The Great Laxative Prank of World War II,During World War II, Germany’s fleet of U-Boats (submarines

The Great Laxative Prank of World War II,During World War II, Germany’s fleet of U-Boats (submarines) nearly brought the British to their knees as they disrupted Britain’s vital supply lines with the rest of the world.  It was top priority that the Allies destroy, cripple, or hinder the U-Boat fleet as the British relied heavily on the precious cargo of supplies and reinforcements from the United States and the Commonwealth.  In an earlier post, I detailed how the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) used itching powder to debilitate U-Boat crewman.  That was not the only childish prank pulled by the British during World War II against the U-Boat fleet.  Rather, an even more ambitious operation was conducted, making use of potent laxatives.For centuries many Norwegians have depending on fishing for a livelihood.  So word spread quickly when the German occupiers requisitioned the years entire sardine catch from Oslo.  Norwegian resistance quickly learned that the sardines were to become a part of a U-Boat’s standard rations, and passed the information to the SOE while requesting as much croton oil as the British could supply.  When ingested, croton oil has a powerful laxative effect, inflicting the worst case of the runs one could possibly suffer.  The SOE smuggled as much croton oil to the Norwegian Resistance as they could, who then passed it on to workers of Oslo’s fish canneries.  The workers then dosed the vegetable oil used in canning the sardines with the croton oil. The results of the sardine deception are not well known.  It is unknown if the act of sabotage decreased the performance of the U-Boat fleet, and it is unlikely that a bad case of the runs sunk any submarines.  However, the mere thought of 50 men enclosed in a cramped 200 foot long space airtight space all losing bowel control with only one available toilet is a truly horrifying thought.  It was a small edge for the Allies, but small edges can make or break great empires. -- source link

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