US Military Used the Ace of Spades to Scare the Viet Cong

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

US Military Used the Ace of Spades to Scare the Viet Cong US Military Used The Ace Of Spades To Scare The Viet Cong National Card Playing Day is observed annually across the United States on December 28. In the 9th century, the Chinese began developing games using money and other paper objects. These early playing cards bear no resemblance to the sturdier European playing cards that developed a few centuries later. Card games spread around the world in a variety of shapes and styles. From the elaborate Mamluk designs of Egypt to the appearance of the first playing cards during the Early Renaissance in Europe, the decks were divided into four suits of coins, cups, swords and sticks or batons. It is from these four suits that today’s modern decks of playing cards developed. Theories range how the suits converted to hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs. One theory suggests the suits represent the different classes of the era – clergy, aristocracy, military and peasantry. In India, the ten suited card game of Ganjifa became popular during the Moghul period. Traditionally, artists hand paint a stunning scene on each of the 120 cards in the deck. A standard pack of cards may be used for playing a variety of card games, with varying elements of skill and chance, some of which are played for money. Some of the top card games include Spades, Poker, Solitaire, Spite and Malice, Hearts, Spoons, Gin Rummy, Ridge, Black Jack and Texas Hold’em. Of course, there are thousands of card games, some of which are regional favorites. The French suit symbols we are most familiar with (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades) are a variation of the German suit symbols used in the late 1370s. Those symbols include Acorns, Leaves, Hearts and Bells. Even earlier than that in the 14th century, the symbols were Cups, Swords, Coins and Batons, which were copied by the Italians. It wasn’t until the 1480s that the French suit symbols became popular and are still widely used today in America and other regions. French card decks (the version we use today) were modeled after renowned historical figures. These personalized playing cards included Charlemagne (King of Hearts), Julius Caesar (King of Diamonds), Alexander the Great (King of Clubs) and King David from the Holy Bible (King of Spades). The most iconic card deck known to Americans is the Bicycle brand. Dating back to 1885, Bicycle cards were used by (and continue to be used by) magicians, gamblers and card players across the globe. Playing cards didn’t just help American soldiers during World War II. They also assisted them during the Vietnam War in 1966, two U.S. lieutenants had an idea to create psychological warfare among the Viet Cong. The lieutenants knew three very important things: 1) that the French used playing cards to foretell the future, 2) that the Ace of Spades signified a forewarning of death, and 3) that the Viet Cong were very superstitious people. So, they decided to use this information to create a very methodical scare tactic for their enemies. After contacting the United States Playing Card Company, they coordinated a shipment of thousands of crates full of only Ace of Spades cards to be sent to the warzone areas of Southeast Asia and dispersed throughout the jungles to frighten the Viet Cong. They were successful in their scare tactic. Sources: National Day Calendar Shuffled Ink.
Recommended publications
  • Pinochle & Bezique
    Pinochle & Bezique by MeggieSoft Games User Guide Copyright © MeggieSoft Games 1996-2004 Pinochle & Bezique Copyright ® 1996-2005 MeggieSoft Games All rights reserved. No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems - without the written permission of the publisher. Products that are referred to in this document may be either trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners. The publisher and the author make no claim to these trademarks. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of information contained in this document or from the use of programs and source code that may accompany it. In no event shall the publisher and the author be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this document. Printed: February 2006 Special thanks to: Publisher All the users who contributed to the development of Pinochle & MeggieSoft Games Bezique by making suggestions, requesting features, and pointing out errors. Contents I Table of Contents Part I Introduction 6 1 MeggieSoft.. .Games............ .Software............... .License............. ...................................................................................... 6 2 Other MeggieSoft............ ..Games..........
