I always laugh when I see the modern depiction of David vs. Goliath. A child didn't kill a giant with a toy, a young man brought a pistol to a knife fight.
It's even better than that, it wasn't a knife fight. The big man said "I'm so confident I could fold any one of you that I'll even allow weapons" So it really is like some guy outside a bar taking his shirt off and yelling "Y'WANNA GO!? LET'S GO!" only for the other guy to pull a glock.
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.
I have a hunch that Romans actually used slings a lot more often in battle than it is currently shown. They usually saved javelins to break formations so I would assume they would use slings when given the opportunity. Something like a high ground, the enemy being far away, defending a fort, and providing ranged support for their friends.
Spaniards had to face it when fighting the natives around 1519. They describe how their brothers in arms are badly hurt by them; getting knocked out or straight up getting their skulls broken. Even using helmets
@@brendontruong7127They definitely did. The Romans used them against cavalry, particularly against the Parthians. After Carhhae, a subordinate of Mark Anthony, if I remember correctly, used them to deadly effect against the Parthians, killing one of their Princes.
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.
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.
@@mocifus13 before class make snowballs, pour some water from bottle over it, enough to make it moist but not into mud, leave it outside school so it can refreeze. Pick them later on for after school snowball fight 😂😂😂
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!
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.
I remember once going to the Jorvik Viking Experience & it was closed for renovations but they had some talks by forensic anthropologists taking us over the skeletons that had been found in the area from the era of the Danelaw and the Scandinavians' presence in York. Quite a few of the people there had died from blows to the head, and the fractures didn't look like anything much, very much reminiscent of OP's "it's softened the melon". They were probably about the size of a 10p coin, the bone depressed by maybe a couple of millimeters, but the expert told us they almost certainly died from bleeding into and around the brain.
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.
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.
Also the difference between the early flintlock rifle and AK-47. It took quite a while of training and practice to achieve maintaining, reloading, and firing a flintlock or musket more than once per minute. An AK-47 could be pulled out of the mud and fire multiple rounds per second.
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.
@@Adrak-Hiano As far as I know, they used river stones wherever possible because they were rounded and smooth. Menorcan rock is mostly volcanic (jagged and pockmarked) so finding hand-sized river stones away from rivers is a strong indicator.
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.
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 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.
if i may, im intending to write a novel which involves the use of slings, but i cant really find any sources on the internet, so i have a few questions would size or mass matter more in slinging? the projectiles my characters use are generally from large stones that they chip to have a sharper edge but smaller mass because 1/2mv^2 would a cone-shaped stone with the diameter of my estimate of a couple inches be good or realistic, since from what ive seen the balearic sling has this slit that's way too big for the stone i have in mind the cone-shaped stone's height is roughly the width of 4 thin fingers. for a female asian hand it would probably fit nicely with the point at the pinky side of the hand
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.
@@Bearfoot-e3e 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.
I USED A SLING AS A KID ,I GOT PRETTY ACCURATE WITH IT TOO, AT 150 FT I COULD HIT A CAR TYRE 9 OUT OF 10 TIMES , I NEVER KNEW IT WAS SUCH A GOOD WEAPON AGAINST ARMIES ETC, AND THE AMO IS FREE , I'M 80 NOW AND THINKING I MAY NEED IT AGAIN THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING IN UK,
Shepard boys spent day after day running and playing with their slings. Alexander loved his slingers because they could lead enemy cavalry a mile or two away from the battle lines and return later, with no enemy cavalry following them. This was a good show, detailing the seriousness of the sling.
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.
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.
In the Biblical story of David and Goliath, David incapacitates Goliath with the sling (though the wound would probably have killed him in time). David take Goliath's sword and cuts off his head. Probably the way a lot of sling victims left the Earth - knocked out or incapacitated by a slinger, taken out by a swordsmen as they passed.
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.
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.
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.
It was cool to see this video. As a 10-yr. old kid in about 1960 (yeah, I'm old!), my brother and my cousins and I used to throw rocks with slings at my grandfather's ranch. The rocks were much smaller than the behemoths you were throwing and it was amazing how far we could throw them. Our slings were made out of a patch of cowhide about 3"x2" with leather lacing attached at each end. On one end we tied a loop, which went around our middle finger, and the other leather lace just had a knot in it that we would squeeze between our thumb and the side of our index finger. We'd usually take one swing around and release it going forward. And it would really fly. The road from the corrals up to the ranch house was powdery white sand as you'd find in the Paso Robles area of California and east of it in a small community known as Pozo. Grandpa thought there were way too many rocks mixed in with that white sand, so he made these slings for each of us and showed us how to use them. He and his brother used to hunt rabbits in Texas with them when he was a kid. He cautioned us to never throw it anywhere near a person because, "David killed Goliath with one of these." So we'd throw them from the ranch house up the hill from the corrals down to the corrals and barns. There was one small grain barn that was closest and I could hit that one easily enough. Then there was a main livestock barn across the corral from that and older brother and my cousin could regularly hit that. I could hit it once in a great while. Anyhow, we started up by the ranch house and cleared out all the rocks off that road to about half way down. Of course we were not allowed use our slings if any of the animals were out. He kept a milk cow and her calf in the barn and sometimes had horses in the corrals. That summer and most summers afterwards we would carry our slings with the pouch folded in half and the leather laces wrapped around them. I never go good enough to hunt rabbits with it (would rather use a .22 rifle for that) but had a good time using it and was surprised how far we could launch them and how hard they'd hit. Thanks for showing this. By the way, you should probably show how you hold it and how you launch it if you do a follow-up to this. We used both a single time around the head launch and winding it multiple times around our head before letting it fly. Thanks again!
