacco and then dry it out.

    • @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917
      @getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917 Рік тому +22

      So.. I have a somewhat extensive knowledge-base in this topic. Don't ask me why.
      The short answer is, yes it will work properly. Due to the same concept as how smoking (really anything) works. It won't be the most efficient method, but it absolutely will work.
      When you smoke something, you aren't actually getting any effect from what is combusted (ie. turned to smoke). Only what is vaporized is what is bioavailable. In other words, the smoldering cherry is essentially just a heat source and any alkaloids (like morphine, or nicotine) touching said cherry are being destroyed. But what is BEHIND the "cherry" is being vaporized, hence when you smoke anything you are in reality vaporizing it in a somewhat inefficient manner.

    • @allangibson8494
      @allangibson8494 Рік тому +4

      Smoking opium was very common in China but usually done with pipes. Raw opium was usually used rather than the more familiar refined opium extracts (Morphine, Codeine and Heroin) used in Western countries after 1880.
      Sherlock Holmes was an opium user in the early stories.

  • @antoindearg5614
    @antoindearg5614 Рік тому +1

    The thing is that opium genuinely really adds to tobacco, in terms of nice taste and taking the edge off the harshness of bad quality baccy. A brutal policy, mind you.

  • @hamishneilson7140
    @hamishneilson7140 Рік тому +7

    Wow, that's some really cool and very obscure history right there! I feel like that's something only a very small percentage of even WW2 historians knows about, so I feel like this video puts all of us on kind of the cutting edge of history about the War in the Pacific.

  • @HankHill7504
    @HankHill7504 Рік тому +1

    Two things, if you didn’t know they had opium in them, wouldn’t you know after smoking them? If not how would you know you were addicted to opium and to seek out more opium, you would just think you were insanely addicted to cigarettes.

  • @somedudeinminnesota
    @somedudeinminnesota Рік тому +4

    My man Patrick Philips looking like Daniel Radcliffe if he went to basic training instead of Hogwarts 😂😂😂 great content guys!

  • @btrenninger1
    @btrenninger1 Рік тому +1

    And, China follows this same strategy today with fentanyl. Flood the area to be "pacified" with drugs.

  • @scottmccrea1873
    @scottmccrea1873 Рік тому +7

    That's.a niche specialty topic! Love it.
    Opium has a very distinct taste. Smokers had to notice the difference between "opiated" cigarettes & regular ones. I don't doubt they were profitable but how much they really affected Chinese military operations - I'm skeptical there. After all, the Chinese had a major appetite for opium well before the Opium Wars (1840s).

    • @AnthonyHandcock
      @AnthonyHandcock Рік тому +3

      Indeed. I take all of the stories about things being laced with other things to create addicts with a large sack of salt and of things being laced with other thing to incapacitate or pacify only slightly more seriously.
      Even if you are open to recreational drug use it doesn't mean you are going to enjoy every drug and certainly not if you're not expecting it. You'd think, correctly, that you had been poisoned or at least spiked and avoid the offending 'product' rather than seek it out.
      I can imagine that opium laced cigarettes would be the best thing since sliced char sui if you already had a taste for the stuff but otherwise... Nah... The side effects are bad enough when you have opiates for medical reasons.
      I have no doubt that spiking does occur with all manner of things but short of intending to kill the spikee with a quick(ish) acting poison it almost always causes more problems than it 'solves' and makes little to no logical sense.

    • @scottmccrea1873
      @scottmccrea1873 Рік тому

      @@AnthonyHandcock I'm sure they found their market. Most smokers wouldn't want the opiated ones. Not only the taste, but the smell would be obvious. Easily detected by NCOs & officers. So take the weapnization with a large grain indeed. Did it make a lot of money for crooked army officers? Sure.

