this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2025
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Funny

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[–] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 76 points 1 month ago (3 children)

This is a myth from 1940s Britain

[–] hildegarde@lemmy.blahaj.zone 70 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

"How is the RAF so incredibly good at spotting German planes at night and in the fog?"

don't say radar don't say radar don't say radar "ummm yes... its carrots. Carrots, lots of carrots, that's it! Its because they... um... improve eyesight."

[–] Unpigged@lemmy.dbzer0.com 33 points 1 month ago (3 children)

It's funny that for an 'average' person at that time a carrot theory was satisfying enough to stop looking for other explanation, ie technology based.

[–] Isoprenoid@programming.dev 17 points 1 month ago

It's not that it was a satisfying theory, it's that it was misinformation spread by the propaganda machine at the time.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/carrots-cant-help-you-see-in-the-dark-heres-how-world-war-ii-propaganda-campaign-popularized-the-myth-28812484/

[–] criitz@reddthat.com 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Nutrition was and remains to be poorly understood

[–] Denjin@lemmings.world 5 points 1 month ago

RADAR was one of those inventions that they thought was completely revolutionary, and it was, but was far less "unique" than the creators originally believed.

The large air and naval search arrays all over southern England had been spotted by the Germans even before the war and they accurately worked out what they were for and reverse engineered them purely from reconnaissance photographs.

The special thing about the RAF at the time was that they'd managed to make units small enough to fit on board planed which was the big advantage they hid as being carrots.

Funny story, so convinced were the British that the concept of RADAR couldn't have been copied by Germany that when they surveyed the Graf Spee while in dock at Montevideo, with the RADAR antennas, identical to those on British and American ships clearly visible they still didn't believe the Germans could develop the technology.

[–] Windex007@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

Good Lord, what is happening in there?

Uh... Carrots?

Carrots? At this time of night?

In this fog?

At this distance?

Localized entirely around the island of England?

...yes

May I try some?

..no

[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 20 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The most effective piece of propaganda in history.

Nah, that's either a whole bunch of what Rome had to say about their neighbors or the Catherine the Great is a Horse Fucker slander.

[–] Beetschnapps@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

This is stupidity from 2020s reality…

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 28 points 1 month ago

ohh is that why I never see rabbits with glasses?

[–] Worx@lemmynsfw.com 17 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Fun fact: carrots were invented before glasses, so the first person to eat a carrot would not have been wearing glasses

[–] kinkles@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 month ago

So contacts then

[–] Deathray5@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 1 month ago

And most of the first carrots would be purple

[–] Droggelbecher@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Super tangential but this fucks with my head so much. How people would just navigate a blurry ass world until, historically speaking, very recently.

[–] sulgoth@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

If you're into anime look up Doctor Stone, they touch on just this early on.

[–] Shortstack@reddthat.com 15 points 1 month ago

Also the first Canadian to eat a carrot

[–] slazer2au@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Only at night time though. He would still need his glasses during the day.

[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 40 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This is actually a common myth. Carrots do not affect night sight.

The reason why rabbits see so well during night is because they have radar.

[–] Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Is that why their ears are so big?

[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yup. One ear for search, the other is for tracking. If you boop their snoot you activate pulse doppler mode and track-while-scan.

[–] Deathray5@lemmynsfw.com 7 points 1 month ago

I'm unreasonably annoyed that the carrot isn't purple

[–] nostradamnit@infosec.pub 6 points 1 month ago

The first carrot was purple

[–] Gerudo@lemm.ee 4 points 1 month ago

Sounds like big carrot agenda.

[–] CoffeeJunkie@lemmy.cafe 4 points 1 month ago

Fellow Zeducation viewer

[–] h3mlocke@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah i always misplace my glasses when eating a carrot.

[–] Nasan@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 month ago

You know you bit into a good carrot when the crunch knocks the glasses off your head.

[–] fibojoly@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

"+2 Perception and improved night sight? Nice !"