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Both Allied and Axis forces searched for a way to break the stalemate of trench warfare, they looked for a way to break through the enemy's defenses.

They were kept in the trenches to serve as warning for gas warfare. The sensitive birds would be affected long before most humans would even recognize there was a problem, giving them time to don their gas masks.

Another was that the two sides dug tunnels under each other's defenses, planting charges and hoping to break thorough their fortifications. When digging underground, it is possible to hit a pocket of natural gas, such as methane, that will that only erupt in flame the second you strike a match (say, to light a cigarette a very popular pastime until recently), or that would not substitute for air, meaning that you would suffocate from lack of oxygen. The canaries were taken into the tunnels to identify this danger. If you hit a pocket of gas, the canary would suffocate rapidly from lack of oxygen, and once that canary suddenly stopped moving, chirping or breathing, you knew that if you didn't get out extremely quickly, you were likely going to suffocate to death. It may be a cruel usage for an animal, but it was deemed that one canary was not worth the life of one human being.

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Q: What were canaries used for in World War 1?
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