But what is the real application her? The brain, when imagining an activity, sends impulses to the muscles to make them bulk up? Can I get a brain implant that will do that for me so that I don't have to spend two hours a day thinking about lifting weights?

Does that mean that when I do lift weights, I'd be better off thinking about the weights that I'm lifting instead of my current habit of listening to music on my headphones?

Pfft! Never mind all that back snitchin hoo-har about previous articles not being up to par. If they think they can do better, then please let them submit themselves!

Well done DI, and well done Kiona!

The isolationist movement often claimed during the interbellum that the Zimmerman telegram had been a lie. The telegram was embarrasing for their cause as it proved that while the USA didn't want to get involved, it couldn't afford to ignore world politics without failing to protect American interests.

The German minister, Mr. Zimmerman, actually admitted directly after it was published, that he had sent the telegram. And there really was no reason why he shouldn't, as it contained nothing that was either treacherous or with bad intentions.

The telegram clearly stated that Germany did not want the USA to get involved in the war and would make every effort it could afford to keep them neutral. Only in the event that war proved to be unavoidable, was the German ambassador to seek an alliance with Mexico. The telegram clearly states that no such proposition was to be made before war had actually been declared between the USA and Germany. The telegram was therefore merely a precaution.

There is nothing wrong with a nation seeking allies in time of war. and to beseech them to attack a common enemy.

The reason why the telegram caused such an uproar was that it was presented in the press as a stab in the American back by the Germans. The real problem the United States government had with the telegram was that it announced the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, which had been suspended by Germany due to huge diplomatic pressure by the USA after the sinking of the Lusitania.

Meanwhile American merchant vessels were actively suplying Britain and France, not just with food but with weapons, munition and other military supplies also. The one thing Germany could no longer afford was to let it's most powerful weapon, the U-boats, remain impotent while it's own economy was smothered by the blockade by the British surface fleet.

The German economy was simply not capable of keeping up the war effort for more than another year and the only way to force Britain to negotiate peace within that time period was by strangling their island with U-boats. If that meant war with the USA, so be it.. The Germans hoped they would be able to force peace with Britain and France, as they had with Russia, before the USA could bring it's troops to bear. Without a European base their threat would be much lessened and their resolve lowered.

As a sidenote: It may very well be that the publication of the telegram in the American press and it's mispresentation therein was a carefully managed propaganda affair to get the American public war-ready after the United states government had decided it could not, and would not, accept the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare. But the telegram itself was authentic.

Offhand, I'd guess that back in the 18th century, it would have been a dicey proposition at best. They could probably have dug a hole deep into the rock, packed it with explosives, and then lit the fuse. Rock blasting goes back to the early 17th century, so it was well known to them. But the risk would have been that it would have destroyed just enough of the rock that it wouldn't have been visible from the surface, but still left enough that it would tear the bottoms out from passing ships. And without any sort of scuba gear, they wouldn't have been able to do more blasting or build a lighthouse.

Today, though? Yeah, why the hell not? Should be no trouble to knock it down flat with the surrounding sea floor.

At any rate though, this article was, indeed, damn interesting.

Damn Interesting is looking forward to your upcoming article submission, since you can obvz do a much better job than the current staff. Also, please submit it within two weeks because otherwise someone would have to be all, "take long enough?"