I think the story of David and Goliath is not that strange. When shepherds defend their cattle against wolves or bears, having a slingshot is a very good idea. An angry strong man with a slingshot? Hmmm.
@@voornaam3191 If they added a line in the Bible about how David had used his sling to kill bears and wolves to protect his flock, the story would be so much more believable. On the other hand, that makes it far less necessary to believe that this all came about because God chose David. It all makes sense now. Young shepherd kills a giant warrior, ends up being King and is a massive womanizer. Well, of course. He was a total badass the whole time.
It is the coward weapon, only good at long distance. Try hitting a fast moving target with that that is running towards you. And once the angry giant is right in front of your face with a knife… Good luck!
@@21stcenturyscots .. coward weapon ? This is warfare ! The dead and idiots cry about fair . Plus , these are used to hunt animals , smaller and faster than humans . yes against one guy he might miss , try running at a slinger formation , oh wait , they tried that back in those times and they were very effective . And my slingers have a shield wall just behind them . Good luck!
The advantage of using pebbles over arrows is that arrows have to be crafted, while pebbles can be found everywhere on the ground. And they respawn after three days.
The accuracy of those shots by itself convinces me that this sling was an effective weapon. I had no idea you could learn to sling stones so accurately.
To be fair, these shots were pretty close range. Still skillfully aimed, but you don't stay accurate at anywhere near the same range you could with a bow or crossbow.
Probably cause a concussion if nothing else. Disorient the victim as well. Would like to all this done with gauges to measure force and maybe some ballistic gel head (unprotected). What would the effective range be a sling? He looked to be rather close to the target.
I used to think that the David and Goliath story was remarkable and inspiring. Then I saw some videos of people who knew how to use a sling and realized that it was more like the scene in Indiana Jones where Indy shoots that impressive swordsman.
Only in stories told by Bronze-Age goat herders who thought the sun went behind the hills and thunder was the local god getting antsy. Then written down, centuries (or millennia) after the "fact" and translated, re-translated, then re-re-translated and put in a book by people who couldn't speak or read the original poor translations. Yeah, then, maybe.
@@thefirm9746 starting out slinging i thought the same. After graze hitting a 6 inch metal plate from 110 feet its clear to me now that it wasn’t even a fair fight
At a snowball fight on MU campus in 1984, I witnessed Lacrosse players using their lacrosse throwers to launch snowballs through an entire house, smashing the window on the street, traveling through the house and exiting by smashing rear windows and continuing through the back yard. I never forgot that.
There's a reason various 16th-century Spanish accounts compare the sling to the arquebus. A thicker helmet would provide better protection, but slung stones remained a threat even into the age of firearms.
Still a threat now really, like most of these old weapons they are still good (sometimes even more dangerous than modern weapons in a modern situation as the protective equipment is tailored to bullets). The only big difference is any moron can be taught to shoot out to reasonable ranges very quickly as virtually all the work is being done by the tool and the gunsmith, and the maximum possible range of a firearm with great proficiency is rather longer, where the old weapons take some real practice and skill to use at all and generally max out in lethal range around the same ballpark a rookie can shoot a rifle accurately...
@@b.h.abbott-motley2427 slings are a very compact tool, easy to carry in a pocket and can be used to throw a variety of things, not so long ago they were used to lob grenades. It's true that one slinger trying to hit a single target takes practice but historically the sling was used in combat by both accomplished slingers and novices, the pros taking aim at specific targets, like generals, and novices throwing volleys, similar to how the bow and arrow was sometimes utilized. Point and throw.
@@user-ug5sb6qg1u The sling was hardly used as a precision weapon. It's main use was flinging stones at formations, giving ample room for the inherent imprecision of the shots. It was mainly used for harassment and enemy formation steering on the battlefield. Also in siege warfare, where the concentrated nature of fortifications meant you could easily harass the ones inside while being relatively safe form backfire due to simply positioning yourself more spread out.
@@dragoscoco2173 slingers were positioned behind archers because of the slings longer range and used in the volley, hundreds or even thousands of stones and arrows at once. And as for precision, the slingers from the Balearic islands were the most accurate in the ancient world and professional slingers would have been tested for accuracy, the guy in this video is extremely accurate at long distance and his life doesn't depend on it.
When you consider the amount of blacksmithing, woodworking, and assembling needed to make an arrow, a cart load of river stones is far more bang for the army's buck. And if you win the battle, you can collect them undamaged for the next battle. I am sure they were used more than we think.
Guter Kommentar! Collecting stones, piling them up somewhere and throwing them later simply requires nothing more than the stones available in nature and an order. Even if subordinates are good for nothing else, anyone can do this job. Due to the weight and the transport problem, I think a stationary deployment for defence from an elevated position is most likely.
Collecting stones from the battlefield is overkill. They get sourced on the go just about everywhere. And in more static battles like sieges you can get creative and start bringing some lead to cast or fire some out of clay. But usually nobody carried cartloads of stones to sling let alone cart them back.
@@dragoscoco2173 the stones needs to be uniform, and the proper shape, so i would bet they carted stones around, since random jagged rocks, would be horrible for accuracy, theirs an reason why David spent so much time picking the perfect river rocks
@@stefthorman8548 For accuracy having some consistency, sure. But even so the weight and shape variation would not have been enough for arrow or spear like precision. It was a weapon in it's own class.
Now imagine the skill of someone from Rhodes or the Balearic Islands who has practised since childhood. Roman General Paulus was killed by a sling stone in the battle of Cannae. Great video.
The Romans, Carthiginians and others hired Menorcans as mercenary stone-throwers for centuries. In the 1960's a historian wanted to prove this and started hunting on the island for throwing stones. After weeks with little or no luck he asked the local children if they could find any, and he would pay them 10 pesetas (2/3 the cost of a bottle of Coke) for each one. Ten minutes later they came back with their hands full and asking for a bucket to carry the rest! They had found a large pile of them, used for practice.The opposite side of the field had dozens more, left where they had been thrown.
As a nurse, I can't help but think that even with the glancing blows to the head, they would incapacitate, discombobulate, and take them out of the battle or make it easier for their opponents to dispatch. This video really adds context to the account of David and Goliath. Well done! My son is going to enjoy watching this :)
Do note that in that story, David doesn't ask for strength, or shuffle his feet at the thought of having to fight, the kid came to the battlefield, heard Goliath, started frothing at the mouth and begged for permission to kill him. David knew he was him all along.
Another relevant piece of context: David went on to murder 200 infidels, cut off their foreskins and brought those to a father who sold him his daughhter for the foreskins.
Really shows how overpowered armor is being able to increase the survival chance from the glancing blows, but probably working much better against the lighter projectiles. Great video as always
Not sure how severe the injuries would be to a head under the helmet. But I think without a helmet, probably all of those hits might very well be fatal.
@@CatOnACell Well, yeah, but you're not going to be much good in rest of the fight if you're disoriented and seeing double. Or you can't see to one side at all, because your eye is swollen shut.
Do you know Dutch soldiers bought an American helmet, when getting to countries they were shot at? The Dutch army had slightly older helmets. And the helmets we had during the 80's were known to be not strong enough for modern high energy rounds. That is, when hit straight on, on an angle the bullet gets bounced away. In short, a sniper could kill you, usually you'd get away with it. You need a better helmet, every odd years.
I've always said; people misunderstand the story. Goliath never stood a chance. Remember Indiana Jones shooting that swordsman in the market? ... That is the story of David and Goliath.
