When it comes to weapons sounded better on paper than in practice, history offers a parade of bizarre experiments that missed the mark.

Why Some Weapons Sounded Better Than They Were

10 The Gay Bomb

Back in 1994, the weapons lab at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas floated a wildly unconventional idea: a “love bomb” that would make enemy troops more interested in romance than combat. The proposal suggested spending $7.5 million on potent aphrodisiacs that could, ideally, trigger homosexual behavior among America’s foes.

The plan surfaced after a watchdog group filed a Freedom of Information Act request, sparking a flurry of eyebrows. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed that while they constantly review funding ideas, the “gay bomb” never made it past the concept stage. Other off‑the‑wall suggestions—like bombs that attract stinging insects or unleash foul odors—were also tossed out.

Even the department’s spokesperson admitted it was among the most ridiculous proposals he’d ever heard, noting at least someone in the government had a sense of humor.

9 The God’s Voice Weapon

Rumors have long swirled about a military “God’s voice” device that could beam messages straight into a soldier’s head. While the myth persists, the underlying technology does exist—in a very different form.

Allan H. Frey’s research on the microwave auditory effect (the Frey effect) showed that pulsed microwaves can create a thermo‑elastic wave that stimulates the ear’s auditory receptors, essentially letting a person “hear” microwaves.

Although a gun capable of delivering this effect was built, the energy required would likely fry a person’s brain long before any divine whispers were heard. Researchers have since eyed less lethal applications, such as subliminal advertising that could whisper suggestions to shoppers without harming them.

8 Project Babylon

Artillery guru Gerald Bull dreamed of a colossal super‑gun dubbed “Big Babylon” that could loft satellites into orbit. After the Vietnam War cut his funding, Bull turned to more dubious backers, eventually landing a patron in Saddam Hussein.Hussein agreed to bankroll the project, hoping to weaponize the gun to strike satellites and perhaps other high‑value targets. Bull argued the massive, immobile cannon would be a safe target for air strikes, but Saddam’s ambitions were far more aggressive.

International observers kept an eye on the artillery improvements, but the super‑gun itself drew the most attention. Before the prototype could be fully tested, Bull was assassinated in front of his apartment, and Project Babylon collapsed.

7 The Baynes Bat

World War era engineers fantasized about airborne tanks that could glide straight onto the battlefield. British designer L.E. Baynes took this to the extreme with the “Baynes Bat,” a glider fitted with detachable wings that could carry a tank‑like payload.

A prototype was built and christened “Bat” for its tailless silhouette. Early flight tests suggested decent performance, hinting that a squadron of such gliders might deliver armored firepower wherever needed.

Test pilot Captain Eric Brown, however, was unimpressed. He found the Bat’s handling horrendous—so bad that he called the concept “mind‑boggling.” Though he managed to land the craft, the poor control sealed the Bat’s fate, and the project was abandoned.

6 The Gyrojet Rocket Gun

The Gyrojet aimed to be a lightweight, recoilless pistol that fired tiny rockets instead of conventional bullets. Each projectile resembled a brass‑cased bullet but featured four exhaust ports that spun the rocket, keeping its flight stable.

While the concept sounded futuristic, the rockets needed time to accelerate, making the weapon ineffective at ranges under about three metres (ten feet). Consequently, the Gyrojet performed poorly as a sidearm.Only a few hundred units were produced, and a handful saw limited combat use. Today, they’re collector’s curiosities, prized more for their rarity than any battlefield utility.

5 The Pain Ray

Seeking a non‑lethal crowd‑control tool, the U.S. military developed a “pain ray” that emitted millimetre‑wave energy to heat the skin’s surface. The goal was to create an unbearable sensation—like opening a scorching oven door—forcing crowds to disperse.

During a demonstration, reporters volunteered to be hit from 500 metres away. Rain and distance dulled the effect, leading some journalists to joke they wanted another shot. However, real‑world tests weren’t so forgiving; one subject required an airlift to a hospital after suffering burns.

The device saw brief deployment in Afghanistan before being pulled due to the inevitable PR nightmare of zapping civilians with a ray gun. The military deemed it “not politically tenable.”

4 The Sun Gun

During World War II, Nazi Germany entertained the notion of a colossal orbital mirror—a “sun gun”—capable of scorching enemy cities. The concept, proposed by rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth, envisioned a mirror reflecting sunlight to raise temperatures dramatically.

Life magazine initially dismissed the idea as fanciful, suggesting any mirror would only raise temperatures a few degrees. Oberth, however, argued that a 13,000‑square‑kilometre mirror would bring Earth to equatorial warmth, while a 26,000‑square‑kilometre version could push surface temperatures to a blistering 200 °C (392 °F).

Despite Oberth’s enthusiasm, the project never materialised, and the notion of beaming the sun onto targets remains a footnote in speculative weaponry.

3 Suicide Motorboats

While Japan’s kamikaze pilots are infamous, Italy’s navy experimented with its own version of expendable attack vessels. The 10th Light Flotilla employed MTMs—modified tourist motorboats packed with explosives—as part of a covert arsenal.These boats weren’t intended to be suicide missions. Designers added a mechanism to detach the cockpit when the craft was within roughly 91 metres (300 ft) of the target, allowing the pilot to escape in a life raft after impact.

In practice, the MTMs achieved limited success, sinking only two Allied merchant ships after several misses. The pilots, stranded on rafts after detonations, were captured, rendering the program largely ineffective.

2 Project Habakkuk

Winston Churchill was intrigued by the notion of an aircraft carrier constructed from pykrete—a frozen mixture of 15 % wood pulp and 85 % water. The concept, dubbed Project Habakkuk, envisioned a 2.2‑million‑ton vessel kept solid by a massive refrigeration system.

Proponents argued the ice‑laden carrier would be cheaper than steel and could be repaired by simply applying more pykrete to any breach. A smaller prototype built in Canada proved the idea could float.

Nevertheless, skeptics in Britain and the United States dismissed the project as a pipe dream. Budget overruns and the shifting tide of war led to its abandonment, leaving the world to wonder whether a functional pykrete carrier might have worked.

