Now although there is some science backing the verity of Vitamin A in carrots being good for maintaining your eyes, World War 2 propaganda took the study to a whole other level. Wartime efforts twisted the idea into a myth that carrots improved eyesight, and could even help consumers see in the dark. From Blitzkriegs to radio wave technology, the propaganda was used as a way to trick the Germans, and hide the newfound technology of radars in combat.
In light of the Blitzkriegs from German forces, British cities often issued citywide blackouts, which would make it near impossible for the German planes to hit their targets. However, the Allies soon caught on to aerial warfare, and even developed a new radar technology to help strike in the dark: the on-board Airborne Interception Radar. The technology allowed the Allies to target and pinpoint incoming Blitzkrieg bombers in the dark, and a night fighter, known as John Cunningham, was able use the technology to rack up 19 kills in the darkness of night. However, the Ministry of Food credited the pilot's success to his consumption of carrots, rather than the lethal technology. The Ministry even went as far as to spread pamphlets dictating that carrots would help the British civilians see during the citywide blackouts.
The propaganda was for a multitude of reasons. First, the success of the radar technology was a huge advantage in the war, and was undeveloped by the German forces. Of course, the British wanted to retain the edge over their enemy, and thus set out to trick the Germans. The media attempted to show how instead of a technological advancement, it was rather the superior British night vision from carrots that resulted in success.
However, the propaganda backfired, and German intelligence services became aware of the ground-based radar installations, and cross applied the same logic to planes. This resulted in German researchers discovering the first radar predecessors, which lead to the German development of the technology as well. However, the plan arguably backfired because the British public was tricked instead, and believed that the consumption of carrots would help them see better in the citywide blackouts.
But is the myth all false? The Vitamin A content in carrots is necessary for the maintenance of the cornea, but the effect is non-unique to carrots. Nonetheless, not getting enough Vitamin A does significantly more bad than a surplus can do good, so it is still a good idea to eat carrots, even if some reasoning derives from lofty propaganda.
The propaganda was for a multitude of reasons. First, the success of the radar technology was a huge advantage in the war, and was undeveloped by the German forces. Of course, the British wanted to retain the edge over their enemy, and thus set out to trick the Germans. The media attempted to show how instead of a technological advancement, it was rather the superior British night vision from carrots that resulted in success.
However, the propaganda backfired, and German intelligence services became aware of the ground-based radar installations, and cross applied the same logic to planes. This resulted in German researchers discovering the first radar predecessors, which lead to the German development of the technology as well. However, the plan arguably backfired because the British public was tricked instead, and believed that the consumption of carrots would help them see better in the citywide blackouts.
But is the myth all false? The Vitamin A content in carrots is necessary for the maintenance of the cornea, but the effect is non-unique to carrots. Nonetheless, not getting enough Vitamin A does significantly more bad than a surplus can do good, so it is still a good idea to eat carrots, even if some reasoning derives from lofty propaganda.
Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/carrots-vitamin-a-night-vision-myth-ww2-2016-4
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-wwii-propaganda-campaign-popularized-the-myth-that-carrots-help-you-see-in-the-dark-28812484/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/12/15/no-carrots-dont-make-your-eyesight-better/?utm_term=.9ca2cf59fcdf
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-carrots-improve-your-vision/
This was a great post on a very surprising topic!! It's crazy to see how propaganda from the past still affects public views and opinions today, especially propaganda as crazy as to say that carrots can help you see in the dark or that carrots, instead of technology, were what helped a pilot have such great success. Insane ideas ran wildly believed during WWII, such as the idea that the Western Allies and Germany were planning to team up to fight the Soviet Union. This rumor began because of a few factors: the Allies were admittedly an unlikely team who were not without disagreements, German elites actually saw themselves as somewhat similar to the British, the Germans would rather be taken by the Americans than by the Russians, and the Americans seemed to have a dislike for the Soviets that rivaled if not overshadowed their dislike for the Nazis, who were already nearing defeat. Some Germans were so convinced of this that when the Allies actually showed up and began to force surrender, they fell into complete confusion because they thought the Allies were advancing towards Germany only to continue on to Russia with the German troops.
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I thought that it was interesting how the British used propaganda in order to hide their radar technologies from the Germans, and the beliefs highlighted in that specific propaganda is still circulating around today. Obviously, the British are used to lying about their forces/technologies to provide the Germans a disadvantage in the war: in class, we learned about the number of ways the Allies hid their D-Day plans from the Axis powers by feeding the Germans false information and even building dummy troops to throw them off. For example, Operation Fortitude used rubber tanks, canvas ships, and dummy soldiers to fool the Germans about where they planned to land on D-Day. They even created two phantom armies in Scotland and southeast England to threaten two false locations, which eventually was successful in throwing the Germans off their trail.
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For some reason, I got the chills reading this! To me, it was very fascinating to realize that such a thing we've all been growing up believing was from a PROPAGANDA. It's also provoking to think about how our parents (and grandparents, and maybe even generations before!) were educated about this as a result of WW2 propaganda. I think that it's very critical for us to understand that our families have been affected during WW2, and because of this, it makes us who we are today. Although it is not of WW2 propaganda (and it isn't the most reliable source), upon research, I found some comical myths that are similar to what you researched that I thought would be fun to share. Some of them include "Hitler Danced a Jig When France Surrendered", "FDR Knew Pearl Harbor Was Going to Happen", and "The Nazis built UFO’s to take their leaders to a secret base in Antarctica, the center of the Earth or on the moon".
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ranker.com/list/world-war-2-facts-and-myths/mike-rothschild