This is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time. In 1964 military authorities tested the effects of LSD on a section of Royal Marines. As you can see the results were startling or hilarious, depending on your point of view!
And not to be outdone, heres Uncle Sam‘s finest undergoing the same kind of test…
You know what? Take that film of the British soldiers, substitute WW2 uniforms from ANY country, and you have an accurate portrayal of Sunday afternoon at about a dozen “tactical” (no audiences) re-enactments I’ve participated in! Having arrived on Friday afternoon, made camp, gotten little or no sleep (usually due to drinking the night away, or in my case, riding herd on those who were drinking), slogging around all day Saturday with no rest and little food, and another night of festivities, by Sunday afternoon, most of us looked just like those chaps! (Well, maybe not the loon climbing the tree, or the other guy chopping one down!)
Its the guy at the start that got me, he didn’t know who he was or where the hell he was. And yeah, the tree antics are priceless!
Yes, Monty Python did it first, and their version is pretty good, but I still think I prefer Bill Murray leading the boys in Stripes. To cadence: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To get from the left to the right! He stepped out of rank, got hit by a tank, he ain’t no chicken no more. No!” Or the classic line: “Where’s your drill sergeant?” “Blowed up, sir!” “You completed Basic training on your own?” “Das de fact, Jack!” Only in the US Army could that NOT get you shot, but get you PROMOTED!
I’m sure we were shown this in Basic Training whilst at Lympstone (though I might be wrong…) Absolute quality!
Great site btw, very extensive – good work!
It’s a hilarious clip, one day I’ll look at the report on the tests in the National Archives!