1 USS Zumwalt

The Zumwalt‑class destroyers were engineered as the next‑generation U.S. stealth warships, featuring angular hull designs that reduced radar returns to the size of a modest fishing boat.

These ships were intended to approach enemy coastlines and launch ultra‑accurate, GPS‑guided Long‑Range Land Attack Projectiles. Unfortunately, each projectile carried a price tag of $800,000, prompting the Navy to cancel the order shortly after the USS Zumwalt entered service.

Cost overruns stemmed from a reduced ship order—down from 32 to just three vessels—inflating per‑round expenses twelvefold. The Navy now faces a dilemma: replace the costly guns with alternative solutions such as guided artillery, railguns, or conventional missile barrages. The $22.5 billion invested in the advanced weapon system has largely evaporated.

The American Civil War (1861‑1865) unfolded amid the Industrial Revolution, a time when inventors dreamed up some truly strange civil weaponry. Below we dive into ten oddball arms that actually saw service or at least a demo for Union or Confederate troops.

Strange Civil Innovations

1 Centrifugal Gun

Allegedly capable of hurling 300 rounds per minute from a steam‑powered revolving drum out to 100 yards, the massive 5‑ton centrifugal gun first showed up during the 1861 Baltimore riots. Though often linked to industrialist Ross Winans, it was actually the brainchild of Charles S. Dickenson, who demonstrated the prototype to the Baltimore City Council. When secessionist riots erupted, the police seized the gun for defense. After the unrest, Dickenson tried to smuggle it out, but federal troops captured it and eventually displayed it as a war prize in Massachusetts. A modern MythBusters test of a similar steam‑machine gun has even been filmed.

2 Harmonica Gun

The harmonica gun attempted to turn a pistol into a multi‑shot weapon by adding a horizontal magazine that could hold up to ten percussion caps or pinfire cartridges. Patented by French inventor J. Jarre between 1859 and 1862, the design resembled a musical instrument only in name. Early American production was handled by Jonathan Browning, father of famed gun designer John Moses Browning. Though it looked like something straight out of a steampunk adventure, the weapon proved impractical: the shooter had to manually slide the magazine to align each cartridge under the hammer for every shot, making it far slower than a revolver. Even a percussion rifle using the same slide mechanism owned by Texas Senator Sam Houston ended up in the National Museum of American History.

3 Coffee Mill Gun

Better known as the “devil’s coffee mill,” this hand‑cranked Gatling‑style gun fired .58‑caliber rounds at roughly 120 shots per minute. President Abraham Lincoln reportedly admired the weapon after seeing it demonstrated in 1861, prompting the War Department to purchase 60 of them. However, commanders soon complained that the single barrel overheated quickly and the hopper‑fed ammunition frequently jammed, wasting precious rounds. Consequently, the guns saw limited action, mostly guarding bridges and other vulnerable points.

4 Double‑Barrel Cannon

In 1862 a Georgia designer combined two 6‑pounder cannon barrels, hoping to fire a pair of cannonballs linked by a chain—known as chain‑shot—simultaneously. The concept was that the two barrels would launch the linked projectiles together, tearing through enemy formations. Unfortunately, field tests showed the barrels didn’t fire in perfect sync, causing the chain‑shot to veer wildly or the chain to snap. Although the city of Athens, Georgia kept the gun for defensive use, it never saw combat. The idea echoed earlier experiments, such as the 17th‑century English “Elizabeth‑Henry” double‑barrel cannon.

5 Confederate Pike

While firearms dominated the battlefield, the Confederacy, struggling to produce enough rifles, resorted to issuing traditional pikes—long wooden shafts topped with steel points. In 1862, Georgia Governor Joseph Brown ordered 10,000 pikes, some featuring a three‑blade cloverleaf head or a retractable spring‑loaded blade. These weapons, though cheap and easy to manufacture, were unpopular among soldiers who faced Union troops armed with modern rifles.

6 Armored Railroad Car

To protect railway bridges from Confederate sabotage, the Union built experimental armored rail cars—essentially boxcars sheathed in thick iron plates and sandwiched between locomotives. The cars featured portholes for a crew of fifty to fire small cannons or rifles. Several variants were produced, including a flatcar topped with an iron shell. In 1864 a Confederate cannon blast destroyed one such car, and another was hit in 1865, injuring its occupants. Some of these ironclads were captured by Confederate forces.

7 Coal Torpedo

During the war, “torpedo” referred to any bomb, and the Confederate Secret Service Corps devised the coal torpedo—a gunpowder bomb cleverly disguised as a lump of anthracite coal. Invented by Thomas Courtenay in 1864, these devices were slipped into Union coal supplies. When stoked in a ship’s furnace, the bomb would explode. Two Union vessels are recorded as having been damaged by such blasts, and a plot to sabotage the Springfield Armory with a timed coal torpedo was foiled. After the war, the concept was repurposed for insurance fraud and later adapted with plastic explosives in World War II.

8 Greek Fire Rocket

Reviving the legendary incendiary mixture of ancient Greece, inventor Levi Short demonstrated a solidified “Greek fire” rocket to President Lincoln, who was unimpressed. Nevertheless, Rear Admiral David Porter ordered ten gross of the rockets for use on Mississippi River vessels during the Vicksburg campaign. The rockets ignited parts of the city, but the flames burned for only about seven minutes—far too brief to cause serious damage—leading Porter to label the invention a “humbug.”

9 Turret Rifle

In the 1850s, T. P. Porter tried to improve the single‑shot rifle with a many‑chambered cylinder. His “turret rifle” housed nine .48‑caliber rounds in a rotating wheel‑shaped magazine; each shot rotated the wheel to align the next cartridge. The design’s flaw was that while one round faced forward, another pointed backward toward the shooter, making it a nerve‑wracking experience. Variants with a 30‑slot magazine holding powder, balls, and caps existed, but a stray spark could cause the entire magazine to explode in the user’s hand, preventing widespread adoption.

