Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Double Pike


In March 1865, New Yorker Owen G. Warren proposed what he called "the double pike." It was essentially a shovel with a detachable scoop. Minus the scoop, it had two sharp spiked ends (hence the name). The scoop could then be attached to a jacket and used as a breastplate. Warren said, "In strong hands it more than matches the bayonet." His idea was never implemented.

Fifty years later, the U.S. Army began issuing the folding spade for digging trenches.

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