Will the Swiss Army achieve world domination....

A snowHead

....with this latest addition to its weapon of mass neutrality?

We are talking - of course - about the Swiss Army knife, which can now include a flash memory stick. This amusing report from The Enquirer.

Does the idea of the 'Swissbitch' appeal, and what ski-related application do you have for it?

A snowHead

Here's another report from The Register, with a photo.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

They have just showed it on BBC1. They also mentioned that there is now a "travel safe" Swiss Army knife - basically it doesn't have any blades in it...........not sure what it does have then?

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Presumably other items of cutlery. Maybe a soup spoon. There was a recent report that Swiss Army knives (including knives this time) were still being sold in the duty-free area of Geneva Airport (can somebody confirm/deny this?)

Maybe the idea is that you buy one, and Security promptly confiscate it. Next time I'm in that airport I must ask Security for a view of their collection - probably the most impressive in the country.

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I can confirm this, I think they post it to you, although last year they were more concerned about my metal hairslide than a swiss army knife.

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Yes they do the same at Zurich too, they also have my new Leatherman as I forgot it was in my rucksack from skiing earlier in the transfer day -DOH!

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I couldn't find any at Geneva airport last week - not that there were many shops open on Sat evening, but Zurich duty free were still selling them at the end of January.

After all it is free

Given this excellent first-hand reportage (thanks !) I think it would be best if the Swiss Army posted its sales soldiers in the check-in queue, so that everyone can slip their new purchases into their hold baggage.

We must maintain this entertaining industry.

I prefer the exclusivity of the Swiss Navy knives, but it's the inconsistency associated with "security" that can be frustrating. It would frequently be the case that one airline would insist on "all electrical items must be carried in hold baggage". On checking in to a different airline for the next stage of the trip the requirement would be "all electrical items to be carried in hand baggage". Too late guys! These days some airlines insist on doling out useless plastic cutlery (whilst still providing wine in glass bottles) whilst others seem perfectly happy to continue using the metal variety.

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I was stopped recently from taking my boots through security - I'm not sure, but could they be Swiss Army Carvers?

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Alan Craggs, I always think it's weird in the restaurants in the airport where they give you useless plastic knives and then wine in a glass! Or you can just pop to duty free and buy as many glass bottles as you like, all after the security checks. I'm sure the neck of a bottle or stem of a wine glass would be just as good as a knife to a terrorist.

...the most annoying thing is when you've stood for hours in the queue to be screened and the guy at the front is arguing with security staff about having things confiscated "....this is the third time you've taken my knife/gun/bomb" off me - wise up guys - if they took it off you once, they'll do it again next time!

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I worked out why the Swiss chose to be a neutral country. I mean, can you imagine the scene in the late 1800s, the Swiss army commander orders his men to prepare to charge. They are about to go, when he yells "fix bayonettes". The army stop, and spend half an hour trying to find the bayonette on their knives, and half of them go into battle with fixed nail-files, shouting "surrender, or we'll give you a manicure"

In contrast, the corkscrew is a fearsome weapon. Its only drawback is that the assailant has to rotate on a horizontal axis.

More information in Jane's Swiss Weaponry.

You know it makes sense.

David Goldsmith, I didn't know Sam's mum was into Swiss Weaponry!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Have seen a good picture of the Russian Army knife: 7 corkscrews, 4 beer bottle openers and nought else.

A snowHead

Cedric, that wouldn't go with the Russian Army utility belt would it?

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Maybe there is another use for knives in airports Cool

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Yes, a sort of swiss kebab, except that you spell it shwish kebab.

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The security inconsistencies show you just how cosmetic the rules are. You can take bottles on - I'd rather face someone armed with a pair of tweezers than a broken bottle; you can take safety razors on - remove the blade, affix it to a bic pen and hey presto, a scalpel. I'm sure there's more.

Incidentally, did wonder about the swiss army knives at Zurich duty free. But then you can buy fondue sets, too. Long spiky fork, anyone?

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Funily enough I understand that the Swiss neutrality came into being because the European armies always hired Swiss Mercenairies, apparently they were just to hard to beat in a battle so the Swiss agreed to be a neutral country, the only place their soldiers are allowed to serve outside of Switzerland,is the Vatican, again tied in to the same neutrality act.

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I still don't quite understand what you plug this Swiss Army memory stick into - a computerised cuckoo clock?