10 USS Alligator Submarine

The Union’s first true submarine, the 47‑foot USS Alligator, was launched in 1862 and designed by French inventor Brutus de Villeroi. It featured an air‑purifying system and a lockout chamber for divers to exit while submerged—cutting‑edge technology for its era. Intended to counter Confederate ironclads, the Alligator’s maiden voyage on the Appomattox River failed due to insufficient water depth. After being refitted with a screw propeller, the vessel was being towed to Charleston when a storm forced the tow line to be cut, and the Alligator sank off Cape Hatteras, joining the “Graveyard of Ships.”

These ten oddball creations showcase the wild imagination that flourished amid the turmoil of the Civil War, proving that even in the darkest times, inventors will dream up the most bizarre ways to win a fight.

During World War II, the Nazis tinkered with a slew of wacky experimental weapons, ranging from rocket‑armed submarines to gigantic mirrors that could scorch the Earth. Many of these designs never saw combat, but they still showcase the bizarre ingenuity of the era.

Wacky Experimental Weaponry of the Third Reich

10 Heinkel He 162

Designed and launched in a frantic three‑month sprint in 1944, the He 162 won the Volksjäger (“People’s Fighter”) competition, which was meant to churn out a cheap, easily built jet for a beleaguered Luftwaffe. The concept was to let novice pilots—perhaps even members of the Hitler Youth—fly the aircraft, but the reality was far more chaotic. Its wooden wings and metal fuselage made it surprisingly fragile; the first prototype even snapped a wing on its maiden flight. Still, production rolled on, and roughly 116 units were completed, though only a handful ever took off successfully.

9 Panzer VIII Maus

The Panzer VIII Maus was a veritable behemoth of armored steel, holding the title of the largest fully enclosed fighting vehicle ever built. Designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, it stretched 50 percent longer than the next biggest German tank and weighed more than three times as much. Its sheer mass meant that most bridges would crumble under it, so engineers even toyed with the idea of a submerged crossing—capable of diving to over 13 metres. In practice, the monster was too unwieldy to field, and it never saw combat; incomplete hulls were captured by Allied forces after the war.

8 Junkers Ju 322 Mammut

When wood became the material of choice for a new cargo aircraft, Junkers answered with the Ju 322 “Mammut.” This colossal glider looked like a single, gigantic wing and boasted a staggering 60‑metre (200‑ft) wingspan. Its maiden flight in April 1941 was a disaster: the aircraft was wildly unstable, and it took nearly two weeks of towing to bring it back to the airfield. Even worse, its cargo hold proved laughably weak—a Panzer III tank simply fell through the floor during a test. The program was axed a month later, and the prototypes were shredded for fuel.

7 Rocket U‑Boat

One of the most outlandish schemes was the Rocket U‑boat—a submarine fitted with rocket launchers. The first testbed, U‑511, received a pair of rockets, but the unguided missiles proved a nightmare to steer and made underwater navigation a nightmare. By 1943, designers tried to hitch three V‑2 rockets to a Type XXI submarine, planning to tow them to a launch point and fire them remotely. Neither the launch tubes nor the specialized U‑boat were finished before the war ended, leaving the concept forever underwater.

6 Fieseler Fi 103R

SS officer Otto Skorzeny was fascinated by the high failure rate of the V‑1 “buzz bomb” and commissioned a piloted version, the Fi 103R “Reichenberg.” The idea was that a pilot could steer the rocket toward a target and bail out at the last second. In practice, the parachute canopy struggled to open against the rocket’s ferocious slipstream, and several test pilots lost their lives. About 70 units were built and roughly 100 volunteers signed up as “Self‑Sacrifice Men,” but the aircraft never saw combat, as Nazi leadership deemed it inconsistent with their martial ethos.

5 Fliegerfaust

Developed in the twilight of the war, the Fliegerfaust (literally “pilot’s fist”) was a handheld, ground‑to‑air rocket launcher. With a modest range of just 460 metres (1,500 ft), it was only effective against aircraft that dared to swoop low. The Germans ordered over 10 000 units, but production never caught up to demand; only about 80 were recovered in Berlin’s rubble in April 1945. Pictures of the abandoned launchers still pepper the city’s post‑war landscape.

4 Zeppelin Rammer

In November 1944, engineers sketched the Zeppelin Rammer—a fighter meant to be towed aloft by another aircraft, released near Allied bomber formations, then ignited by a rocket engine. The pilot would unleash a volley of rockets on the first pass and, on the second, slam the reinforced wings straight into an enemy bomber. After the fuel burned out, the plane would glide to a friendly field for refueling and another sortie. The factory housing the prototypes was obliterated by Allied bombing, and the rammer never left the drawing board.

3 Taifun

The Taifun (“Typhoon”) was a surface‑to‑air rocket conceived by Klaus Heinrich Scheufelen in 1944 as a cheap answer to Allied bomber raids. Soldiers would fire groups of unguided rockets equipped with contact fuses that also featured a timer in case they missed their mark. Though the German high command ordered two million of them, only about 600 were ever produced, and the rockets never reached the battlefield.

2 Krummlauf

The Krummlauf was a clever rifle attachment that let soldiers fire around corners. Available in 30°, 45°, and 90° configurations, the device featured a mirrored sight for infantry and a simple barrel plug for tanks. In 1944, the Nazis ordered 10 000 units, but the tank version didn’t finish production until 1945, and only a handful were ever made. The infantry version was intended to let troops engage enemies without exposing themselves, while the tank variant was meant to deter close‑quarters attacks on armored hulls.

1 The Sun Gun

Back in 1923, rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth imagined a “Sun Gun” that would sit in geosynchronous orbit with a mirror over 1.5 kilometres (one mile) wide. The plan was to concentrate sunlight onto Earth’s surface to boil oceans and incinerate cities. The Nazis took the idea seriously, estimating a fifteen‑year development timeline and a price tag of three million marks. In reality, the concept was fundamentally flawed—light cannot be focused without an already‑focused source—so the Sun Gun remained a dazzling fantasy.

