Season 9, Episode 3: Edge of Childhood (Patreon)

On MSB this week, Nina returns to War in the Pocket to examine the contents of Al's back pocket as displaying in the show's 'eye-catch' sequence. In particular, she digs into the history of the swiss army knife, its origins, its rise to international popularity, and what it might have meant for an audience in 1980s Japan.

Show Notes

• Example of realistic “shells” made to hold BBs for Airsoft Revolver.
• Example of a working Airsoft magazine designed to appear as if it’s full of real ammunition.
• About the Estes Rockets company. 
• An old Ballistic Missile launch kit toy: 

• Toy versions of NASA rockets:

• Wikipedia page for pocketknives (English) and higonokami (English) / 肥後守 (Japanese). (higonokami is a kind of Japanese, folding pocketknife)
• On the history and origins of the Swiss Army Knife: Wikipedia pages on the Swiss Army Knife and Victorinox company, Swiss Army Knife Wiki pages on the Soldier 1890 Swiss Soldier Knife and the Officer's and Sports Knife, Japanese Wikipedia entry for the アーミーナイフ (Army Knife), Atlas Obscura article about the history of the Swiss Army Knife, and the company history page of the Victorinox website.
• Examples of Japan-made Swiss Army Knife copycats:

https://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/catalog/seki-manufactured-knives/41657-swiss-army-style-multi-tool-pocket-knife-made-in-japan-

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294342595658?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338590836&toolid=10044&customid=43c77eb965d6197adc571a6c7ae49932

https://www.ebay.com/itm/194602503574?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5338590836&toolid=10044&customid=19096693a2d3197fa11b0246bde12ecc

Mobile Suit Breakdown is written, recorded, and produced within Lenapehoking, the ancestral and unceded homeland of the Lenape, or Delaware, people. Before European settlers forced them to move west, the Lenape lived in New York City, New Jersey, and portions of New York State, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut. Lenapehoking is still the homeland of the Lenape diaspora, which includes communities living in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario.

You can learn more about Lenapehoking, the Lenape people, and ongoing efforts to honor the relationship between the land and indigenous peoples by visiting the websites of the Delaware Tribe and the Manhattan-based Lenape Center. Listeners in the Americas and Oceania can learn more about the indigenous people of your area at https://native-land.ca/. We would like to thank The Lenape Center for guiding us in creating this living land acknowledgment.

You can subscribe to Mobile Suit Breakdown for free! on fine Podcast services everywhere and on YouTube, visit our website GundamPodcast.com, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, or email your questions, comments, and complaints to gundampodcast@gmail.com.

Mobile Suit Breakdown wouldn't exist without the support of our fans and Patrons! You can join our Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, extra out-takes, behind-the-scenes photos and video, MSB gear, and much more!

The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licenses. All music used in the podcast has been edited to fit the text.

Mobile Suit Breakdown provides critical commentary and is protected by the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Gundam content is copyright and/or trademark of Sunrise Inc., Bandai, Sotsu Agency, or its original creator. Mobile Suit Breakdown is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu, or any of their subsidiaries, employees, or associates and makes no claim to own Gundam or any of the copyrights or trademarks related to it.

Copyrighted content used in Mobile Suit Breakdown is used in accordance with the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright law. Any queries should be directed to gundampodcast@gmail.com