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AnaphoricReference t1_j3t48i9 wrote

Reply to comment by Riverwalker12 in Why were granades unused during the 15th and 16th century? by Hunter7695

I think 'somewhat unreliable' is probably a huge understatement. Fuses where completely unpredictable compared to for instance modern cheap fireworks, and both too fast and too slow are very bad.

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Riverwalker12 t1_j3t529o wrote

I originally was going to post very unreliable, but I figured someone would object...LOL oh well

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throw4jklfj t1_j3wp03p wrote

Yeah no matter what you do some dweeb is gonna come at you with the " well akshually"

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ramriot t1_j3usjbc wrote

BTW an early of cannon had a short barrel & was slung from an A-frame, it was used as a door breaching device. Fuses as you said were sometimes unreliable which among other failure modes could sometimes kill the cannoneer.

This device was called a petard, hence the phrase, Being hoist by one's own petard.

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