The Second World War was a battle of titanic proportions, but the Allies sometimes fought with the imagination of a mischievous schoolkid. Below you’ll find the ten most hilariously childish schemes that were actually deployed against the Nazis, each one a blend of ingenuity, prank‑ster spirit, and a dash of pure annoyance.

Hilariously Childish Strategies That Fooled the Nazis

10 Irremovable Graffiti

Graffiti was the resistance’s low‑risk way of shouting “no” to the occupiers, but German troops proved surprisingly diligent at erasing every scribble. The British responded by developing an ammonium‑based paint that etched into glass and metal, making removal virtually impossible. Disguised as toothpaste tubes, the paint was smuggled into occupied Europe and became a favourite for inscribing insults on the windshields of German officers’ cars. A humorous mishap occurred when a batch was mistakenly shipped to North Africa, where baffled agents mistook it for real toothpaste, resulting in a “devastating effect on both teeth and morale.”

9 Itching Powder

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) took inspiration from schoolyard pranks and mass‑produced a powerful itching powder, hidden inside tins marked “foot powder”. The powder was covertly sprinkled onto German uniforms in laundries and clothing factories. In October 1943 the SOE reported that 25,000 U‑boat crew uniforms had been contaminated, prompting at least one submarine to turn back to port under the belief that its crew was suffering severe dermatitis.

SOE agents in Stockholm got even more creative, stuffing German envelopes with the powder and sending them back through the postal system. The most audacious twist came from Norway, where resistance members placed the powder inside condoms destined for German troops, leading to a wave of complaints from soldiers in Trondheim hospitals about “painful irritation.”

8 Stink Bombs

The British poured money into the “S‑capsule”, a stink bomb that could be broken inside the pocket of a German coat, releasing an odor that clung even after multiple washes. With winter clothing already scarce, the foul smell forced soldiers to either freeze or walk around reeking like a trawler fire.

The American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) tried to top it with the “Who Me?” program, a spray that produced a strong fecal smell on a German officer. Unfortunately the spray was so tenacious it stuck to everyone nearby, including the operatives, leading many resistance members to refuse its use.

7 Fake Party Invitations

In 1944 SOE agents in Sweden discovered that the German embassy was sponsoring a gala performance by famed comedian Georg Alexander. The Allies fabricated over 3,000 fake invitations, each demanding black‑tie attire, and mailed them to known Nazi sympathisers. On the night of the gala, thousands of swarthy supporters arrived in their finest dress, only to be told the tickets were counterfeit. The resulting angry mob delayed the performance for hours, turning the event into a national embarrassment and a laughingstock across Sweden.

6 Laxatives

When the Nazi‑controlled Norwegian government requisitioned the entire sardine catch, the resistance learned that the fish would be canned for U‑boat crews. They asked British intelligence for a potent laxative that could be hidden in vegetable oil. The British supplied croton oil, an extremely powerful purgative, which the Norwegians slipped into the oil used to can the sardines. The result? Submarines full of crews suffering simultaneous diarrhea—a nightmare on a tiny vessel.

Encouraged by the success, British intelligence launched a follow‑up campaign using Carbachol, a substance claimed to cause “diarrhea of epic proportions among 200 people” per gram. Plans were drawn to drop bottles with notes encouraging soldiers to fake dysentery and get a hospital stay, but the war ended before the operation could be executed.

5 Spreading Rumors

Early in the conflict, the British recruited journalist Sefton Delmer to run black‑propaganda broadcasts under the guise of Gustav Siegfried Eins. The station aired the filthiest, most obscene content imaginable, mimicking tabloid sensationalism to denounce Nazi vice. One infamous broadcast described a German admiral, his mistress, five drunken sailors, and a lump of butter, prompting a British politician to complain, “If this is the sort of thing that is needed to win the war, I’d rather lose it.”

Delmer eventually staged a dramatic finale: a recording in which the announcer was ambushed by the Gestapo and shot. A mishap caused the recording to be played twice, making it sound as though the announcer was killed two times in a row.

4 Implying Hitler Had A Tiny Penis

Delmer didn’t stop at radio. He commissioned artists to doctor photographs of Hitler, drawing genitals onto the Führer’s portrait to suggest public exposure or masturbation. The drawings emphasized a circumcised penis to fuel rumors of hidden Jewish ancestry. When the SS issued pamphlets denouncing the images as forgeries, Delmer produced a mock SS pamphlet featuring a grinning Hitler with an absurdly large penis, captioned as a fake because “everyone knows the Fuhrer does not possess anything of the kind.”

3 Putting Hitler’s Face On Toilet Paper

The OSS, ever eager to try any scheme, noticed a shortage of wiping material in Germany. They began producing anti‑Nazi toilet paper, dropping rolls into Germany or slipping them onto trains from neutral Switzerland. Some rolls bore anti‑Nazi slogans and terrible toilet humour; others simply displayed Hitler’s face with the caption “This side up!” The absurdity turned a mundane bathroom item into a propaganda weapon.

2 Bombarding Hitler With Pornography

The OSS’s “Choirboys” concluded that Hitler’s prudishness could be weaponised. They amassed a mountain of German pornography, believing that exposure to hardcore material would drive the Führer to a nervous breakdown. Their plan was to drop the magazines on Hitler’s bunker during an air raid, hoping the sight of lingerie catalogs would send him into Lovecraftian madness.

When the scheme was presented to an Air Force colonel, he shouted that the entire agency were maniacs and refused to risk any pilot’s life on such a frivolous operation. The colonel’s protest effectively killed the plan before it ever left the drawing board.

1 Parody Newspapers

When the Nazis seized Belgium’s largest newspaper, Le Soir, the resistance crafted a perfect replica called Le Faux Sour. The fake paper looked identical at first glance, but every story mocked the occupiers—film listings advertised absurd titles like “Olympiad Part 1: The Marathon From El Alamein To Sidi Barani” starring Rommel, and the obituary section was filled with names of collaborators.

