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Häyhä used a Finnish variant, M/28, of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle (known as "Pystykorva" rifle, meaning "spitz"), because it suited his small frame (5 ft 3 in/1.60 m). He preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights to present a smaller target (the sniper must raise his head higher when using a telescopic sight), to prevent visibility risks (a telescopic sight's glass can fog up easily), and aid concealment (sunlight glare in telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper's position). Another tactic used by Häyhä was to compact the snow in front of him so that the shot wouldn't disturb the snow, thus revealing his position. He also kept snow in his mouth so that when breathing he wouldn't reveal his position.

jesus this guy was hardcore

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03-23-2010 , 10:56 AM

#402

Matt Williams

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Quote:

Originally Posted by LeapFrog

jesus this guy was hardcore

I think it's more like he didn't want to get shot at. It's a smart thing to do.

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03-23-2010 , 12:39 PM

#403

27offsuit

actions have consequences!

Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 38,535

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wrane

I watched a documentary of Jim Jones in a psych class. It was the real kool-aid moment. The pictures of people all over each other was sick.

Origin of the term, actually.

If you want to hear something really creepy, go listen to the Jonestown tapes. It's like the last hour of the Jonestown Massacre on tape as it devolves into madness and mayhem and then silence.

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03-23-2010 , 01:25 PM

#404

Disturbance

banned

Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 3,681

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Williams

I think it's more like he didn't want to get shot at. It's a smart thing to do.

505 confirmed kills in temperatures between −40 and −20 degrees Celsius makes him hardcore imo.

Plus he survived having half his face shot off

Spoiler:

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03-23-2010 , 01:32 PM

#405

chipchip

banned

Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 2,128

that looks shopped

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03-23-2010 , 01:41 PM

#406

Disturbance

banned

Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 3,681

lol ok, I copied it from Wikipedia

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03-23-2010 , 02:01 PM

#407

Phresh

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Quote:

Originally Posted by chipchip

that looks shopped

Yeah, I'm like 99% sure it's shopped using the Liquify tool. I could recreate it in 2 seconds and I suck at PSing. I looked for other pics of him and his jaw is messed up but doesn't look like that at all.

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03-23-2010 , 05:33 PM

#408

homeboy604

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Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 3,360

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Zetas

The group is extremely well armed, they wear body armor and some wear Kevlar ballistic helmets; their arsenal includes AR-15 and AK-47 rifles, MP5 submachine guns, .50 cal. machine guns, grenade launchers, surface-to-air missiles, dynamite and helicopters.[6] They are known to operate with modern wiretapping equipment. Los Zetas is known to operate with a higher tactical degree than the local authorities, often uniformed as Federal Preventive Police and driving similarly labeled vehicles. The group employes weaponry including grenade launchers and 50 cal. machine guns.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%27Ndrangheta

Italian anti-organized crime agencies estimated in 2007 that the 'Ndrangheta has annual revenue of about € 35–40 billion (US$50–60 billion), which amounts to approximately 3.5% of the GDP of Italy.[4][6] This comes mostly from illegal drug trafficking, but also from ostensibly legal businesses such as construction, restaurants and supermarkets.[

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03-23-2010 , 05:44 PM

#409

LeapFrog

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5,538

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Williams

I think it's more like he didn't want to get shot at. It's a smart thing to do.

Yes, it is smart to be able to remain motionless for god knows how long in insanely cold weather with a mouthful of snow, use iron sights to enhance concealment, etc. I'm sure all the other snipers who used scopes and didn't go the extra mile (a mouthful of snow for god knows how long in -20 to -40C) wanted to get shot...

My point was this guy took it to the next level, hence he was 'hardcore'.

edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Disturbance

505 confirmed kills in temperatures between −40 and −20 degrees Celsius makes him hardcore imo.

also this

In addition 200+ kills with his submachine gun.

Last edited by LeapFrog; 03-23-2010 at 05:53 PM.

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03-23-2010 , 09:02 PM

#410

Game Error

journeyman

Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 260

i think 200 kills with a submachine gun is way more impresive without getting shot. You are a lot closer to the enemy as a submachinegunner.

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03-23-2010 , 09:27 PM

#411

LeapFrog

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5,538

http://www.mosinnagant.net/finland/simohayha.asp

Quote:

As we sat in awe of the facts coming from this man he stated that many of his targets were indeed taken at over 400 yards and that he preferred sniping from a seated position. This last fact of being seated surprised most of us but he then explained he was small and could get really low in a hole in this manner. Mr. H�yh� stated that using the seated position made a very stable shooting platform even quickly showing us his "stance" while seated at the lunch table. I asked him what were the keys to his success and he said that practice with your weapon was important but that clear days made things much easier on him (and much harder on the Russians).

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The Finnish word Sisu roughly translates to guts in English, and this man was the embodiment of the word. The true sprit of Finland and the Finnish people lives in this quiet man. A perfect example of this was that Simo H�yh� told us that after he was shot in the face (this was a wound that took years to recover from) he still found his rifle and killed the Soviet that had wounded him. If there was ever a doubt about just how tough this man is/was, I think this story leaves little doubt in one's mind.