Yeah exactly I also share your experience with a sling not the size of a baked potato but more like a large marble. Man they used to fly outta sight or punch holes in the barn.
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 😂 !
as a preteen 9-12 I became interested in the sling and made several of different lengths and weights [not woven Balaeric style] I quickly discoverd I could throw a baseball weight stone farther and harder than I could pitch [left handed] and with a lot of practice could hit a wooden target the size of a dinner plate at 40-50 yards with a varieity of stones. Not far for an experienced slinger, but for me it was an amazing experience. Great video!!
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.
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.
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 RU-vid 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.
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!
It was some thirty years ago when I read an article about the value of slingers in ancient warfare. As an illustration, article writer mentioned the story of David and Goliath. Apparently Goliath wasn't too smart, or just plain arrogant. He heaped scorn on David for thinking he could be brought down with a stone. Too bad for him. Anyway, the author said this tale, and that David said he'd killed lions with his sling, served to prove just how accurate a slinger could be.
"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
As a Balearic Islander I approve of this video :'D We are still kind of proud of our slinging heritage and some people still practice it for fun and hold competitions regularly. It's a very fun activity to do when going hiking or camping because the sling itself is almost no bother to carry and you can find the ammunition literally lying around.
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
Probably a hell of a lot more to do than we have today to do. Our lifes today are easy compared to back then. We have infinitly more spare time today than they had back then. Their practice most likely came in the form of hunting birds and other small pray when ever the oppertynity appeared.
Fascinating how the ridge on the helmet successfully lessened the danger of a sling projectile. It makes one wonder if that was a deliberate construction choice.
Given the stats he included near the end, I'm half tempted to look up the closest equivalent projectile test they did. Someone probably has a spreadsheet online.
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.
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....
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?
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.
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
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 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 😉
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.
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.
I think slinging at a helmet on a rock actually minimizes the damage. The helmet can slip aside so easily. If there was a real body below, its inertia would make many of those hits much more serious.
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!
So cool, I love the double crack, one on release, one on impact. Must have been pretty terrifying. You've inspired me to have a go at a more traditional Balearic sling so I've sourced some esparto with an eye watering postage to the UK and going to have a go at your tutorial from a year ago! I've made ones out of other materials but never natural fibers but those esparto ones are things of beauty.
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.
@@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 still think that David was the underdog. Goliath was covered head to toe in armor and had a shield bearer in front of him. He also had a javelin so he wasn’t defenseless at a distance. If David hadn’t hit him in the right spot he likely would have been killed before he could load another stone into his sling.
David had one chance. Maybe two if both he and Goliath had missed their first attacks. David would not have had a chance to load a third sling. Buddy got a headshot with the first one tho
Great work! I hope you make more. Your attention to detail and free history lesson included in the ballistics demonstration makes for an excellent format. Cheers!
At 3:00 , it would be good to explain that bronze is inflexible/brittle metal armor. Bronze inability to flex or return to static state without snapping, is a key benefit of steel, later on Bronze lasts a very long time and forms a beautiful green sheen as it ages. Steel and Iron corod much faster, without proper maintenance
One of the first Scientific American magazines I bought (I wanna say the 1973 October issue) featured an article about slings. Accurate and deadly , shepherds would train while protecting their flocks from predators. Despite comments below, the slinger could choose which unsuspecting eye to take out at distances difficult for modern readers to believe. And remember biblical David, lightly armoured and able to run rings around Goliath in his heavy armour; David could take out a knee or a forehead at will, from an unreachable distance. It has been a few minutes since I read the article, but I believe I remember 400 yards mentioned as an attainable range. It was certainly longer than a modern football field, and beyond the range of a contemporary bow or javelin. A MOST formidable weapon. Thanks for the video! Oh, and you should never eat your enemy's melon. People might get the wrong idea. LOL
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.
Slingers advanced in skirmish order to harrass enemy troops and try to break up their formations and disrupt cohesion, then, being lightly equipped were able to move rapidly forward or back behind the regular lines of infantry.
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.
And back then every time you wounded a man you've suddenly occupied three men on the opposing line The man you injured The one pulling him out of line to get healed / drag his corpse And someone to hopefully plug the Gap in line
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.
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..
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.
Not even simply headshots Imagine a group of slingers suddenly moving into flanking position and breaking the arms and ribs and legs of the enemy through armor And someone in another comment mentioned how Alexander the Great like to use slingers as anti cavalry. This video demonstrated what a single slinger could do to a single Target... Now imagine them doing concentrated fire on a big easy target like the mounts of a cavalry unit
When I was in Somalia in 1992 the local kids showed us how to make a slings using boot laces. With some practice you could become incredibly accurate with them.
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.
As as kid I loved to throw stones and because of that I am really accurate with them. We threw so many stones in a local irrigation canal full of really big frogs.
Kinetic energy = 1/2mv^2 Therefore, velocity is FAR more important than mass (but mass is still important). Since there is a limit to how fast a human can throw, the best rock is one of a large mass that still allows for maximum speed. A sling allows for a significant increase in speed.