    [Show full text]
  • Dashabatar Taas of Bishnupur
    Lost Game: Dashabatar Taas of Bishnupur Tarun Tapas Mukherjee Assistant Professor, Bhatter College, West Bengal, India Picture 1: Dashabatar Taas of Bishnupur by Sital Fouzdar: one of the court-cards from each suit The Dynasty and the Game Bishnupur witnessed the rise of a glorious tradition of art, craft and culture since the 700 AD under the patronage of the Malla kings of Bankura. The tradition reached its zenith during the reign (1565—1620 A.D) of Malla king Veer Hambir, the 49th ascender to the throne. His long and stable reign can be called the golden era of arts and culture—classical in taste and nature. The tradition was carried forward by his successors King Raghunath Singha and his son Veer Singha. Art, literature and music reached their heights through research, experimentation, training and application. After his conversion to Vaishnavism, according to some authors, under the influence of Vaishnav guru Srinivas Acharya, Veer Hambir was inspired to create a distinct style of art and to nurture a different type of cultural atmosphere in Bishnupur.i The establishment of Vaishanavism might have had something to do with enjoying pastime in a different and non-violent way and this might have given birth to the game of ‘Dashabatar taas’. Vaishanavism also hints that the game might have been imported Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design, (ISSN 2231—4822), Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2011 URL of the Issue: www.chitrolekha.com/v1n2.php Available at www.chitrolekha.com/V1/n2/09_Dashabatar_Taas_of_Bishnupur.pdf Kolkata, India. © Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design.
    [Show full text]
  • British Art Studies September 2020 Elizabethan and Jacobean
    British Art Studies September 2020 Elizabethan and Jacobean Miniature Paintings in Context Edited by Catharine MacLeod and Alexander Marr British Art Studies Issue 17, published 30 September 2020 Elizabethan and Jacobean Miniature Paintings in Context Edited by Catharine MacLeod and Alexander Marr Cover image: Left portrait: Isaac Oliver, Ludovick Stuart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, later Duke of Richmond, ca. 1605, watercolour on vellum, laid onto table-book leaf, 5.7 x 4.4 cm. Collection of National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 3063); Right portrait: Isaac Oliver, Ludovick Stuart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, later Duke of Richmond, ca. 1603, watercolour on vellum, laid on card, 4.9 x 4 cm. Collection of Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (FM 3869). Digital image courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London (All rights reserved); Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (All rights reserved). PDF generated on 21 July 2021 Note: British Art Studies is a digital publication and intended to be experienced online and referenced digitally. PDFs are provided for ease of reading offline. Please do not reference the PDF in academic citations: we recommend the use of DOIs (digital object identifiers) provided within the online article. Theseunique alphanumeric strings identify content and provide a persistent link to a location on the internet. A DOI is guaranteed never to change, so you can use it to link permanently to electronic documents with confidence. Published by: Paul Mellon Centre 16 Bedford Square London, WC1B 3JA https://www.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk In partnership with: Yale Center for British Art 1080 Chapel Street New Haven, Connecticut https://britishart.yale.edu ISSN: 2058-5462 DOI: 10.17658/issn.2058-5462 URL: https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk Editorial team: https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk/about/editorial-team Advisory board: https://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk/about/advisory-board Produced in the United Kingdom.
    [Show full text]
  • Ganjifa, the Delicate Art on These Tiny Playing Cards
    Kunapipi Volume 22 Issue 2 Article 7 2000 Raghupathi Bhatta: Reviving a Dying Art June Gaur Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/kunapipi Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Gaur, June, Raghupathi Bhatta: Reviving a Dying Art, Kunapipi, 22(2), 2000. Available at:https://ro.uow.edu.au/kunapipi/vol22/iss2/7 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Raghupathi Bhatta: Reviving a Dying Art Abstract Raghupathi Bhatta of Mysore, one of India's most promising traditional artists, hails from a family of South-Indian Pandits (Brahamin priests). It was in the ancient town of Nagamangala, seventy kilometers from Mysore, that his artistic imagination was fired. First, by the exquisite details of Hoysala craftsmanship in the temples there, and then, by the beautiful nineteenth-century playing cards of the Mysore Maharaja, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. He began his artistic career by learning Ganjifa, the delicate art on these tiny playing cards. But there were no gurus in the family from whom he could learn this centuries-old craft which had fascinated him since he was a child. To quote Bhatta: 'In the early seventies, I bought a few Ganjifa paintings from the Mysore Palace. Since then, it's grown into an obsession and I've lived for, and by Ganjifa, collecting as much information as I could, including old photographs and cards from all over India and Nepal'. This journal article is available in Kunapipi: https://ro.uow.edu.au/kunapipi/vol22/iss2/7 Raghupathi Bhatta: Reviving a Dying Art 33 JUNE GAUR Raghupathi Bhatta: Reviving a Dying Art Raghupathi Bhatta of Mysore, one of India's most promising traditional artists, hails from a family of South-Indian Pandits (Brahamin priests).