David was said to be a man after the LORD's own heart, and the Spirit of that same Self-Determined Being is that of Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Power, Respect... so yeah, Goliath never stood a chance. It honestly shouldn't have taken a young shepard boy to step up, and the disparagement of the state of the people as well as the contrast against the simple almost mocking solutions of the God they had forgotten is largely the point of that particular story, I think.
@@newtonbombNow that you mention it in all the illustrations I've seen of the David v Goliath bout, the Philistine champion has awesome armor, swords, spears,and all the shiniest MELEE weapons ... and the Hebrew contender has this jury-rigged old-timey, aimed, ranged, one-pounder ROCK?!? Yup, Goliath never had a snowball's chance. Davey-boy had him zeroed-in and was "firing for effect" before the big guy could even get moving 😂 !
I like to consider the number of throwers in battle, how glancing blows off one soldier can impact another, and the probability of striking soft spots. Like you demonstrated, a stone in the right place can obliterate tissues. A video exploring stone skipping with a leg and shield target would be very interesting too!
considering actual ancient slingers were way more proficient than him (not casting shade), they probably didnt have to worry about having a head ache, because they'd be dead from being hit. I'm sure they'd be way more accurate. I do believe slingers were the most prized and skilled soldiers on the ancient battlefield, and often, shepherds as their day job.
@@firefalcon100 Situational. I think there's maybe more of a rock-paper-scissors kind of dynamic going on. Slingers would get absolutely butchered by archers who'd be able to deliver deadly and accurate shots at a much greater range, but they'd be more powerful against heavy infantry since the stones they threw were much heavier than arrows and therefore more capable of inflicting harm even when hitting armour, so slingers could see better results skirmishing and kiting than archers. They're also more logistically difficult, because you cannot store them as efficiently as arrows, but at the same time, you cannot always rely on there being a good amount of pebbles that are just the right size and weight for throwing whereever you go. Arrows are more expensive to make, but you can store and transport them relatively easily.
@@yeetman4953 Gonna heavily doubt that, mate. The stone is heavier, but you don't accelerate it anywhere near as much and it has more air resistance to deal with. For reference: Javelins are a lot more aerodynamic than stones, and the olympic record for a 600 gram javelin is just above 70 meters. A good archer can comfortably double that.
"Slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." Learned a lot from your work. Well done! Our lot's favorite game, been killing each other forever.. yea, go us
I was a big slinger for decades but I injured my shoulder and couldn't continue 😢. But yeah, slings are great. Lightweight, easy to improvise, innocent looking in society, emergency survival tool, totally non-metallic, fun skill to practice, and lots of cheap ammo everywhere. I use one as a hatband on my boonie, and have a frameless as a bracelet in plain sight.
@@felix900 I made mine. Leather for historic demos, and paracord for more serious slinging. But one of the points was how easy a sling is to improvise. Most of us have 2 or more items that can be made into a sling at any time.
I took my sling up north to the Klamath River and slinged rocks the size of my fist across the river. So much fun! Bless you for sharing the swing and its history
I live in Peru, and here there's a festival every year where villagers make a campal war (keeping the tradition of having real life experience for war). Every year, there's at least one dead and a lot of injured people. Villagers consider it as an offering for mother earth. The point is that I saw the effects of those weapons in real life, and they are deadly. I will go back soon 😉
@@molybdaen11 I'm not sure if it's better to answer "Sadly yes" or "Sadly no"... Because effectively losing culture and traditions in many cases is a big loss for humanity... In other cases (for example the sexual mutilation in Africa...) in my opinion is a crime. In the case of that festival (the sling's one), who am I to judge!??? People are aware and voluntary.
@@qhispillariku5806 It was meant as a joke. Honestly I am a bit envious because we have not such old festivals here in Europe. Sure, we have a lot of medival stuff but not much where you really go out there and train with a weapon you made yourself.
@@molybdaen11 🤣🤣😉 So I suppose that I am somehow a bit intense 🤣😉 But anyway, it's always good to share opinions and facts with people around the world. 💪 I plan to make a TH-cam channel in the future to show videos, pictures and share my experiences on many of these cultures and traditions... So if you're interested, it would be a pleasure to have people interested in those subjects too. And if you're really interested in seeing that from your own eyes, I've ended up being a guide, travel accompanist, interpreter... Specialized in those things.
Brains are surprisingly vulnerable to shock injury. The brain sort of floats inside of the skull. I have suffered from a subdural hematoma from a short fall from a bike, with a helmet. Getting hit by a 1 pound rock traveling at this sort of velocity can easily kill, even with the steel helmet with very meager padding.
This is why it's a battle of attrition in ancient warfare. Wearing armor and having a shield is tiring and if those rocks keeps coming......either the armored soldier die of heat stroke or actually make it to the slingers position.....in which the slingers have fled. The soldiers then need to eat, then the slingers come back....
I am from Menorca and I have used slingshots for 30 years, I have competed with slingers from the other islands and I have even participated in one-on-one duels with real stones and I assure you that only hearing the roar of the stone passing near your head, even at Two meters away is terrifying. You are very good with the slingshot and it shows that you have good technique and have worked hard to achieve this precision. 300 guys throwing a pile of 200 gram stones on a battle formation, shooting 4 to 6 stones per minute, would be like having an army of 1500 slingers.
" I have even participated in one-on-one duels with real stones and I assure you that only hearing the roar of the stone passing near your head," Wait are you telling us you did actual duels where u guys tried to hit each others Oo. If so that's not only quiet crazy but outright illegal...
Con 17 años , tienes muchos huevos y poca cabeza y no eran competiciones "oficiales", nos juntábamos algunos amigos y a distancias de 40 ó 50 metros nos apedreábamos usando un trozo de colchón como escudo, lo más grave que vi fue una tibia rota y lo más normal eran fragmentos de piedras clavados en la piel cuando la piedra se rompía al impactar cerca o detrás de tu posición, no disparábamos demasiado fuerte y normalmente veías venir el proyectil dando tiempo a moverte o cubrirte y si no la localizabas , entonces te agachabas apretando los dientes. En una ocasión, en un duelo con pelotas de tenis y sin ninguna protección, en una cancha de tenis , me alcanzaron en los riñones y estuve un par de día meando sangre y con fiebre...burradas
He is using a sling, not a slingshot. A slingshot (also known as a catapult in the UK) uses the stretch of rubber to project the stone. A sling uses angular momentum.
The Diodorus quote touched on a very important aspect of using a sling: years and years of practice. That was something that crossbows and firearms fixed, the speed of training.
And as you said early in the video, from a higher position, the helmet would have received the projectiles more on the top and the brow ridge would have protected the head way less than direct shots. Amazing video (and shots btw ggwp) maybe will try to braid one soon, I will see how it turns out o7
I enjoy watching your videos. I definitely think the sling has really been neglected when discussing it’s importance in historical battles. Your videos are well filmed, informative and entertaining. Please make more.
It lends some credence to the story of David and Goliath. I used to be skeptical of the story. A sling is easy to make, and I made one in my teens. But with no amount of practice could I ever achieve even the most marginal of accuracy, so your performance here impressed me to no end. :-)
Frankly, the thing about David and Goliath is not exactly that it's not credible, but once you understand a thing or two about slings, suddenly David taking out a relatively large target who is slowed down by a set of heavy and probably quite clunky bronze armour just doesn't seem very impressive anymore. A skilled slinger would have been a much more dangerous opponent for someone like Goliath to fight than just another armoured spearman like himself.