After all it is free

Well yes and no, unfortunately I cannot recall the name of the book where I read about the neutrality and mercenaries stuff or I'd give more details, interestingly the Germans expressed the desire during WWII to pass troops through Switzerland, the Swiss replied to the effect of "We are a neutral country and we will defend our right to be a neutral country to the last man" at first Adolf was rather upset then someone pointed out the fact that the Swiss could call up almost every adult male in the country and that they all had weapons, did Adolf decide against passing through Switzerland .... damm right !

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So Adolf was scared of a swiss army knife?

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Surprisingly for a neutral country Switzerland has always had a very well trained and equiped Army, now bearing this in mind and the fact that old Adolf was having a bad time with the French Resistance at the time who were in no way as well trained or equiped as the Swiss would have been, plus the natural defensive capabilities of the terrain and you may get an idea as to why he decided an alternative option was in order ! Oh and for those of you who joke about the Swiss navy http://www.swissnavy.ch/ yep it really does exist, even if they do only have very small patrol boats, I think on lake Konstanz/Bodensee and lake Geneva/Leman also I believe they patrol the Rhine during wartime as Switzerland has a fair sized commercial fleet, At one time (i'm not certain if it is still true) Switzerland was also belived to have the best airforce in Europe ! So good that the Israelies modeled their own airforce on it !

Airforce and Navy both come under the command of the Army

The Swiss neutrality - a combination of many years of fighting for territorial integrity (Napolean, Hapsburgs, Milanese, etc.) and many years of mercenary-ness. If you're on the cross-roads you'll be well walked over. Plus I'm sure that the fact that different regions of the country have diiferent external affiliations had some effect. The 1848 civil war probably helped to keep it, too.

In WWII the neutrality was in part protected from the fact that the Germans knew they needed to keep supply lines to/from Italy open and the Swiss could close them at a moments notice. As long as there were no trrop movements (didn't need to be as Austria was an easy route through the Alps), then they could be used to run other supplies through. That and the fact that the Swiss Germans were happy to sell arms (I think Schaffhausen was the only Swiss city bombed by the allies, but Oerlikon mjay have been, as well).

The allies got some use out of the country's neutrality through espianage and escaped servicemen.

Also, I think I read somewhere (though can't recall the figures, sso may be wrong) that despite the (justified) scandal, more Jewish and other people were saved by Swiss (if not the government) than were turned back.

Of course, being neutral doesn't necessarily amount to much as the Norwegians found out.

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I added a couple of bits of info to my earlier post after skanky quoted mine, sorry Embarassed

A snowHead

'Sokay. The air force may have been affected that they couldn't fly in a straight line for more than ten minutes at a time.

An addition to the cuckoo clock comment from the quote in the "Swiss Humour" thread from the Third Man...500 hundred years of brotherly love included a civil war (though only a couple of hundred people died in it), and much mercenaryness.

A snowHead

The first declaration of Swiss neutrality came in 1515 after their defeat at the battle of Marignano in Northern Italy. This battle in fact was considered a landmark event in the history of warfare as it marked the defeat of the invincible Swiss infantry by cavalry and artillery. The declaration was not related to mercenaries.

Swiss mercenaries were common before and after 1515, to an extent they were common across Europe at this time anyway. The practice lasted barely 200 years, until the Spanish war of the succession in fact, when Swiss mercanaries found themselves facing each other. The only further use of Swiss mercenaries was the Vatican Swiss Guard of course.

The civil war was 1847 not 1848, the latter date marks the new federal constitution and would codify neutrality but's not especially related to it.

Napolean wasn't born until the late 18th century so had little to do with events in Switzerland in 1515.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

skanky, I do recall a friend of mine who's a Major in the Swiss army telling me that a few years ago the Swiss bought a bunch of new fighters from the US and that the US pilots who normally ferry them direct to the airbases took one look at where they'd have to land and decided that it was "Impossible" so ended up landing at places such as Basle airport ! The Swiss pilots duely got in the planes and flew them straight to their bases with no problems Cool

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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It was working there for two years that got me interested, but as I wasn't actually living there, I really only dipped a toe in the subject - and that was two years ago. It's like anything, I know a little, get into a discussion and realise I know very little (plus ai very a very bad memory). It is a dangerous thing, as they say.

It is an intriguing subject though, and I enjoyed my time there an awful lot, which helped.

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Will the Swiss Army achieve world domination....

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