    [Show full text]
  • Remarking an Analisation Revisiting the Artisans
    P: ISSN NO.: 2394-0344 RNI No.UPBIL/2016/67980 VOL-3* ISSUE-12* (Part-2) March- 2019 E: ISSN NO.: 2455-0817 Remarking An Analisation Revisiting the Artisans of the Dashavatara Cards of Bishnupur, Bankura, West Bengal Abstract Games are a good source of recreation and a common pass time cutting across the people and country. Playing or watching games constitute an important feature of our culture, both because of their significance in the lives of the people and their capability to bring families and communities together, and because of the degree of creativity and skill that work into devising them. No indoor games can match the passion with which the cards are played in India. Playing cards is often considered a pass time , a pleasure to neutralize the burdens of life which people face generally in their personal or professional lives. In Medieval period, the Mughal emperors introduced the Ganjifa playing cards in India. Bishnpur, in the Bankura district of West Bengal was the only place in Bengal, where the Hinduized Ganjifa popularly known as the Dashavatara cards were crafted by the artisans. Though, in course of time, the game was changed here both in its content and rules. The artisans from the Faujdar family of Bishnupur specialize in crafting these cards. Though the craft once enjoyed a glorious time, now it has become an instance of the numerous art forms of India that are gradually becoming extinct, as they are not commercially feasible in their own land of origin. Keywords: Artisan, Ganjifa, Dashavatar, Cards, Craft, Game. Introduction Sanjay Prasad Playing cards is often regarded as a means of pleasure and Associate Professor, enjoyment to be relieved from burdens of life which we generally confront Dept.
    [Show full text]
  • GLAD EASTER BELLS Gate."
    era and year may learn lessons peculiar to the itself. is more certain than thai at Columbia Theater next Wednesday H"I'ert Keicey will be married an BELLS Nothing afternoon, the 18th instant, for the benefit at GLAD EASTER we are entering upon one of the greatest of the Christ day. The "obstacle" has been Mrs. Ke!cey. eras in human history. Problems of the Child Society. These young and she is said to have hell ladies have devoted themselves to instru- to the relinquished profoundest meaning are waiting for theil mental music, rights popular leading man. true solution; questions of widest reach are their instruments being the violin, piano and violoncello. and on these Stuart Robson cloes Out a of Peace demanding immediate answers. Was the each has in "Oliver Gold, They Ring Message rece-nt pence conference at The Hague en- achieved a high degree of skill. smith'' in New York this week. of Their program for Wednesday after- tirely in vain? The two great branches noon is Jacob Litt and Good Will. th, Anglo-Saxon race are now engaged Ir well calculated to display their has secured the dramaile all abilities in the line of their specialty. as rights of Stanley Weyman's romattic <lwily warfare. Is the time when inter- ell as in ntiontlial difficulties are to be settled by in- solo work. A very Interesting story. "Castle inn." teriational arbitration inlefinitely postpon- feature of the program will be various num- 11 bers of the suites composed by Edward Hilda Spong is to succeed Manner.
