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PaperclipPerfector  5hr ago (text post)   190 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for October 16, 2026

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The new nerd-sniping question is circulating on Twitter. Who would win in a war: 1939 Europe or 2026 Africa? As usual, both camps are 100% their side would win.

My bet is on 1939 Europe. As the Russo-Ukrainian and the US-Iran wars show, ammunition stockpiles run out in a couple of weeks. Africans won't have missiles for their fighter jets and shells for their MBTs, while Europeans will be cranking out bombs and strategic bombers to turn Cairo into Dresden. When German subs destroy whatever boats Africans have, French and British navies will perform naval landings, their troops armed with reverse-engineered AKs.

According to some quick Gemini / ChatGPT, the economy of Africa today is $2.5T-$3.5T. And the economy of Europe 1939 is about 4.5T-$5.5T.

The first-level pass on Twitter was that Europe trivially wins. The second-level pass was that Africa 80 years is a huge technological gap and only racism would explain a belief that Europe could win. But I think the third-level pass is that any serious examination of the fundamentals benefits Europe.

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