The Casio F-91W is more than two decades old, but it’s still a favorite with terrorists. The iconic digital watch has a reliable timer that’s perfect for setting off bombs.
As the online fashion site Highsnobiety reports, the watch has been a huge seller for the Japanese electronics maker for years, but along the way it has picked up a reputation as the bomb-maker’s timepiece of choice because of its reliable workings, ease of modification, and wide availability.
“Said to be handed out to apprentice bomb makers at al-Qaeda training camps, the watch face can be hooked up to a circuit board, some 9-volt batteries and plastic explosives with little difficulty, then set to detonate as easily as fixing your morning alarm,” the site notes.
Possessing one in the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay is a very big no-no: Authorities have discovered dozens of them being held by alleged Al Qaeda operatives, according to a Wikileaks document.
It may or may not be relevant that the watch is a stone-cold design classic, worn with nerdy élan by everyone from Napoleon Dynamite to a young Barack Obama:
Other surprising discoveries from this week’s Quartz Daily Brief:
Love matches are more successful than arranged marriages. For birds, at least.
Making your bed is bad for you. Covering it up after a night’s sleep makes it easier for dust mites to survive and breed.
The first female astronaut went to space without a toothbrush. She kept the mistake a secret for 30 years.
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