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I came away from our meetings with Simo H�yh� with a respect for the stately humility of the man. He did not look at himself as a great man but just as a Finn that was called to duty preserving the freedom of his nation. In his notice of death carried in a number of Finnish papers a quote from Simo H�yh� is used, and I feel it is a quote that sums up the man nicely and brings back strong memories of his visits with us. When he was asked about his service he simply stated, "I only did what was ordered, and did it as well as I could", this translation from the Finnish paper Helsingin Sanomat. This sentiment is exactly what he tried to convey to us in our group's meetings. He did tell us a number of stories of his actions but he always seemed to downplay the heroic nature of his deeds. While we all thought of him as a hero, it is not clear to me if Simo H�yh� thought of himself in the same manner. My feeling is he did not as Mr. H�yh� was modest about his actions, feeling he only did his duty. His modestly and soft-spoken nature are the two attributes that I will always remember when thinking of him.

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03-23-2010 , 09:28 PM

#412

LeapFrog

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 5,538

Quote:

Originally Posted by Game Error

i think 200 kills with a submachine gun is way more impresive without getting shot. You are a lot closer to the enemy as a submachinegunner.

yeah this is pretty insane. I'm guessing this dude was like the ultimate ambusher.

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03-23-2010 , 10:58 PM

#413

mikekelley

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Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,192

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Girl

quite possibly one of the most recognized photos of all time, i also think the backstory and finding her identity (both discussed in detail) are very interesting.

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03-23-2010 , 11:21 PM

#414

cables

old hand

Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,392

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeapFrog

yeah this is pretty insane. I'm guessing this dude was like the ultimate camper.

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03-23-2010 , 11:26 PM

#415

mikekelley

veteran

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,192

FKN CAMPERS ON DE_DUST

or would it be fy_iceworld??

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03-23-2010 , 11:38 PM

#416

WhiteGoose

confirmed loose

Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 13,009

Anyone like architecture and engineering?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propose...and_structures

The notably insane ones are;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_City_Tower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimizu_Mega-City_Pyramid
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_City_1000

Keep in mind that the Burj Khalifa is 828m which broke the CN Tower's record of 553m.

Some actually being built
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...r_construction

Cool ones being;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Sky_Tree
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Tower I love how it makes the Shanghai World Financial Center look hilariously small
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Spire Again it makes the Willis Tower look like an average building.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ms_by_capacity

The most interesting one being;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Stadion

"Since the stadium was set...on a flat area of land (24 hectares), its five tiers of seats for 400,000 spectators..."

The location of the world's largest active stadium is also notable.

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03-24-2010 , 02:19 PM

#417

ChipWrecked

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Weird, I can get to Wikipedia but all the language subdomains seem to be dead.

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03-24-2010 , 02:41 PM

#418

MMc

enthusiast

Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 84

The whole site seems to be down for me right now.

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03-24-2010 , 02:46 PM

#419

JMa

veteran

Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,328

http://techblog.wikimedia.org/2010/0...ilure-and-dns/

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03-25-2010 , 02:25 PM

#420

ceire

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great thread

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03-25-2010 , 07:51 PM

#421

Lymelife

old hand

Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1,210

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsis_nutricula

"This ability to reverse the life cycle (in response to adverse conditions) is probably unique in the animal kingdom, and allows the jellyfish to bypass death, rendering Turritopsis nutricula potentially biologically immortal"

Interesting regardless, though especially so if you're into Biology

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03-25-2010 , 08:11 PM

#422

jws43yale

veteran

Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,193

^ This is the 2nd if not 3rd time this has been posted, would be nice if people used the search function.

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03-25-2010 , 08:32 PM

#423

Lymelife

old hand

Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1,210

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegory_of_the_Cave

Changed it, will search from now on..

Last edited by Lymelife; 03-25-2010 at 08:33 PM. Reason: edit fail

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03-26-2010 , 02:11 PM

#424

Charlie.Dont.Surf

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Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2,837

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Rankin

Lieutenant Colonel William Rankin (c. 1920 — July 6, 2009) is the only known person to survive a fall from the top of a cumulonimbus thunderstorm cloud

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03-26-2010 , 04:06 PM

#425

knivesout

hot gay mess

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 5,275

Movies considered the worst of all time

Quote:

The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
Starring Eddie Murphy as the owner of a lunar nightclub, investigating who was behind the arson that destroyed his club, the film is considered to be one of the worst box-office flops of all time, grossing only around $7.1 million on its reported $100 million budget.[101] The film has a 6% rating at Rotten Tomatoes,[102] and was included in their Top 100 worst reviewed movies of the last 10 years.[37]

Quote:

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
Ed Wood's Plan 9 was labeled the "Worst Film Ever" by The Golden Turkey Awards. This movie marked the final appearance of Béla Lugosi. Wood idolized Lugosi, and before Lugosi's death, he shot a small amount of test footage of Lugosi. This was then placed in the movie and repeated several times. Following Lugosi's death, the character was then played by Tom Mason, the chiropractor of Wood's wife at the time, who played his scenes holding the character's cape in front of his face.

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