David practised his craft against wild animals while protecting his father's sheep. The idea of using a sling in battle back then was absurd, but he got the chance. I think he chose smaller stones so that he could launch an attack just outside the range of Goliath's huge spear. Accuracy was essential and he hit the target. It did not kill the giant, because David then used the giant's own sword to decapitate him. Isn't it strange that such a violent story is relegated to the children's book shelf. I believe that the battle against Goliath was terribly one sided and the outcome was obvious. A sling hurled a rock like a bullet and guns usually beat spears. This may have been one of the earliest encounters where a slingshot was used in battle. The story was obviously told far and wide because the practise was adopted by many armies.
@@markbowman2890 while this is speculation as the written record is thin for the period of David's rule and we have comparatively few accounts to include info on slings, the idea that David was the first use the sling in battle seems unlikely to me. The bible doesn't make that claim, which you would think it would if it was so remarkable and we know slings existed at at least 10000 BC. I refuse to believe that for 9000 years people were slinging stones at animals and noone thought 'i wonder what happens if I sling this at a human, en masse, in a fight?'
@@ianalexander7082 For some time the evidence for David was considered to be very thin, perhaps just a legend. That changed with clear evidence arising about David's kingship in Israel. For some reason you seem hesitant to give any credit to the Biblical account, even though it is much more reliable than other documents through that period of history. My reason for suggesting ( be clear with the meaning of that word) that David was an early user of the sling in combat is the reaction given by others in his army and the lack of respect Goliath had for that weapon. It would appear that, in the Middle East at least, they were unfamiliar with men hurling projectiles, lethal ones, against soldiers. Naturally, I am not including other ancient cultures, such as the orientals, who may have had even more lethal weapons at an early period. Rather than speculating, why don't you come with some examples that predate the account of David. You have your opinions but what good are they without some evidence. The Bible does give evidence that a young boy, using a weapon he practised upon while defending sheep, effectively took out a man in battle with the same weapon. If your opinion is true, then explain why no one else in his army thought of using a sling? It would seem that they were unfamiliar with it as a tactic or they doubted their ability to place the rock accurately enough to get a result. Please tell me more about life around 10 000 BC. The further we go back in history, the less records we have. I think you are speculating or accepting stories based upon ideas rather than facts.
Impressive! Thanks for the attention to detail you put into your videos. I really understood what an impact slings had about 3:48 into the presentation. I gained a new appreciation for brutality of ancient combat.
those longer slings give out narsty amounts of damage. I shudder to think of the extra impetus a large rock will have at the end of a high parabolic arc
This explains why riot police sometimes shoot at people throwing stones. People imagine stone throwing to be fairly harmless but Stones can absolutely be deadly, especially if aimed precisely by a practiced sling user.
I really appreciate the fact you approach the topic from a scientific and a practical point of view - these days there are too many historians who could elaborate for days about the topic but are unable to show in practice what it means.
Thank you for doing this. It is worth remembering that in the context of ancient warfare, breaking a formation was a key to victory. You don't have to disable the target, just make him step back or redirect his spear long enough for the formation to weaken.
This makes you appreciate the primal aspect of sports, its connection to hunting and combat, and why fans get so excited at a great play, like a strong throw or an amazing catch. We love that it helps us win a game, but we used to love it because it meant we were going to have something to eat, or we were going to get our stolen stuff back 😉
Sehr schönes Experiment, es zeigt deutlich die Gefährlichkeit kompetenter Schleuderer. Ich bin etwas neidisch wegen dem tollen Strand, wegen dem Mangel an Steinen in meiner Umgebung muss ich mich auf Tonprojektile beschränken. Die Qualität deiner Videos ist mittlerweile sehr sehr gut geworden.
These weapons are a good reminder that you didn't need to kill the enemy in a battle. Every man knocked out or physically disabled was out of the fight, helping him took away resources & seeing many colleagues injured and numbers depleted destroys morale and order.
Delighted to see that your presentation style while commenting live is equally eloquent and distinguished as when reading a skript during the voicover.
Whilst the current melon shots do an impressive job of illustrating the damage a sling can do (and are generally fascinating/a delight to watch), i do wonder if the test setup may underestimate a sling's damage? The melon setup isn't attached to a neck and body, and can thus be pushed out of the way by the projectile, absorbing less of it's energy directly. A human head on the other hand cannot snap off of the body, and must absorb a lot more energy directly (whether it's absorbed deforming the helmet/head, snapping the neck, or a combination of both). I don't know how much of a difference that'd make practically, however i'd imagine that it means that a lot less of the projectile's energy is going into the disconnected melon than an equivalent human head would? Again i don't know how much of a difference it'd make, but maybe skewering the melon onto a post may be more accurate to the damage a sling would do to a human head? edited sidenote; but the bouncing projectile throw at 3:43 is very impressive and not something i'd considered possible; either way genuinely impressive, and it's always a pleasure when you upload
I dont think there is a big difference in the absorbed energy whether or not there is a neck. I think the bigger consideration is that even if the watermelon seems unharmed an actual person may suffer brain damage. A direct hit on the helmet might not explode the watermelon but I'm sure it would heavily daze someone at the very least.
The sling is indeed a fiercesome weapon. As a boy I made one and with a little practice was able to hurl large rocks almost 100 yards with amazing accuracy.
These experiments / demonstrations are an excellent way of getting young students interested in physics and mechanics. Adam Hart-Davis and Tim Hunkin both inspired me to go into Engineering.
I watched a video about how with a little practice you can get pretty accurate with a sling. Professional soldiers who practiced often had to be a nightmare to face.
As a boy I made a sling out of craft leather, leather boot strings, and carpet thread. Nothing felt so powerful as ripping off an egg stone at arrow speeds. My sling was a lot longer than those shown in the video and I used lighter 100g pebbles. But man did they fly fast and far. My one weakness was accuracy. I was amazed by the bullseye shots shown. There must have been a lot of misses. What was the hit to miss ratio?
With a range over 400 m, surpassing the long bow by 100 m. The legend of David & Goliath was probably something like this, a small but fast army of slingers with infinite ammo, slowly wearing down a bigger and heavily armed but slow army.
@@RaspK 400 meters, or 1300 feet. "The greatest distance achieved in hurling an object from a sling is 477.10m 1565ft 4in, using a 127cm 50in long sling and a 62g 21/4oz dart, achieved by David Engvall at Baldwin Lake, California, USA on 13 Sep 1992."-Guiness World Records.
@@thinkfloyd2594 Do we know it's fictional though? This shows that even if you don't believe the supernatural part of the story, the rest of it was way more believable than 99% of modern people would have thought.
I really enjoy the display of how powerful slings are. You can send a large heavy stone over 100 feet with ease. Much easier than throwing it. Long slings are a little harder to aim but it’s so worth it for the extra power.
A VERY good and educational video. I never realized the sling could be so effective. I have played with the sling a lot in my youth, was amazed with it's range, but almost never used a stone of the same weight. Thank you for the video!
Alternative title: Why absolutely massive old shields were so relevant to ancient warfare. I wouldn't wanna be the one taking these shots to the helmet, however having them just bounce off a scutum or apsis probably wouldn't have been too bad, aside from possibly an unpleasant shock to the wrist.
Absolutely. However: Depending on the construction of the shield, the skill and power of the slinger, and the weight of the stone, I could absolutely see one of these splintering your shield pretty quickly. Especially if your shield is taking the stones flat-on. Still better than taking a rock to the ribs, though.
@@edheldude Well, you're not just gonna send one shielded guy towards a full formation of slingers. If there's hundreds of shields, odds are you won't see hundreds of stones hitting the same one.
I've just discovered this channel by sheer chance!! fascinating!! I've always been interested in pre-gunpowder weapons and your presentation is impressive!! Congratulations!