Printed at breakneck speed and distributed to kiosks before the real edition could arrive, the parody sold 50,000 copies and turned the Nazis into a laughing stock. Tragically, two of its planners, Ferdinand Wellens and Theo Mullier, were captured, tortured, and executed by the Gestapo, cementing their legacy as heroes of the Belgian resistance.

Welcome to our countdown of 10 badass ancient weapons that changed the way warriors fought, each crafted for a unique purpose and still fascinating us today.

Why These 10 Badass Ancient Arms Still Captivate Us

10 Kakute

Kakute were tiny iron rings studded with one to three spikes, worn on a finger or thumb by Japanese combatants. When the spikes faced inward, a wearer could press them against an opponent’s pressure points—gripping a limb or even the throat—to stun or puncture. Flipped outward, the rings turned into spiked knuckledusters, though their primary function remained subduing rather than maiming.

Ninjas, especially the female kunoichi, favored these rings because they blended naturally with jewelry. Poison‑tipped, inward‑facing spikes allowed a swift, lethal strike, making the kakute one of the deadliest tools in a kunoichi’s arsenal.

9 Haladie

The Indian subcontinent birthed the fearsome haladie, a weapon wielded by the Rajput warrior class. This dagger featured two double‑edged blades extending from opposite ends of a single handle, allowing both thrusts and slashing attacks. Some variants added a metal knuckleduster band on the grip, where an extra spike or blade could be affixed, creating a quasi‑triple‑blade configuration.

Equipped alongside the massive two‑edged scimitar called the khanda, the haladie added an intimidating edge to any Rajput’s arsenal, making an Indian infantry unit a terrifying sight on the battlefield.

8 Sodegarami

The Edo‑era Japanese police employed the sodegarami, literally a “sleeve entangler,” as a non‑lethal arrest tool. Typically used by a pair of officers, the spiked pole was thrust into a suspect’s kimono; a quick twist tangled the fabric, immobilizing the wearer without serious injury.

One officer would strike from the front, the other from behind, pinning the offender by the neck. This method was especially useful for subduing samurai, who could only be killed by fellow samurai; the sodegarami let police neutralize a sword‑wielding adversary without breaching the law.

7 Zweihaender

The massive Zweihaender—literally “two‑hander”—was among the longest swords ever forged, reaching up to 178 cm (70 in) and weighing as much as 6.4 kg (14 lb). While the heftiest examples were ceremonial, functional models were used by Swiss and German infantry to counter pike formations. Some featured an unsharpened ricasso just above the guard, allowing a secondary grip for close‑quarters combat.

Wielders, often the flamboyantly dressed Landsknechts, earned double pay for mastering these beasts. Over time, however, the rise of the pike and evolving battlefield tactics relegated the Zweihaender to ceremonial status, and in some regions it was outright banned from combat.

6 Bagh Nakh

The Indian bagh nakh, or “tiger claws,” consisted of four to five curved blades that mimicked a big cat’s talons. Designed to fit over the thumb and pinky, the weapon could be concealed in the palm or a glove. A supplementary knife‑like blade on the side added thrusting capability.

Most famously, Maratha ruler Shivaji employed a bagh nakh during his fateful encounter with Mughal general Afzal Khan. Disguised beneath chain‑mail, Shivaji presented a friendly embrace, then slipped the claw‑shaped weapon into Khan’s abdomen, followed by a hidden dagger, securing a dramatic victory that still echoes in Indian lore.

5 Fire Lance

Originating in ancient China, the fire lance began as a simple bamboo tube packed with sand and strapped to a spear. When ignited, the gunpowder charge produced a blinding flash that could incapacitate an opponent in close combat. Later iterations added shrapnel, poison darts, and eventually metal housings to withstand stronger explosions.

Some versions functioned more like a flamethrower, projecting a 3.5‑meter (12‑ft) plume of fire. Later designs mixed toxic chemicals into the charge, producing “poisonous fire” that could burn for up to five minutes before sputtering out, turning the lance into a terrifying incendiary weapon.

4 Atlatl

The atlatl, a primitive dart‑throwing lever, pre‑dated the bow and arrow by millennia. By extending the thrower’s arm, the device could hurl darts at speeds exceeding 160 km/h (100 mph). Its simplicity—just a stick with a notch—belied its deadly efficiency, so much so that some scholars argue it helped drive the woolly mammoth to extinction.

Flexibility was key: both the atlatl and its darts were made of pliant wood, allowing them to bend in unison and store kinetic energy. Archaeological finds show its use across every continent except Africa, persisting into the 1500s among the Aztecs before being eclipsed by the more user‑friendly bow.

3 Khopesh

The Egyptian khopesh blended the attributes of a sword and a battle‑axe. Cast from a single bronze piece, its distinctive outward curve functioned like a sickle, with only the outer edge sharpened for slashing. The inner curve could trap an opponent’s arm or yank away a shield, and some models featured tiny snares for added tactical advantage.

By the New Kingdom, the khopesh had become a status symbol for the elite, appearing in the hands of pharaohs such as Ramses II. Its hybrid design made it both a ceremonial emblem and a practical battlefield weapon during Egypt’s Bronze Age.

2 Shotel

The Ethiopian shotel was a true sickle‑sword, its heavily curved blade designed to bypass shields by slipping around them and delivering a puncturing strike. Despite its fearsome silhouette, the weapon proved unwieldy: the short hilt made precise handling difficult, and drawing the blade required a pronounced wrist bend because its scabbard extended a foot beyond the sword’s length.

European observers dismissed the shotel as ornamental, and even native Ethiopians admitted it was more a showpiece than a practical tool of war—often used to impress rather than to kill.

1 Urumi

Urumi were flexible sword‑whips crafted from highly bendable steel. When coiled, the blade could be wrapped around the waist like a belt; when unfurled, it stretched 3–5 m (12–16 ft). Wielders spun the weapon in wide circles, creating a defensive wall that was nearly impossible to block—any shield would simply be sliced around.