    [Show full text]
  • BLACKJACK It’S Easy to Ace the Game of Blackjack, One of the Most Popular Table Games at Hollywood Casino and Around the World
    BLACKJACK It’s easy to ace the game of Blackjack, one of the most popular table games at Hollywood Casino and around the world. Object of the Game Your goal is to draw cards that total 21, or come closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. How To Play • The dealer and each player start with two cards. The dealer’s first card faces up, the second faces down. Face cards each count as 10, Aces count as 1 or 11, all others count at face value. An Ace with any 10, Jack, Queen, or King is a “Blackjack.” • If you have a Blackjack, the dealer pays you one-and-a-half times your bet — unless the dealer also has a Blackjack, in which case it’s a “push” and neither wins. • If you don’t have Blackjack, you can ask the dealer to “hit” you by using a scratching motion with your fingers on the table. • You may draw as many cards as you like (one at a time), but if you go over 21, you “bust” and lose. If you do not want to “hit,” you may “stand” by making a side-to-side waving motion with you hand. • After all players are satisfied with their hands the dealer will turn his or her down card face up and stand or draw as necessary. The dealer stands on 17 or higher. BLACKJACK Payoff Schedule All winning bets are paid even money (1 to 1), except for Blackjack, which pays you one-and-a-half times your bet or 3 to 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Penguin Book of Card Games
    PENGUIN BOOKS The Penguin Book of Card Games A former language-teacher and technical journalist, David Parlett began freelancing in 1975 as a games inventor and author of books on games, a field in which he has built up an impressive international reputation. He is an accredited consultant on gaming terminology to the Oxford English Dictionary and regularly advises on the staging of card games in films and television productions. His many books include The Oxford History of Board Games, The Oxford History of Card Games, The Penguin Book of Word Games, The Penguin Book of Card Games and the The Penguin Book of Patience. His board game Hare and Tortoise has been in print since 1974, was the first ever winner of the prestigious German Game of the Year Award in 1979, and has recently appeared in a new edition. His website at http://www.davpar.com is a rich source of information about games and other interests. David Parlett is a native of south London, where he still resides with his wife Barbara. The Penguin Book of Card Games David Parlett PENGUIN BOOKS PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia) Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia
    [Show full text]
  • Surface Water Supply of the United States 1915
    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIQK FRANKLIN K. LANE, Secretary UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY .GEORGE OTIS SMITH,' Director Water-Supply Paper 414 SURFACE WATER SUPPLY OF THE UNITED STATES 1915 PAET XII. NORTH PACIFIC DRAINAGE BASINS C. LOWJEE COLUMBIA EIYEE AND PACIFIC DEAETAGE BATONS IN OEEGON NATHAN C. GROVER, Chief Hydraulic Engineer F. F. HENSHAW and G. L. PARKER, District Engineers Prepared in cooperation with the States of OREGON AND WASHINGTON WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT FEINTING OFFICE 1918 ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION' MAY BE PBOCURED FEOM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVEENMENT FEINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 20 CENTS PER COPY V CONTENTS. Page. Authorization and scope of work........................................... 7 Definition of terms. .........................................*............. 8 Convenient equivalents.................................................. 9 Explanation of data.................................................... 11 Accuracy of field data and computed results................................ 13 Cooperation.............................................................. 14 Division of work........................................................... 15 GagingHStation records. ....... .«....................-.................:... 15 Columbia River at The Dalles, Oreg................................... , 15 Tributaries of Columbia River below mouth of Snake River............ 17 Walla Walla River basin........................................... 17 South Fork of Walla Walla River near Milton, Oreg.............