I believe that in real-life most of these hits would have been debilitating or even fatal. That's because our heads are somewhat rigidly connected to our spine and the rest of our body and cannot move as much to dissipate the energy of the blow
I don't think it would matter much in terms of how much damage the head would get, the point of rigidly pinning targets is very low especially with ffirearms that the inertia is far greater than the impact force is. The hit damage is already done even before the targets inertia is overcome. The interesting part is though how much damage would the neck get after such a hit, because this is whiplashing the everliving shit out of those heads especially the bigger rocks would be devastating to that, besides the head injuries.
throwing stones or using a sling would have a significant effect on a large group of soldiers. If you throw stones into a group of people they would start getting scared as stones zing by. A glancing blow will then hit someone else like a ping-pong machine..
Great video. I remember once throwing different size rocks how when I reached a certain weight it became more efficient and powerful. Thanks for explaining the mechanics behind this.
Shot from four squads (fives) in platoons (twenties), sling shots (or arrows or flintlock musketry) provide fully automatic shot. When shot and reloaded by ranks, platoons maintain constant shot either by ranks (volleys) or by files (left to right or right to left, as commanded) against the enemy. Hence, "well-regulated" is defined as disciplined drill in formations.
Great video, very informative. I am one of the people that comes from a generation that always engaged in rock throwing wars with other kids. I really don't know why we were allowed or whether our parents actually knew what we were doing. But it always involved a vacant block of land so we could build forts etc. I am inclined because of my age, and lack of strength, to favor a staff sling. I have seen it being demonstrated in the US and because of the length of the staff (about 4'), the extra leverage really makes for a fearsome weapon. I saw a playful competition between a sling thrower and a staff sling thrower and the there was no comparison really, as the staff sling had much greater lineal accuracy every time.
Really interesting demonstration. Had the stones in the illustration at 3:56 been chipped to make them rounder. The surface texture is really interesting. All the best
A friend of mine and myself were talking about this subject yesterday (although we started talking about about confiscated black widows as sprogs). Definitely something I've wanted to have a go at but somehow never got round to. You sir are a hell of a shot! Thanks for this, certainly food for thought.
Dude! You're a legend in the slinging community. I'm happy to see you in a new video and glad to see you facing the camera. The video is amazing. You're obviously putting in a lot of effort and the video you have created is amazing as a result. An question I often think about is how do you think the modern practices and competitions of the slingers in the Balearic islands compare with the requirements expected of a Balearic mercenary in the ancient Roman army. I personally think the standardized distance and target of the Balearic competitions today creates an artificial skillset and reduces the versatility that would have probably been expected of a paid Balearic mercenary.
Some other youtube channels have showcased the sling, and after hours or training were able to get near the target. Your proficiency with the sling shows it is a deadly and formidable weapon in the right hands. Impressive, the accuracy on some of those.
I'm glad at the end you mentioned the idea of the impact shockwave having the potential to cause injury. Blunt force was absolutely used against armor when penetrating it was difficult (or impossible). Another thing to think about is even if your helmet and head were fine, that energy is going to transfer right into your neck. Lights out! Awesome video man! 👍
Oh yes! Really quite the same concept as a warhammer in the late Middle Ages, only in a projectile format (and I reckon hitting even harder, depending on the stone). Goal isn't punching the armour, but rattling what's inside.
3:49 Imagine being 4 rows back, behind a shield wall, just gearing for the charge and a small boulder decimates your nuts.
oh my
Called shot to the nuts...
"decimates your nuts"...it takes one in ten of them you mean?
The rolling stone ground deflected nut shot scares me way more than a direct hit to the dome LMAO
Don't spell it out, DON'T SPELL IT OUT! - He spelt it out... 😭🫨🤯😵
A sling around his waist and a pocket full of pebbles makes this chap a dangerous proposition .
I was just thinking that. He could murder hikers with impunity.
I think the story of David and Goliath is not that strange. When shepherds defend their cattle against wolves or bears, having a slingshot is a very good idea. An angry strong man with a slingshot? Hmmm.
@@voornaam3191 If they added a line in the Bible about how David had used his sling to kill bears and wolves to protect his flock, the story would be so much more believable. On the other hand, that makes it far less necessary to believe that this all came about because God chose David. It all makes sense now. Young shepherd kills a giant warrior, ends up being King and is a massive womanizer. Well, of course. He was a total badass the whole time.
It is the coward weapon, only good at long distance. Try hitting a fast moving target with that that is running towards you. And once the angry giant is right in front of your face with a knife… Good luck!
@@21stcenturyscots .. coward weapon ? This is warfare ! The dead and idiots cry about fair . Plus , these are used to hunt animals , smaller and faster than humans . yes against one guy he might miss , try running at a slinger formation , oh wait , they tried that back in those times and they were very effective . And my slingers have a shield wall just behind them . Good luck!
The advantage of using pebbles over arrows is that arrows have to be crafted, while pebbles can be found everywhere on the ground. And they respawn after three days.
Respawning pebbles?
@@mrcheese5383 video game tradition..... but to be fair, those chests and lockboxes full of bandit loot , arrows, or health kits also do that
@@mrcheese5383
Pebbles are a natural renewable resource that can be grown anywhere
Arrows and speers with prepared tips cant be fired back. Stones that don't take out the enemy give him more ammo
If you complete the right achievement, the pebbles will respawn right in your pouch
7:43 This level of proficiency sparks joy. Beautiful shot.
3:47 is better, right in the nuts
9:06 Nice red Mellon to simulate brain and blood all over the field of battle, just look at the floor.
The accuracy of those shots by itself convinces me that this sling was an effective weapon. I had no idea you could learn to sling stones so accurately.
To be fair, these shots were pretty close range. Still skillfully aimed, but you don't stay accurate at anywhere near the same range you could with a bow or crossbow.
and imagine hundreds slingers!
They trained by hunting birds! Imagine the accuracy.
I think it takes quite a _lot_ of practice.
Primitive technology does a good video on slings where he goes from zero to fairly deadly within a few days or hours.
Good lord, I didn't expect the mental image of being faced by a THOUSAND slingers
carthage definitely brought hundreds during the punic wars
Hearing those stones hitting that helmet is impressive by itself.
Should have had a mic on the watermelon.....
even if a stone doesn't cave your skull in there's still the matter of spinal injuries because sweet holy whiplash
I was thinking same and just read "Sweet Holy Whiplash" I did a spit take lol great
He would pick up q permanent drool at least and be leaking watermelon juice
A thicker helmet and more protection might provide more protection, but it makes the neck even more vulnerable to breaking or whiplash, like you say.
Probably cause a concussion if nothing else. Disorient the victim as well. Would like to all this done with gauges to measure force and maybe some ballistic gel head (unprotected). What would the effective range be a sling? He looked to be rather close to the target.
@@Archaic-Arms the solution is great bascinets, oversized helmets bolted to the torso, not possible to get whip lash with those
A teenager could take out a giant with something like this.
The irony of the David and Goliath story
Now I see how this could have worked against bears or lions.
I used to think that the David and Goliath story was remarkable and inspiring. Then I saw some videos of people who knew how to use a sling and realized that it was more like the scene in Indiana Jones where Indy shoots that impressive swordsman.
Only in stories told by Bronze-Age goat herders who thought the sun went behind the hills and thunder was the local god getting antsy. Then written down, centuries (or millennia) after the "fact" and translated, re-translated, then re-re-translated and put in a book by people who couldn't speak or read the original poor translations.
Yeah, then, maybe.
