Hoist by His Own Petard/Real Life: Difference between revisions

*** Stalin's policy of cleansing the "worker's paradise" of intellectuals (i.e. people smarter than him) often backfired, as it meant the Soviet Union would end up with inferior technology thanks to all the smart people being sent to Siberia. Additionally, he would often shut down technological breakthroughs that were ahead of their time and wouldn't be discovered (or implemented) again for at least a decade. For example, his aircraft designers during [[World War Two]] had many innovative ideas for jet fighters and bombers, which Stalin quickly suppressed, making the scientists work on designing cheap, fast-produced planes. Once the tide in the war had turned, he didn't feel the need to improve on what was already working. Now imagine [[What Could Have Been]] if he would've had a little more foresight.

* This trope was staggeringly common during WWII.

** In addition to Stalin's examples above the Russians strapped bombs to dogs as a living [[Action Bomb|anti-tank mine]]. Problem is, they trained the dogs with the diesel-using Russian tanks, and the dogs didn't go under the petrol-using German ones. Oops.

* On one occasion late in his life, Sir Robert Watson-Watt, considered by many to be the "inventor of radar," reportedly was pulled over in Canada for speeding by a radar-gun toting policeman. His remark was, "Had I known what you were going to do with it I would never have invented it!"