    [Show full text]
  • Spirit Keeper's Tarot, Marseille, RWS, and Thoth Correspondences
    SKT, TDM, RWS, AND THOTH TAROT KEY CORRESPONDENCES (By Standardized Order) Major Arcana 22 Keys Spirit Keeper’s Tarot Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth (SKT) (TdM) (RWS) 0: The Initiate 0: The Fool 0: The Fool 0: The Fool 0: The Seeker 0: The Keeper 1: The Magus I: The Magician I: The Magician I: The Magus (or The Juggler) (or The Juggler) 2: The Priestess II: The Popess II: The High Priestess II: The Priestess (or The High Priestess) 3: The Empress III: The Empress III: The Empress III: The Empress 4: The Emperor IV: The Emperor IV: The Emperor IV: The Emperor 5: The Holy See V: The Pope V: The Hierophant V: The Hierophant 6: The Lovers VI: The Lovers VI: The Lovers VI: The Lovers (or The Brothers) 7: The Chariot VII: The Chariot VII: The Chariot VII: The Chariot 8: The Force VIII: Justice VIII: Strength VIII: Adjustment [XI: Strength] [XI: Lust] 9: The Erudite IX: The Hermit IX: The Hermit IX: The Hermit 10: Wheel of Life X: The Wheel of X: Wheel of Fortune X: Fortune Fortune 11: The Chancellor XI: Strength XI: Justice XI: Lust [VIII: Justice] [VIII: Adjustment] Page 1 of 12 SKT: TdM, RWS, and Thoth Key Correspondences By Standardized Order Spirit Keeper’s Tarot Tarot de Marseilles Rider-Waite-Smith Thoth (SKT) (TdM) (RWS) 12: The Outlaw XII: The Hanged Man XII: The Hanged Man XII: The Hanged Man 13: The Reaper XIII: Death XIII: Death XIII: Death (Untitled) 14: The Angel XIV: Temperance XIV: Temperance XIV: Art 15: The Demon XV: The Devil XV: The Devil XV: The Devil 16: The Tower XVI: The Tower XVI: The Tower XVI: The Tower
    [Show full text]
  • The Image of the Turk in Early Modern Board Games and Playing Cards
    THE IMAGE OF THE TURK IN EARLY MODERN BOARD GAMES AND PLAYING CARDS ÖMER FATİH PARLAK PHD THESIS Directed by DR. MARÍA JOSÉ VEGA RAMOS and DR. LARA VILÀ TOMAS Literary Theory and Comparative Literature Department of Spanish Literature Faculty of PhiLosophy and Arts BarceLona 2019 In memory of my father, Adem Parlak (1949-2014) TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... 5 TABLE OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 8 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... 9 ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... 10 RESUMEN ......................................................................................................................... 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. 12 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 15 GAMES INDEX ................................................................................................................... 23 Germany ...................................................................................................................... 23 Italy .............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Lift Every Voice
    CHAPTER SEVEN Selma, Alabama, June 1985: Building Bridges from the Bottom Up W HolJT," ROfe Sanden ha<l warned me when the picked me up from the airport in Montgomery in Iune 1985, a wtek prior ro the flnt day of trial. •s.!ma Clln change you, M Rote wlrispem:l. ~selma changes people's u~.. It ch1Jl8fd my life." Rose was remindi.rlg me of the nffii to mnlln COI\Mded to the paasion and indlgn&don that gave the dvil rights movoment its nrength and its reaillenar. By the m.ld- 1~ th<e dvil ris)lo movement was in danRer of sua:umbing ro empty plmi~es and JYIOflll lndifferenca in the Wiute House and Congress, where a few fmOOth phrases about voting rightl resembled the obliga­ tory nondanominational pnyer. • meaningless sesture In which the words carry no Jubs~ance. "Watch out, • Rose repeated, smiling this time despite the heat. It wa6 one of t:hoae 'ultry, heavy Alabema summer afttrnoont. I oould feel my forehead already slistening with sweat. /U we dtovu &om the airport to Selma, Rose wos expla.ining her dedsion to •m.lc there. R0$4! was guided by a romantic vision that peid tribute to Selma u a site of historic struggle. 1\ut her life wu hardly the stu!f of f.mtasy. Her deli· nitlon of a S®Cnsfullifc meant a:mtinuing that~ At live f.eot five, Rose Sanders is a duvith of ~ergy and enrhusi­ um. One of htr most strllcing c:hanctemtics is her voice. If sounds perpetually hotne, almost grawlly, as if driven by an inner urgency and paseion.
    [Show full text]