@@thefirm9746 starting out slinging i thought the same. After graze hitting a 6 inch metal plate from 110 feet its clear to me now that it wasn’t even a fair fight
Charcoal covered stone; the beginning of stealth technology
Now make them angular-shaped so they are not detected by radar.
At a snowball fight on MU campus in 1984, I witnessed Lacrosse players using their lacrosse throwers to launch snowballs through an entire house, smashing the window on the street, traveling through the house and exiting by smashing rear windows and continuing through the back yard. I never forgot that.
I waited for him to use a staff sling. Those are DEADLY...
Well..
.that says more about Lacrosse players than the actual weapon..... however, pretty good for grouse hunting!!!
There's a reason various 16th-century Spanish accounts compare the sling to the arquebus. A thicker helmet would provide better protection, but slung stones remained a threat even into the age of firearms.
Still a threat now really, like most of these old weapons they are still good (sometimes even more dangerous than modern weapons in a modern situation as the protective equipment is tailored to bullets). The only big difference is any moron can be taught to shoot out to reasonable ranges very quickly as virtually all the work is being done by the tool and the gunsmith, and the maximum possible range of a firearm with great proficiency is rather longer, where the old weapons take some real practice and skill to use at all and generally max out in lethal range around the same ballpark a rookie can shoot a rifle accurately...
@@b.h.abbott-motley2427 slings are a very compact tool, easy to carry in a pocket and can be used to throw a variety of things, not so long ago they were used to lob grenades. It's true that one slinger trying to hit a single target takes practice but historically the sling was used in combat by both accomplished slingers and novices, the pros taking aim at specific targets, like generals, and novices throwing volleys, similar to how the bow and arrow was sometimes utilized. Point and throw.
@@user-ug5sb6qg1u The sling was hardly used as a precision weapon. It's main use was flinging stones at formations, giving ample room for the inherent imprecision of the shots. It was mainly used for harassment and enemy formation steering on the battlefield. Also in siege warfare, where the concentrated nature of fortifications meant you could easily harass the ones inside while being relatively safe form backfire due to simply positioning yourself more spread out.
@@dragoscoco2173 slingers were positioned behind archers because of the slings longer range and used in the volley, hundreds or even thousands of stones and arrows at once. And as for precision, the slingers from the Balearic islands were the most accurate in the ancient world and professional slingers would have been tested for accuracy, the guy in this video is extremely accurate at long distance and his life doesn't depend on it.
@@dragoscoco2173slings have been used to hunt birds that are taking of in flight
When you consider the amount of blacksmithing, woodworking, and assembling needed to make an arrow, a cart load of river stones is far more bang for the army's buck. And if you win the battle, you can collect them undamaged for the next battle. I am sure they were used more than we think.
Guter Kommentar!
Collecting stones, piling them up somewhere and throwing them later simply requires nothing more than the stones available in nature and an order. Even if subordinates are good for nothing else, anyone can do this job. Due to the weight and the transport problem, I think a stationary deployment for defence from an elevated position is most likely.
Collecting stones from the battlefield is overkill. They get sourced on the go just about everywhere. And in more static battles like sieges you can get creative and start bringing some lead to cast or fire some out of clay. But usually nobody carried cartloads of stones to sling let alone cart them back.
@@dragoscoco2173 the stones needs to be uniform, and the proper shape, so i would bet they carted stones around, since random jagged rocks, would be horrible for accuracy, theirs an reason why David spent so much time picking the perfect river rocks
@@stefthorman8548 For accuracy having some consistency, sure. But even so the weight and shape variation would not have been enough for arrow or spear like precision. It was a weapon in it's own class.
@@stefthorman8548 tbf, it doesnt always need to be accurate. If your facing a large horde of infrantry.
Now imagine the skill of someone from Rhodes or the Balearic Islands who has practised since childhood. Roman General Paulus was killed by a sling stone in the battle of Cannae.
Great video.
The Romans, Carthiginians and others hired Menorcans as mercenary stone-throwers for centuries. In the 1960's a historian wanted to prove this and started hunting on the island for throwing stones. After weeks with little or no luck he asked the local children if they could find any, and he would pay them 10 pesetas (2/3 the cost of a bottle of Coke) for each one. Ten minutes later they came back with their hands full and asking for a bucket to carry the rest! They had found a large pile of them, used for practice.The opposite side of the field had dozens more, left where they had been thrown.
As a nurse, I can't help but think that even with the glancing blows to the head, they would incapacitate, discombobulate, and take them out of the battle or make it easier for their opponents to dispatch.
This video really adds context to the account of David and Goliath. Well done! My son is going to enjoy watching this :)
Do note that in that story, David doesn't ask for strength, or shuffle his feet at the thought of having to fight, the kid came to the battlefield, heard Goliath, started frothing at the mouth and begged for permission to kill him.
David knew he was him all along.
Another relevant piece of context:
David went on to murder 200 infidels, cut off their foreskins and brought those to a father who sold him his daughhter for the foreskins.
Concussions are definitely bad if you're trying to do anything that requires thought.
Glad to have you back man! Slings are extremely useful things 👍
Those stones are carrying about the same energy as a .32 ACP bullet. Pretty crazy energy for a dude with some string and a rock.
The stone has a way higher momentum. I imagine it could injure or even break your neck.
A Desert Eagle .50 action express carries the same kinetic energy as a 12 pound bowling ball going 70 mph.
@garcia83viz A staff sling and a trebuchet operate on the same principles.
@@garcia83viz And is almost as unwieldy to use.
?@@shred1894
backface deformation of a helmet by a heavy projectile like that can kill surprisingly easy, even if theres no visible damage on the watermelon behind
I was thinking the same. The inside of that intact watermelon is probably juice now.
Wearing the helmet before hand, I suspect a tennis-ball slung hard at the helmet would be quite jarring, let alone a stone 7 times the weight…
It's like getting hit by a horse. Or 5 Mike Tysons.
@@prometheus9096 Tysons should be a unit of measurement for impact energy. "This impact was up to 7.5 Tysons...it would have been fatal"
@@Jroc3578 I'm signing that petition. The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs had an impact energy of 1.5 billion mega Tysons 🤣
Really shows how overpowered armor is being able to increase the survival chance from the glancing blows, but probably working much better against the lighter projectiles. Great video as always
the stone would have glanced off onto someone else too in the tight formation that they fought in
Not sure how severe the injuries would be to a head under the helmet. But I think without a helmet, probably all of those hits might very well be fatal.
@@utubeape better 2 concussions than 1 fatality.
@@CatOnACell Well, yeah, but you're not going to be much good in rest of the fight if you're disoriented and seeing double. Or you can't see to one side at all, because your eye is swollen shut.
Do you know Dutch soldiers bought an American helmet, when getting to countries they were shot at? The Dutch
army had slightly older helmets. And the helmets we had during the 80's were known to be not strong enough for modern high energy rounds. That is, when hit straight on, on an angle the bullet gets bounced away. In short, a sniper could kill you, usually you'd get away with it. You need a better helmet, every odd years.
That's some really fine slingin"!
I use mine as a toy. Huge fun but I would hate to have to feed or protect myself with it. Baeleric slinger I am not!
I've always said; people misunderstand the story. Goliath never stood a chance.
Remember Indiana Jones shooting that swordsman in the market? ... That is the story of David and Goliath.
David was said to be a man after the LORD's own heart, and the Spirit of that same Self-Determined Being is that of Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Power, Respect... so yeah, Goliath never stood a chance. It honestly shouldn't have taken a young shepard boy to step up, and the disparagement of the state of the people as well as the contrast against the simple almost mocking solutions of the God they had forgotten is largely the point of that particular story, I think.