    • @HALLish-jl5mo
      @HALLish-jl5mo Рік тому

      The British dropped opium laced cigarettes during WW1 to great effect.
      First they dropped propaganda covered cigarette packs. The Ottomans just ignored the propaganda and smoked them. Then they dropped the opium ones, and took the city while everyone was sleepy.

    • @AnthonyHandcock
      @AnthonyHandcock Рік тому +2

      @@HALLish-jl5mo Coming up next on "Things That Never Happened".

  • @chrisbrent7487
    @chrisbrent7487 Рік тому +1

    It’s not as bad as a lot of other stuff they did in China. Certainly not dropping millions of plague infected fleas onto Chinese cites bad or kidnapping civilians off the street and infecting them with various pathogens or chemical weapons and performing live vivisections on them without anaesthesia bad.

  • @stefanschleps8758
    @stefanschleps8758 Рік тому +23

    Wow! What a nostalgic feeling. I haven't smoked Opium in 49 years!
    Oh to be back in the day. Thanks Ian.
    So the Japanese were engaged in chemical warfare in more ways than one? The Japanese did give drugs to some of their troops. Most of us know that methamphetamine was given to troops, particularly the kamikaze group, just like the Germans did. But the idea of lacing cigarettes with Opium in WWII is predated by the British in WWI, when they fought the Ottoman Turks, I think this was around 1915. There was at least one incident where British troops provided a Turkish garrison loads of cigarettes that had been soaked in liquid opium. Two days later the garrison were totally incapacitated making for an easy British route.
    BTW one or two puffs of Opium will get you high to the point of incapacitation, but will not addict you unless you repeat your experiment. You've been warned

    • @bradpnw1897
      @bradpnw1897 Рік тому +2

      Wow I would love to hear about your opium smoking days as I haven't smoked opium except for a few summers

    • @stefanschleps8758
      @stefanschleps8758 Рік тому +1

      @@bradpnw1897 Everythings in my autobiography.

    • @matthewsmiley3630
      @matthewsmiley3630 Рік тому +2

      I’ve always wondered what Opium was like, I assume it would make you itch a lil bit and possibly get sick if you’re new to it kinda like morphine. But I imagine it’s also super relaxing and that a opium den would be a great way to relax

    • @patavinity1262
      @patavinity1262 Рік тому +2

      Seems improbable to me. How would the British soldiers have 'provided' opium-laced cigarettes to an enemy garrison during a war? If an enemy soldier walks up to you and says "Here, free cigarettes!" then of course you'd never smoke them. And you'd capture the enemy soldier. What possible interaction could have involved such an exchange between both sides? How would British troops in the Sinai desert or Palestine or Iraq or wherever this is supposed to have happened have had access to opium in the first place? The Japanese operation was organized at a high level and incorporated an extensive espionage and business network in order to acquire the drug, add it to cigarettes, ship it into enemy territory and sell it to the Chinese. How could a British army group of whatever size possibly have had the resources necessary to achieve such a result in the middle of a campaign?

    • @stefanschleps8758
      @stefanschleps8758 Рік тому +1

      @@off6848 Once, just once, it would be nice if you weekend warriors, and psuedo experts would refrain from muddying the waters with your incessant need for validation. Go stand in the corner and be quiet while the adults discuss the issue.
      You are wrong. Isn't there an NA meeting you should be attending?
      GSITCABQ

  • @barkebaat
    @barkebaat Рік тому +1

    2:00 - "I've gotta say, this sounds like ..." the contemporary Fentanyl crisis ?

  • @fancyultrafresh3264
    @fancyultrafresh3264 Рік тому +4

    This is surprisingly fascinating and Patrick seems very passionate about the subject.

  • @zsmarine0831
    @zsmarine0831 Рік тому +1

    I'm interested in testimonies from the Chinese, which I'm sure are hard to find or don't exist. But how do they smoke a cigarette, get super high and not think something is weird. I really wonder what the Chinese leadership knew, or if the leadership was so disintegrated that they couldn't stop this from happening.

