Silk underwear to protect privates’ privates

Danish soldiers serving in Afghanistan have a new weapon in the fight against the Taliban – silk underwear.

According to Avisen.dk, the specially woven silky smalls are stronger that Kevlar, the material used to make bulletproof vests.

The unusual undies, which are designed specially to protect privates from roadside bombs, have been purchased for 1,000 Danish soldiers. The fabric guards against shrapnel and infection and has already saved many from serious injury, according to the British Army.

“We have laughed at them a lot, but there’s a method to the madness,” Army senior sergeant Niels Mølleskov told Avisen.dk. “Back in the day the enemy would throw grenades at us, which we knew how to protect ourselves against. Now the enemy digs down roadside bombs, and previously the soldiers didn’t have a shield against those, but they do now,” he added.

“One thing is to get a leg or two amputated, but it’s another is to lose what the soldier has between his legs,” Thomas Nico Jørgensen from the army’s equipment service said. “This is where the soldier’s manliness is, and it would affect his life quality if he came home without it,” he added.