@@newtonbomb except God had nothing to do with it, it's just another story about the will, and skill of man, being used to prop up God
@stefthorman8548 did you even read what I wrote? What is the will and what is skill?
@@newtonbombNow that you mention it in all the illustrations I've seen of the David v Goliath bout, the Philistine champion has awesome armor, swords, spears,and all the shiniest MELEE weapons ... and the Hebrew contender has this jury-rigged old-timey, aimed, ranged, one-pounder ROCK?!? Yup, Goliath never had a snowball's chance. Davey-boy had him zeroed-in and was "firing for effect" before the big guy could even get moving 😂 !
@@user-kx7ri9im1s David is a reformer, confirmed
I like to consider the number of throwers in battle, how glancing blows off one soldier can impact another, and the probability of striking soft spots. Like you demonstrated, a stone in the right place can obliterate tissues. A video exploring stone skipping with a leg and shield target would be very interesting too!
Aside from severe headaches, I am sure that most victims would have had many brain traumas.
And probably more than a few neck injuries.
considering actual ancient slingers were way more proficient than him (not casting shade), they probably didnt have to worry about having a head ache, because they'd be dead from being hit. I'm sure they'd be way more accurate. I do believe slingers were the most prized and skilled soldiers on the ancient battlefield, and often, shepherds as their day job.
@@firefalcon100 Situational. I think there's maybe more of a rock-paper-scissors kind of dynamic going on. Slingers would get absolutely butchered by archers who'd be able to deliver deadly and accurate shots at a much greater range, but they'd be more powerful against heavy infantry since the stones they threw were much heavier than arrows and therefore more capable of inflicting harm even when hitting armour, so slingers could see better results skirmishing and kiting than archers.
They're also more logistically difficult, because you cannot store them as efficiently as arrows, but at the same time, you cannot always rely on there being a good amount of pebbles that are just the right size and weight for throwing whereever you go. Arrows are more expensive to make, but you can store and transport them relatively easily.
@@darthplagueis13 you can actually throw further than shoot arrows, its because the stone has more momentum
@@yeetman4953 Gonna heavily doubt that, mate.
The stone is heavier, but you don't accelerate it anywhere near as much and it has more air resistance to deal with.
For reference: Javelins are a lot more aerodynamic than stones, and the olympic record for a 600 gram javelin is just above 70 meters.
A good archer can comfortably double that.
"Slings and arrows of outrageous fortune."
Learned a lot from your work. Well done!
Our lot's favorite game, been killing each other forever.. yea, go us
his forehead has so many lines, i can read it like a book its fascinating
I was a big slinger for decades but I injured my shoulder and couldn't continue 😢. But yeah, slings are great.
Lightweight, easy to improvise, innocent looking in society, emergency survival tool, totally non-metallic, fun skill to practice, and lots of cheap ammo everywhere.
I use one as a hatband on my boonie, and have a frameless as a bracelet in plain sight.
Did you craft your slings or bought them?
@@felix900 I made mine. Leather for historic demos, and paracord for more serious slinging. But one of the points was how easy a sling is to improvise. Most of us have 2 or more items that can be made into a sling at any time.
@@ulvesparker thanks :) looking forward to sling.
Don’t let them see this in London or they’ll be knocking on your door asking for your string permit
Lol, they'll be banning string 😂
If you go down Ogre street you might run into the ancestor of the legendary slinger "Barry"
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Don't give them any ideas. 😭 You'd be surprised how close they have already come to banning string.
oi m8 you got a loisconse for that rock!
i understand slinging into a big mass of people, but its just nuts that they can be accurate like that.
How timely, i finished weaving myself a new Egyptian sling and moulding a batch of clay shot an hour ago
I actually got back from a trip where i finished a balearic sling, so i was really happy seeing this before going out to practice 😂
I took my sling up north to the Klamath River and slinged rocks the size of my fist across the river. So much fun! Bless you for sharing the swing and its history
In the Spanish civil war they used slings to lob grenades over building tops into the adjacent street
Modern problems sometimes require ancient solutions.
I live in Peru, and here there's a festival every year where villagers make a campal war (keeping the tradition of having real life experience for war).
Every year, there's at least one dead and a lot of injured people.
Villagers consider it as an offering for mother earth.
The point is that I saw the effects of those weapons in real life, and they are deadly.
I will go back soon 😉
Old habits die slowly he?
@@molybdaen11 I'm not sure if it's better to answer "Sadly yes" or "Sadly no"...
Because effectively losing culture and traditions in many cases is a big loss for humanity...
In other cases (for example the sexual mutilation in Africa...) in my opinion is a crime.
In the case of that festival (the sling's one), who am I to judge!???
People are aware and voluntary.
@@qhispillariku5806 It was meant as a joke.
Honestly I am a bit envious because we have not such old festivals here in Europe.
Sure, we have a lot of medival stuff but not much where you really go out there and train with a weapon you made yourself.
@@molybdaen11 🤣🤣😉
So I suppose that I am somehow a bit intense 🤣😉
But anyway, it's always good to share opinions and facts with people around the world. 💪
I plan to make a TH-cam channel in the future to show videos, pictures and share my experiences on many of these cultures and traditions...
So if you're interested, it would be a pleasure to have people interested in those subjects too.
And if you're really interested in seeing that from your own eyes,
I've ended up being a guide, travel accompanist, interpreter...
Specialized in those things.
Brains are surprisingly vulnerable to shock injury. The brain sort of floats inside of the skull. I have suffered from a subdural hematoma from a short fall from a bike, with a helmet. Getting hit by a 1 pound rock traveling at this sort of velocity can easily kill, even with the steel helmet with very meager padding.
I call it "soup in a can"
The can might look alright, but all that energy is going somewhere...
The quality of your slings are incredible. I've made 2 from your guide and they are quite hairy, but perfectly useable! Another great vid.
What are you making yours from?
Use lighter to burn it off
Really makes me wish I had been practicing with a sling since I was a child...
Always enjoy these!
This is why it's a battle of attrition in ancient warfare. Wearing armor and having a shield is tiring and if those rocks keeps coming......either the armored soldier die of heat stroke or actually make it to the slingers position.....in which the slingers have fled. The soldiers then need to eat, then the slingers come back....
I am from Menorca and I have used slingshots for 30 years, I have competed with slingers from the other islands and I have even participated in one-on-one duels with real stones and I assure you that only hearing the roar of the stone passing near your head, even at Two meters away is terrifying. You are very good with the slingshot and it shows that you have good technique and have worked hard to achieve this precision. 300 guys throwing a pile of 200 gram stones on a battle formation, shooting 4 to 6 stones per minute, would be like having an army of 1500 slingers.
" I have even participated in one-on-one duels with real stones and I assure you that only hearing the roar of the stone passing near your head,"
Wait are you telling us you did actual duels where u guys tried to hit each others Oo. If so that's not only quiet crazy but outright illegal...
Con 17 años , tienes muchos huevos y poca cabeza y no eran competiciones "oficiales", nos juntábamos algunos amigos y a distancias de 40 ó 50 metros nos apedreábamos usando un trozo de colchón como escudo, lo más grave que vi fue una tibia rota y lo más normal eran fragmentos de piedras clavados en la piel cuando la piedra se rompía al impactar cerca o detrás de tu posición, no disparábamos demasiado fuerte y normalmente veías venir el proyectil dando tiempo a moverte o cubrirte y si no la localizabas , entonces te agachabas apretando los dientes. En una ocasión, en un duelo con pelotas de tenis y sin ninguna protección, en una cancha de tenis , me alcanzaron en los riñones y estuve un par de día meando sangre y con fiebre...burradas
@@user-dc4qi7bw6v Oh okay so it was stupid boy plays okay. It sounded like you did actual duels as grown up man u know :D
He is using a sling, not a slingshot. A slingshot (also known as a catapult in the UK) uses the stretch of rubber to project the stone. A sling uses angular momentum.