Both edges were sharpened, making the urumi lethal even to its master. Mastery required years of training to halt the whip, change direction, and avoid self‑injury. Because the weapon demanded individual skill and could not be used in formation, it was favored for one‑on‑one combat and covert assassinations, remaining a terrifying force for those who mastered it.

When you hear the phrase “top 10 nonlethal,” you probably picture gadgets that merely inconvenience a threat. Yet the reality is far messier. Merriam‑Webster defines “nonlethal” as “not capable of causing death,” but many of the tools on this list have proved otherwise. Below we dive into ten so‑called nonlethal weapons that have, under certain conditions, turned deadly.

Why the Top 10 Nonlethal Weapons Can Be Lethal

10 Active Denial System

The Active Denial System, often dubbed a “ray gun” or “pain ray,” fires a focused beam of microwaves that seep just beneath the skin’s surface and make it heat up. Designed to force a target to retreat from a safe distance, the device leaves no visible mark when it works as intended, though survivors liken the sensation to standing in front of a gargantuan hair‑dryer set to maximum heat.

When the system is mis‑handled, however, the consequences can be severe. During a test, a U.S. airman acted as a volunteer subject and suffered second‑degree burns after operators cranked the power to full instead of the agreed‑upon 75 percent setting. The airman’s quick “quit” signal forced the team to shut the weapon down before the burns worsened, but the incident highlighted how a simple procedural slip can turn a nonlethal tool into a burn hazard.

Former Air Force Office of Special Investigations agent Dave Gaubatz claims the ADS is capable of killing outright. He recounts witnessing a test at Kirtland AFB where the beam instantly killed a goat and a 500‑lb cow. Critics point out that Gaubatz once falsely alleged finding Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, casting doubt on his credibility, yet the anecdote underscores the lethal potential lurking in a device marketed as merely uncomfortable.

9 Thunder Generators

Thunder generators unleash invisible shock waves that slap anyone within range, producing a feeling many compare to standing in front of a firing squad. Originally engineered by Israel’s PDT Agro to scare birds away from crops, the technology was later eyed for military and anti‑riot uses after someone realized its capacity to induce panic and disorientation.

These devices are intended to be nonlethal, creating a brief sense of fear when targets stay 30‑50 meters (98‑164 ft) away. Bring a person in as close as 10 meters (33 ft) and the shock can cause permanent damage or even death. Even obstacles don’t provide safety—certain models feature a curved barrel that can steer the wave around corners, meaning hidden individuals are still at risk.

8 Water Cannon

The water cannon is a staple of police crowd‑control arsenals, blasting high‑pressure streams that can knock a person off their feet. While marketed as nonlethal, the reality varies dramatically. In 2010, 65‑year‑old Dietrich Wagner was struck in the face during a Stuttgart protest; the force fractured his orbital sockets, causing his eyeballs to dislodge and leaving him permanently blind.

Tragedy struck again in 2015 when 69‑year‑old South Korean farmer Baek Nam Ki died after a malfunctioning water‑cannon regulator pumped water at dangerously high pressure. Officers continued to aim at the unconscious man despite his condition, and investigations revealed the crew had barely trained on the vehicle—one operator had only driven it the night before.

7 Tear Gas

Although the Geneva Convention bans tear gas for warfare, law‑enforcement agencies routinely deploy it against civilian demonstrators. The “gas” is actually solid chemical crystals aerosolized into a fine mist that reacts with moist tissues—eyes, skin, and nasal passages—triggering tears and mucus that only worsen irritation.

Depending on exposure, tear‑gas can cause temporary or permanent blindness, paralysis, stillbirths, miscarriages, and even death. In 2013, 37 Egyptians suffocated after a tear‑gas canister was fired into their vehicle. The canisters themselves are hazardous; a direct impact can inflict severe injuries or be fatal.

6 Sound Cannons

Sound cannons generate and focus pain‑inducing frequencies at human ears, with the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) being the most well‑known example. While the manufacturer labels the LRAD a “directed‑sound communication device,” its ability to emit ear‑splitting noise makes it a bona fide weapon.

Humans start feeling discomfort around 120 decibels; at 130 decibels hearing loss can occur, and at 140 decibels balance is disrupted, trapping victims within the weapon’s range. The LRAD‑2000x model can push sound up to 162 decibels, well beyond safe thresholds.

On December 4, 2014, activist Keegan Stephan was hit by an LRAD while photographing a protest over the killing of Eric Garner. The device left his ears ringing for days, and he, along with five other protesters, sued the NYPD, alleging permanent hearing damage caused by officers who had never been properly trained on the system.

5 Tasers

Amnesty International reports that U.S. law‑enforcement agencies have caused at least 500 deaths with Tasers since 2001, a stark contrast to their “nonlethal” label. Their research also shows that 90 % of Taser‑related fatalities involved unarmed individuals, and some occurred while the victims were already in custody.

One tragic case involved Allen Kephart, who died after being shocked 16 times by three officers in San Bernardino County over a minor traffic violation in 2011. Although the officers were cleared, Amnesty International now recommends strict guidelines—using a Taser only when the alternative is lethal force—to curb unnecessary deaths.

4 Pepper Spray

Pepper spray is a readily available self‑defense tool employed by civilians and police alike. Despite its “nonlethal” classification, it has occasionally proved fatal, especially when users are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, making it difficult to pinpoint exact death counts.

The weapon’s active ingredient—capsaicin or oleoresin capsicum—often mixes with alcohol, halogenated hydrocarbons, or propellants to boost potency. Inhalation of these additives can strain the heart, lungs, and nervous system, potentially causing irregular heartbeats or death, yet systematic research into its lethality remains sparse.

3 Kinetic Impact Projectiles

Rubber and plastic bullets fall under the umbrella of kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), a crowd‑control alternative to live ammunition. In theory, they should merely stun or temporarily incapacitate a target, but when they strike vulnerable areas—head, neck, or abdomen—they can be fatal or cause permanent disability.

Data from the United States, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Switzerland, India, Northern Ireland, Turkey, and Nepal reveal that roughly three out of every 100 people hit by KIPs die. Between 1990 and 2017, 53 individuals were killed and 1,931 injured, with 300 of those survivors left permanently disabled.

