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Bagpipes - the first defence against alien invaders?

Oxfordshire piper's tunes could soon make it to the moon under the plans of an space entrepreneur.

Bagpipes - the first defence against alien invaders?

A Martian contemplating an invasion of Earth stumbles upon the haunting sounds of bagpipes. David Kerr, a proud Scotsman and member of the Laidlaw Memorial Pipe Band based in Oxfordshire, connected with Chris Stott, the CEO of American firm Lonestar Data Holdings. Stott's company aims to store data in space to transmit the distinct Scottish tune of the Laidlaw Memorial Pipe Band to the Moon.

Stott expressed enthusiasm about placing the pipe band into a data centre, physically recording the music, and firing it into lunar orbit. Kerr, originally from Glasgow, quipped that this might serve as the Earth's first line of defense against alien invaders. The President, who is partly Scottish, might endorse the idea, he added.

The Laidlaw Memorial Pipe Band is named after David Laidlaw, one of three pipers awarded the Victoria Cross during World War I. His son John also served as a war hero and later taught bagpiping to the people of Banbury, founding the pipe band. The sound of the Laidlaw Memorial Pipe Band may soon be broadcast from space, scheduled for launch in early 2027.

Written by urgent.news from BBC Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.

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