Just finished binge watching the channel and now I get even more content! Perfect timing
The Diodorus quote touched on a very important aspect of using a sling: years and years of practice. That was something that crossbows and firearms fixed, the speed of training.
"he need some milk!" 7:38
glad to have you back after a long break from YT
Man I was waiting for this
You and me both, buddy!
And as you said early in the video, from a higher position, the helmet would have received the projectiles more on the top and the brow ridge would have protected the head way less than direct shots. Amazing video (and shots btw ggwp) maybe will try to braid one soon, I will see how it turns out o7
I enjoy watching your videos. I definitely think the sling has really been neglected when discussing it’s importance in historical battles. Your videos are well filmed, informative and entertaining. Please make more.
It lends some credence to the story of David and Goliath. I used to be skeptical of the story. A sling is easy to make, and I made one in my teens. But with no amount of practice could I ever achieve even the most marginal of accuracy, so your performance here impressed me to no end. :-)
I second. This kind of accuracy is very impressive.
Frankly, the thing about David and Goliath is not exactly that it's not credible, but once you understand a thing or two about slings, suddenly David taking out a relatively large target who is slowed down by a set of heavy and probably quite clunky bronze armour just doesn't seem very impressive anymore.
A skilled slinger would have been a much more dangerous opponent for someone like Goliath to fight than just another armoured spearman like himself.
David practised his craft against wild animals while protecting his father's sheep. The idea of using a sling in battle back then was absurd, but he got the chance. I think he chose smaller stones so that he could launch an attack just outside the range of Goliath's huge spear. Accuracy was essential and he hit the target. It did not kill the giant, because David then used the giant's own sword to decapitate him. Isn't it strange that such a violent story is relegated to the children's book shelf. I believe that the battle against Goliath was terribly one sided and the outcome was obvious. A sling hurled a rock like a bullet and guns usually beat spears. This may have been one of the earliest encounters where a slingshot was used in battle. The story was obviously told far and wide because the practise was adopted by many armies.
@@markbowman2890 while this is speculation as the written record is thin for the period of David's rule and we have comparatively few accounts to include info on slings, the idea that David was the first use the sling in battle seems unlikely to me. The bible doesn't make that claim, which you would think it would if it was so remarkable and we know slings existed at at least 10000 BC. I refuse to believe that for 9000 years people were slinging stones at animals and noone thought 'i wonder what happens if I sling this at a human, en masse, in a fight?'
@@ianalexander7082 For some time the evidence for David was considered to be very thin, perhaps just a legend. That changed with clear evidence arising about David's kingship in Israel. For some reason you seem hesitant to give any credit to the Biblical account, even though it is much more reliable than other documents through that period of history. My reason for suggesting ( be clear with the meaning of that word) that David was an early user of the sling in combat is the reaction given by others in his army and the lack of respect Goliath had for that weapon. It would appear that, in the Middle East at least, they were unfamiliar with men hurling projectiles, lethal ones, against soldiers. Naturally, I am not including other ancient cultures, such as the orientals, who may have had even more lethal weapons at an early period. Rather than speculating, why don't you come with some examples that predate the account of David. You have your opinions but what good are they without some evidence. The Bible does give evidence that a young boy, using a weapon he practised upon while defending sheep, effectively took out a man in battle with the same weapon. If your opinion is true, then explain why no one else in his army thought of using a sling? It would seem that they were unfamiliar with it as a tactic or they doubted their ability to place the rock accurately enough to get a result. Please tell me more about life around 10 000 BC. The further we go back in history, the less records we have. I think you are speculating or accepting stories based upon ideas rather than facts.
Impressive! Thanks for the attention to detail you put into your videos. I really understood what an impact slings had about 3:48 into the presentation. I gained a new appreciation for brutality of ancient combat.
those longer slings give out narsty amounts of damage. I shudder to think of the extra impetus a large rock will have at the end of a high parabolic arc
Golf...
This explains why riot police sometimes shoot at people throwing stones. People imagine stone throwing to be fairly harmless but Stones can absolutely be deadly, especially if aimed precisely by a practiced sling user.
Dude this video was amazing, well done and fantastic results. You are a beast
Thanks!
"Popped his clogs" is a new one for me. It wasn't even included in the Dead Parrot sketch!
I really appreciate the fact you approach the topic from a scientific and a practical point of view - these days there are too many historians who could elaborate for days about the topic but are unable to show in practice what it means.
The fact they were used for thousands of years is testament to their efficacy.
i really love the sling, making them and throwing stones is fun. Unfortunately i am very bad at hitting a target though!
Practice. Practice some more. Did I suggest practice? Slings are fun and this video barely adresses their lethality.
3:43 A STONE TO THE STONES! BRUTAL!
Thank you for doing this. It is worth remembering that in the context of ancient warfare, breaking a formation was a key to victory. You don't have to disable the target, just make him step back or redirect his spear long enough for the formation to weaken.
Dude that was metal af. You're goddamn surgical with that thing haha.
The sling bullets on the battlefield look quite devastating too at distance against the archers and cavalry.
I'm so glad you're getting closer to the audience that you deserve these days. Absolutely phenomenal content as always.
This makes you appreciate the primal aspect of sports, its connection to hunting and combat, and why fans get so excited at a great play, like a strong throw or an amazing catch. We love that it helps us win a game, but we used to love it because it meant we were going to have something to eat, or we were going to get our stolen stuff back 😉
That’s why I always thought that David killing Goliath was a terrible battle because he used a sling in the story.
Sehr schönes Experiment, es zeigt deutlich die Gefährlichkeit kompetenter Schleuderer. Ich bin etwas neidisch wegen dem tollen Strand, wegen dem Mangel an Steinen in meiner Umgebung muss ich mich auf Tonprojektile beschränken. Die Qualität deiner Videos ist mittlerweile sehr sehr gut geworden.
These weapons are a good reminder that you didn't need to kill the enemy in a battle. Every man knocked out or physically disabled was out of the fight, helping him took away resources & seeing many colleagues injured and numbers depleted destroys morale and order.
Delighted to see that your presentation style while commenting live is equally eloquent and distinguished as when reading a skript during the voicover.
Whilst the current melon shots do an impressive job of illustrating the damage a sling can do (and are generally fascinating/a delight to watch), i do wonder if the test setup may underestimate a sling's damage?
The melon setup isn't attached to a neck and body, and can thus be pushed out of the way by the projectile, absorbing less of it's energy directly. A human head on the other hand cannot snap off of the body, and must absorb a lot more energy directly (whether it's absorbed deforming the helmet/head, snapping the neck, or a combination of both). I don't know how much of a difference that'd make practically, however i'd imagine that it means that a lot less of the projectile's energy is going into the disconnected melon than an equivalent human head would?
Again i don't know how much of a difference it'd make, but maybe skewering the melon onto a post may be more accurate to the damage a sling would do to a human head?
edited sidenote; but the bouncing projectile throw at 3:43 is very impressive and not something i'd considered possible; either way genuinely impressive, and it's always a pleasure when you upload
I dont think there is a big difference in the absorbed energy whether or not there is a neck. I think the bigger consideration is that even if the watermelon seems unharmed an actual person may suffer brain damage. A direct hit on the helmet might not explode the watermelon but I'm sure it would heavily daze someone at the very least.