2 Flash Grenades

Flash grenades—also known as stun grenades or flashbangs—were originally engineered for hostage‑rescue missions, creating a blinding flash and deafening bang to disorient foes. In practice, they have caused serious injuries and deaths, especially when they strike skin directly; the explosive charge can reach temperatures described as “hotter than lava,” inflicting second‑ or third‑degree burns and even fatal outcomes.

Since 2000, at least 50 Americans, including police officers, have been injured or killed by flash grenades. Police often deploy them indiscriminately, leading to tragic incidents: a woman in Clayton County, Georgia suffered third‑degree burns after officers tossed a grenade into her boyfriend’s bedroom; in a separate raid, 19‑month‑old Bou Bou Phonesavanh endured torn lips, a broken nose, and a chest hole after a grenade was thrown into his mother’s room, despite the suspected dealer being absent and no drugs found.

These cases underscore how a device meant for nonlethal disruption can become a lethal hazard when used without proper training or oversight.

1 Batons

Batons, the humble clubs of modern policing, can cause serious injury or death depending on where they strike. A blow to the head, neck, or groin can produce catastrophic outcomes, ranging from severe trauma to fatal brain damage.

In the late 1990s, UK police departments faced a surge in complaints after American‑style batons replaced traditional truncheons. The newer models proved more dangerous, and officers began favoring them for their perceived effectiveness, despite the heightened risk.

The first recorded fatality involving a US‑style baton occurred when boxing promoter Brian Douglas was struck during a traffic stop in South London. The blow caused massive, irreversible brain injury, leading to his death five days later. Although the officer claimed he aimed for the victim’s arm, witnesses reported a neck strike, highlighting how a seemingly routine use of force can turn deadly.

When you think about the gear you equip in a video game, you probably picture glowing swords, armor that gleams, and gadgets that look straight out of a sci‑fi lab. Surprisingly, the real world has handed down a trove of armaments that feel just as legendary. In fact, the ten items we’re about to explore are the kind of loot that would make any gamer’s inventory sparkle. Whether they were built for pure efficiency, rare prestige, or just sheer spectacle, these historic pieces bridge the gap between battlefield grit and pixel‑perfect fantasy.

Why 10 Video Game Fans Love History

The allure of powerful gear isn’t new; warriors have always chased the next upgrade. From ancient bronze helmets that doubled as status symbols to camels that doubled as mobile artillery platforms, each artifact tells a story of ambition, ingenuity, and a dash of flamboyance. Let’s dive into the roster, ranked from the most practical to the outright spectacular.

10 Worthy Congressional Sword

Imagine a weapon so exclusive that even the most generous RPG would lock it behind a $10 downloadable content pack. In the real world, that rarity belongs to a ceremonial sword presented by the United States Congress—a true trophy for a man who collected wars like achievement points.

The blade was awarded to General John E. Wool, a veteran of three consecutive conflicts: the War of 1812, the Mexican‑American War, and the Civil War. By the time the latter erupted, Wool was a spry 77‑year‑old still able to mount a horse, a testament to his lingering vigor.

Congress bestowed the sword in 1854 to recognize Wool’s pivotal role at the 1847 Battle of Buena Vista. Its design is a parade of symbols: an eagle‑shaped pommel, a corn‑adorned grip, and a cross‑guard festooned with snakes and cactus motifs, each element echoing a chapter of American expansion.

This Presentation Sword and Scabbard stand as a near‑mythical artifact—an ultimate reward that would make any gamer’s quest line feel complete.

9 The Carnyx: Annoying Your Enemies for a Winning Edge

Psychological warfare has always been a potent tactic, and the Celts mastered it with a brass war horn that could shatter morale before the first spear even left the hand.

Between roughly 300 BC and AD 200, Celtic warriors wielded the carnyx, a curving instrument topped with a fierce boar’s head and a flailing tongue. Its ear‑piercing wail cut through the clamor of battle, sowing confusion and dread among opposing ranks.

Beyond its auditory assault, the carnyx underscores a timeless truth: combat is as much about sound and terror as it is about steel. The instrument’s very presence turned the battlefield into a chaotic symphony where fear became a weapon in its own right.

8 A Fancy, Creepy Cavalry Parade Helmet

Roman cavalry parades were spectacles of power, and the elite units showcased their prestige with helmets that were more art than armor. These headpieces were crafted for ceremony, not for the gritty melee of daily combat.

The famed Nijmegen Helmet, recovered from a riverbed near the Dutch city of Nijmegen, dates to roughly 2,000 years ago. Its bronze core is overlaid with gleaming silver and gold, turning the wearer into a walking trophy of the empire’s wealth.

This ornate piece demonstrates why many video‑game helmets look sleek but impractical; the ancient designs prioritized visual impact over battlefield efficiency, making them perfect for in‑game bragging rights but less so for real combat.

7 Handled Spear‑Thrower

Upgrade your melee with a prehistoric twist: a spear‑thrower that not only boosts range and power but also sports a hyena motif that would make any weapon skin enthusiast swoon.

Stone‑age innovators fashioned this atlatl, a lever‑based device that dramatically increased spear velocity. The most striking example comes from France’s La Madeleine rock shelter, where a hyena‑shaped handle was carved onto the tool between 17,000 and 12,000 years ago.

The design features a robust hook at the base for securing the spear, while the stylized hyena figure adds a flash of artistry. This invention mirrors the leap from pistols to rifles, delivering longer, more accurate throws—essentially a prehistoric “damage boost” for hunters and warriors alike.

6 Level Players

When a character’s gear reaches the pinnacle, the next logical step is a vehicle that screams status. Ancient China took this to heart, burying entire chariot squads alongside elite warriors.

Excavations near Xinzheng City uncovered a burial site dating back roughly 2,500 years, containing four exquisitely crafted chariots. Even more astonishing, the tomb held a stable of one hundred horses, ensuring the deceased could ride in style even in the afterlife.

