The Civil War ended almost 150 years ago, and by today’s standards the weapons used are old-fashioned and outdated. But don’t for a second think that means they weren’t incredibly lethal. Because it turns out a modern car is still no match for a Civil War-era cannon.
The folks at RatedRR were kind enough to demonstrate the incredible power of such an antiquated weapon of war, targeting a relatively modern Saturn with a 5kg cannonball from close range, and capturing the results with high-speed video cameras.
Even though they actually fired the cannon head-on with the car, the cannonball had absolutely no trouble blasting its way through the entire length of the vehicle and out the trunk. So just imagine what it would have done to infantry, horses, and wooden ships during the Civil War. Or, don’t, because that’s just an awful thought. [YouTube via Geekologie]