Blue Peacock Mine

It’s hard to overstate just how silly the blue peacock mine was. You only need to be aware that this weapon relies on chickens to keep it warm to truly understand what a ridiculous notion it was, actual chickens. A 10-kiloton nuclear weapon was meant to be buried on the North German plain in order for a blue peacock mine to function. Until the Soviet Army invaded, they would remain there, underground. A tripwire or an eight-day timer would set off the mines' explosion. The goal was to eliminate all military infrastructure in the region and stop the Soviet Union from settling there as a result of nuclear contamination and damage.

The cold temperatures the mines would be subjected to could pose a risk because of the region of the world this was in. If the electronics were buried underground, they might get too cold to operate correctly. Therefore, the way to stop this was to put live chickens within the mine. With enough food and drink to last them for roughly a week, they would also have enough body heat to keep the mine operating. Since it was April 1, 2004, many individuals believed the initial declassification of this information was an April Fool's hoax. But it wasn't a joke. The concept of the chicken mine seemed all too real.

Country of origin: the United Kingdom