this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2025
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YOU'RE MORE IMPORTANT, PLINY, YOU HAVE TO LIVE (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 days ago by PugJesus@lemmy.world to c/historymemes@lemmy.world
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[–] Danquebec@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 days ago (5 children)

I wonder what the reaction of someone who never heard of guns would be if you pointed a gun at them.

I don't think you could use it to compel them to do anything.

[–] Shayeta@feddit.org 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Threat that comes from pointing a gun at someone mostly comes from the body language and the facial expression of the shooter, knowing what a gun does empowers the threat, it doesn't truly create it on its own.

Someone who doesn't know what a gun is could definitely infer that it is a weapon, and that they are within its effective range. All that JUST from the body language of the shooter.

[–] Danquebec@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Interesting thought. Indeed, the person might think it's some sort of exotic bolt thrower.

But I think it's as likely they might think it's a device held to be magical. And then it all depends on how effective they expect it to be.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Interesting thought. Indeed, the person might think it’s some sort of exotic bolt thrower.

Pliny, as an extremely well-educated man, actually wrote a bit on chemical and incendiary weapons at the time. So while the notion of the chemicals being a propellant would be foreign to him, a warning shot from the smoke-and-thunder tube would probably give him a good basic idea of what he was facing - a machine that inflicted some form of harm via a projectile accompanied by fire and chemicals.

[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Interesting thought. Indeed, the person might think it’s some sort of exotic bolt thrower.

Pliny: "Fascinating! May I see it? I'm interested in this machine's functioning!"

Me, overwhelmed by the interest of such an illustrious scholar: "Oh, of course!"

Pliny: "How does it activate?"

Me: "You just point it at what you want to kill and pull the trigger, which launches the projectile."

Pliny, pointing the pistol at me: "You are going to help me rescue Pomponianus."

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