This Day in History: The OSS (Office of Strategic Services) was formed on this day (June 13) in 1942. The OSS was a precursor to the CIA, and early on it was involved in some strange projects. For instance, in World War II, they decided to strap bombs on to cats and drop them from planes with parachutes. They thought that since cats hated water, they would try to get away from the water and head to the closest ship (the intended target). This never really worked as the cats would lose consciousness during the drop.
There was also a failed attempt at using insects to spread anthrax in Spain.
"Throughout the war years, the OSS Research & Development successfully adapted Allied weapons and espionage equipment, and produced its own line of novel spy tools and gadgets, including silenced pistols, lightweight sub-machine guns, 'Beano' grenades that exploded upon impact, explosives disguised as lumps of coal ('Black Joe') or bags of Chinese flour ('Aunt Jemima'), acetone time delay fuses for limpet mines, compasses hidden in uniform buttons, playing cards that concealed maps, a 16mm Kodak camera in the shape of a matchbox, tasteless poison tablets, and cigarettes laced with tetrahydrocannabinol acetate (an extract of Indian hemp) to induce uncontrollable chattiness." ~Wikipedia
Famous TV cook Julia Child had a job with the OSS during the war. One of her tasks was developing shark repellent.
The Office of Strategic Services was disbanded after the war.
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