  • @mokeimusic
    @mokeimusic Рік тому +3

    I lived in Japan for 18 years and smoked Echo and Golden Bat pretty much the whole time. Golden Bat is of course still sold today. I have also been through the tunnels at Iwo Jima many times and have seen the personal items left behind by the Japanese troops. Some of them are match boxes and cigarette packs. This book sounds like a good read.

  • @shotbytim9624
    @shotbytim9624 Рік тому +1

    Interesting that there's so much English language on the box. Did they expect a lot of English speakers in China?

  • @allentempleton2429
    @allentempleton2429 Рік тому +3

    Thanks Ian. Just thinking that a more subtle but effective method would be to manipulate the news and social media platforms. Of course that would never happen in the US.

  • @uncletedscabin4625
    @uncletedscabin4625 Рік тому +1

    One can't help but draw a comparison to the CCP's booming fentanyl export business.

  • @salavat294
    @salavat294 Рік тому +2

    Don’t smoke any cigarettes you haven’t rolled yourself.

    • @JD-tn5lz
      @JD-tn5lz Рік тому

      Yep.
      Btw, in places where weed is legal, we encounter quite a bit that's not produced by a licensed grower...it's usually laced.
      Reason is simple, it's easy enough to purchase legally if you have cash and over 21; if you want people to risk your illegal weed, there has to be a "benefit."

  • @melloyellogsxr
    @melloyellogsxr Рік тому +1

    The thing about opium is when you smoke it you know it. You would notice very quickly something was up with this cigarette.

  • @dcbadger2
    @dcbadger2 Рік тому +1

    Ian says he's reminded about spicy rifle rounds, and the first thing I think of is the introduction of crack cocaine into the US inner cities.

  • @slaveinwaller3649
    @slaveinwaller3649 Рік тому +1

    Opium taxation is an important income for the chinese warlords. In Guangxi, opium taxation can account for more than half of the annual fiscal revenue

  • @PEACEOUTPAT
    @PEACEOUTPAT Рік тому +2

    I could go for a couple of these right now

  • @bromisovalum8417
    @bromisovalum8417 Рік тому +1

    Opium has a strong odor when smoked, in my wilder days I have tried smoking Afghan opium mixed with tobacco, and there is no way people would not notice it. Also it is a bad way to administer opium as a good part of the morphine will be burned (opium is about 10% morphine). That is why opium is smoked in pipes, by holding a piece of glowing charcoal near it, instead of touching it with a bare flame. So it is a stupid idea, you will smell the adulteration instantly, and the effect of smoking an opium laced cigarette will be minimal, one cigarette will not incapacitate you.

  • @meatpuppet5036
    @meatpuppet5036 Рік тому +2

    WW2 adventures with drugs is a whole book on its own

  • @monkeypoo3000
    @monkeypoo3000 Рік тому +1

    I always heard about the nazis dabbling with meth but never heard about this one, very interesting topic

  • @gr1725
    @gr1725 Рік тому +1

    American CIA circa 1996 : we see your opium cigarettes and raise you crack-cocaine

  • @genesanford9412
    @genesanford9412 Рік тому +2

    Excellent episode! ... though i gotta wonder why the packaging was in English? brings on a new meaning to the ol "relax with a smoke" break back then! :D

  • @gabrielmuratgabriel433
    @gabrielmuratgabriel433 Рік тому +1

    in a parallel universe this channel is called forgotten cigarettes, and this is a random video about guns

  • @sbscottw
    @sbscottw Рік тому +1

    Where can I get some Export Golden Bat Cigarettes? :)

  • @themarlboromandalorian
    @themarlboromandalorian Рік тому +1

    Golden Bat... Pretty much the first golden age super hero.

  • @BrandonTheKralik
    @BrandonTheKralik Рік тому +2

    Ian be like "Were these every cigarette in the package? Were they mixed in...? Where can I find some? What?"