The sling is indeed a fiercesome weapon. As a boy I made one and with a little practice was able to hurl large rocks almost 100 yards with amazing accuracy.
xenophon mentions them outranging persian archers
These experiments / demonstrations are an excellent way of getting young students interested in physics and mechanics. Adam Hart-Davis and Tim Hunkin both inspired me to go into Engineering.
It's so good to see you post!
I was waiting for your video))
I watched a video about how with a little practice you can get pretty accurate with a sling. Professional soldiers who practiced often had to be a nightmare to face.
That video is not true, you definately need A LOT more than a little practice just to reliably throw in the general direction you want.
Excellent video. Thank you for all your time and effort.
As a boy I made a sling out of craft leather, leather boot strings, and carpet thread. Nothing felt so powerful as ripping off an egg stone at arrow speeds. My sling was a lot longer than those shown in the video and I used lighter 100g pebbles. But man did they fly fast and far. My one weakness was accuracy. I was amazed by the bullseye shots shown. There must have been a lot of misses. What was the hit to miss ratio?
With a range over 400 m, surpassing the long bow by 100 m. The legend of David & Goliath was probably something like this, a small but fast army of slingers with infinite ammo, slowly wearing down a bigger and heavily armed but slow army.
Thanks for bringing a fictional story to a science video. Well done!
A RANGE OF WHAT!?
@@RaspK 400 meters, or 1300 feet. "The greatest distance achieved in hurling an object from a sling is 477.10m 1565ft 4in, using a 127cm 50in long sling and a 62g 21/4oz dart, achieved by David Engvall at Baldwin Lake, California, USA on 13 Sep 1992."-Guiness World Records.
Not surpassing. Ottomans record was around 900 meters. And with modern bow 1200.
And I don't think they throw a dart that often...
This was really cool. Idk where you live, but I'd love to see a collab between you and Tod Cutler on bows vs slings.
your videos are so informitive, keep up the great work!
That was a fantastic presentation. And with slings too! Cheers.
Slings are my second favorite weapon, first would be the flail.
As Malcom Gladwell has said, David was not the underdog. A hit from one of those stones can render you truly meloncholy.
Well, thanks for bringing a fictional story into a science video! Well done, non sequitur!
@@thinkfloyd2594 Do we know it's fictional though? This shows that even if you don't believe the supernatural part of the story, the rest of it was way more believable than 99% of modern people would have thought.
I really enjoy the display of how powerful slings are. You can send a large heavy stone over 100 feet with ease. Much easier than throwing it. Long slings are a little harder to aim but it’s so worth it for the extra power.
A VERY good and educational video. I never realized the sling could be so effective.
I have played with the sling a lot in my youth, was amazed with it's range, but almost never used a stone of the same weight. Thank you for the video!
Alternative title: Why absolutely massive old shields were so relevant to ancient warfare.
I wouldn't wanna be the one taking these shots to the helmet, however having them just bounce off a scutum or apsis probably wouldn't have been too bad, aside from possibly an unpleasant shock to the wrist.
Absolutely. However: Depending on the construction of the shield, the skill and power of the slinger, and the weight of the stone, I could absolutely see one of these splintering your shield pretty quickly. Especially if your shield is taking the stones flat-on. Still better than taking a rock to the ribs, though.
And it's just not one but dozends or hundreds potentially.
@@edheldude Well, you're not just gonna send one shielded guy towards a full formation of slingers. If there's hundreds of shields, odds are you won't see hundreds of stones hitting the same one.
Who else cringed, tucked up and went "nnnnnrrrr" when they saw where that skipped stone hit?
I've just discovered this channel by sheer chance!! fascinating!! I've always been interested in pre-gunpowder weapons and your presentation is impressive!! Congratulations!
Job very well done! I haven’t seen your work before, but this was an instant subscription.
Eating your enemy's brains certainly is a disgusting habit.
But very necessary sustenance after battle.
I believe that in real-life most of these hits would have been debilitating or even fatal. That's because our heads are somewhat rigidly connected to our spine and the rest of our body and cannot move as much to dissipate the energy of the blow
Agreed. The free-standing helmets took a lot less damage than one on a solid (or rubbery) support would.
I don't think it would matter much in terms of how much damage the head would get, the point of rigidly pinning targets is very low especially with ffirearms that the inertia is far greater than the impact force is. The hit damage is already done even before the targets inertia is overcome. The interesting part is though how much damage would the neck get after such a hit, because this is whiplashing the everliving shit out of those heads especially the bigger rocks would be devastating to that, besides the head injuries.
throwing stones or using a sling would have a significant effect on a large group of soldiers. If you throw stones into a group of people they would start getting scared as stones zing by. A glancing blow will then hit someone else like a ping-pong machine..
Great video. I remember once throwing different size rocks how when I reached a certain weight it became more efficient and powerful. Thanks for explaining the mechanics behind this.
"B I G R O C K"
Shot from four squads (fives) in platoons (twenties), sling shots (or arrows or flintlock musketry) provide fully automatic shot. When shot and reloaded by ranks, platoons maintain constant shot either by ranks (volleys) or by files (left to right or right to left, as commanded) against the enemy. Hence, "well-regulated" is defined as disciplined drill in formations.
Great video, very informative. I am one of the people that comes from a generation that always engaged in rock throwing wars with other kids. I really don't know why we were allowed or whether our parents actually knew what we were doing. But it always involved a vacant block of land so we could build forts etc.
I am inclined because of my age, and lack of strength, to favor a staff sling. I have seen it being demonstrated in the US and because of the length of the staff (about 4'), the extra leverage really makes for a fearsome weapon. I saw a playful competition between a sling thrower and a staff sling thrower and the there was no comparison really, as the staff sling had much greater lineal accuracy every time.
Fascinating stuff Sir. I have always wondered how a sling works. Thank you.
You have skill! I learned how to sling over 60 years ago and still have one on the shelf in my den today. Well done.
Really interesting demonstration. Had the stones in the illustration at 3:56 been chipped to make them rounder. The surface texture is really interesting. All the best
Wonder full video, I found it very interesting and in formative. I look forward to many more such videos from you. Thank you.
Thankyou for adding speed and energy. A very interesting video.
A friend of mine and myself were talking about this subject yesterday (although we started talking about about confiscated black widows as sprogs). Definitely something I've wanted to have a go at but somehow never got round to. You sir are a hell of a shot!
Thanks for this, certainly food for thought.
Dude! You're a legend in the slinging community. I'm happy to see you in a new video and glad to see you facing the camera. The video is amazing. You're obviously putting in a lot of effort and the video you have created is amazing as a result.
An question I often think about is how do you think the modern practices and competitions of the slingers in the Balearic islands compare with the requirements expected of a Balearic mercenary in the ancient Roman army. I personally think the standardized distance and target of the Balearic competitions today creates an artificial skillset and reduces the versatility that would have probably been expected of a paid Balearic mercenary.
Very well done thanks for the comparison data
Some other youtube channels have showcased the sling, and after hours or training were able to get near the target. Your proficiency with the sling shows it is a deadly and formidable weapon in the right hands. Impressive, the accuracy on some of those.
I'm glad at the end you mentioned the idea of the impact shockwave having the potential to cause injury. Blunt force was absolutely used against armor when penetrating it was difficult (or impossible). Another thing to think about is even if your helmet and head were fine, that energy is going to transfer right into your neck. Lights out!
Awesome video man! 👍
Oh yes! Really quite the same concept as a warhammer in the late Middle Ages, only in a projectile format (and I reckon hitting even harder, depending on the stone). Goal isn't punching the armour, but rattling what's inside.