Ides 5: Anti-Submarine
During WWII, the bad guys had a troubling advantage: their submarines could basically cruise around undetected and punch holes in any ship they fancied. This was a problem that the British were understandably keen to eliminate.
Their hopes were riding on ASDIC (named after the Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee), an early form of Sonar that could detect a U-boat from a distance of 8km, thus neutralizing the Nazi advantage. Unfortunately, every time they set up a lab, it was bombed and they ended up back at square one.
Their solution was to move the ASDIC lab to the colonies, and they chose Toronto as the site for this crucial wartime operation. Frustrated by the espionage that kept betraying their location, they decided to hide in plain sight. As a result, Sonar was invented in the stables at Casa Loma behind a sign that simply read: “Construction in progress. Sorry for the inconvenience.” Scientists came and went from the lab dressed as construction workers.
Today, we toast those scientists who saved the day, with a German favourite: a clean, tart, über-refreshing Berliner Weisse. At 3.5% with IBUs of 4, this classic beer is a crowd-pleaser on both sides of the pond.