5 Throwback Weapon: History’s Oldest Gun

Firearms predate the swashbuckling pirates you picture in taverns. One of the earliest surviving guns, the Heilongjiang hand cannon, dates to the late 13th century, making it a true ancestor of modern weaponry.

This compact cannon features a bulbous powder chamber that’s ignited through a small vent using a fuse. A wooden handle attaches to the rear, allowing the shooter to brace the 8‑pound (3.6 kg) device, which measures about 13 inches (33 cm) in length.

Its vase‑like silhouette differs markedly from today’s sleek rifles, yet it represents a monumental leap in ranged combat, delivering explosive force long before the age of muskets.

4 Range Side Weapons: Deadly Darts Are over 16,000 Years Old

Archaeologists in Idaho have unearthed 13 razor‑sharp projectile points, each about 2 inches (5 cm) long, dating to roughly 15,700 years ago. These tiny darts were designed to inflict lethal internal damage, predating even the earliest spears.

What makes these finds extraordinary is their resemblance to even older points discovered in Hokkaido, Japan, which may date back 20,000 years. The similarity suggests a shared cultural lineage between Ice‑Age peoples of Northeast Asia and early North American inhabitants.

Such connections reinforce the notion that early humans spread not just genes but sophisticated weapon technologies across continents.

3 Impractical but Cool Weaponry: Ninja‑Like “Tiger Claws”

Sometimes style outweighs practicality, and nothing embodies that better than the bagh nakh—literally “tiger’s claw”—a hand‑held weapon that looks straight out of a ninja movie.

These spiked gauntlets were wielded in the left hand, leaving the right free for a dagger or sword, allowing a combatant to unleash a flurry of slashing attacks. Though visually striking, they were rarely used in formal warfare, finding a niche in personal feuds and duels.

Despite their limited battlefield utility, the bagh nakh remains a favorite in games for its flamboyant design and the extra damage boost it promises.

2 Out Armor: Mycenaean Armor Looks Great, Resists Modern Bashing

The Mycenaeans, flourishing between 4,000 and 3,000 years ago, left behind armor that combines both elegance and resilience—perfect fodder for a high‑end game skin.

In the 1960s, archaeologists uncovered a 3,500‑year‑old suit of Mycenaean armor. To test its effectiveness, researchers crafted a replica and staged a mock battle with 13 Hellenic Armed Forces volunteers.

The trial revealed the armor to be surprisingly mobile while offering robust protection against contemporary weapons. Its striking appearance makes it a prime candidate for a Fortnite DLC skin, proving that ancient design can still dominate modern battlegrounds.

1 Weaponizing Your Mount with Camel Guns

Mounts are the ultimate status symbol in any game, and history shows that some cultures actually turned living beasts into artillery platforms.

The zanburak—also called the zamburak—was a small cannon mounted on a camel’s back, used from the 1700s through the mid‑19th century. The term translates to “little wasp” in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, reflecting the weapon’s buzzing presence on the battlefield.

Camels were tethered on their knees while the gun fired, offering a mobile firing platform in desert warfare. Though innovative, horse‑drawn artillery eventually eclipsed the camel guns due to superior speed and firepower, consigning the zanburak to a fascinating footnote in military history.

The art of war has morphed dramatically as modern technology storms onto the battlefield, yet one truth remains unchanged: to triumph, a nation must veil the true power of its forces and the depth of its arsenal from foes. The most critical military secrets are whispered only to a trusted few capable of executing the mission, and that veil is precisely what the 10 alleged secret weapons below illustrate.

10 Directed Energy Weapons

Legend says the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes may have been the first to wield a directed‑energy weapon. During the Roman siege of Syracuse, he allegedly fast‑crafted a massive hexagonal mirror that captured sunlight and focused it onto the Roman fleet, igniting ships in a blaze of fury. Modern scholars at MIT replicated the concept in 2005, confirming that a stationary target could indeed be set ablaze, though the effect was limited to immobile objects.

Fast‑forward to the 21st century, the core physics behind directed‑energy weapons (DEWs) remain unchanged: a concentrated beam of energy is projected at a distant target, delivering damage without conventional ammunition. Various DEWs emit distinct forms of energy, but the most publicized today is the high‑energy laser (HEL). These lasers resemble the sci‑fi beams of movies—silent, often invisible, and capable of scorching a target from miles away.

Defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin have been developing HELs for missile defense and even speculative space‑war scenarios. Some observers suspect these lasers might serve darker purposes. During California’s December 2017 Thomas Fire, witnesses reported anomalies: entire blocks of homes were reduced to ash while adjacent trees stood untouched. Video footage captured shafts of light descending from the sky as the fire spread. Given that HELs are frequently mounted on aircraft noses, a fringe theory suggests the fire’s erratic behavior may have been amplified by a directed‑energy weapon.

9 Long Range Acoustic Devices

The 2014 Ferguson, Missouri protests threw a new crowd‑control tool into the spotlight: the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD). Police deployed these sound cannons to project voice commands up to 5.5 miles (9 km) away, while anyone within roughly 330 feet (100 m) of the beam experienced severe pain. Manufacturers label them “devices” for PR reasons, but anyone who’s felt the bite of an LRAD knows they’re more weapon than gadget.

US diplomats in Cuba reported sudden, permanent hearing loss after the 2015 diplomatic reopening. Investigators concluded the diplomats had been struck by an advanced, inaudible acoustic weapon that damaged both ears and brain. The incident was serious enough to prompt the United States to expel two Cuban diplomats from Washington. The exact nature of this LRAD‑like system and its operators remain shrouded in mystery, marking what could be an unprecedented sonic assault on foreign officials.

8 Low‑Frequency Microwave Mind Control

The mysterious sonic attacks on US diplomats in Cuba reignited old fears about a different, subtler weapon. In 1965, at the Cold War’s height, the Pentagon discovered the Soviets were bombarding the US embassy in Moscow with extremely low‑frequency (ELF) microwave radiation. Though too weak to scorch anything, the signal was believed capable of affecting health or altering behavior of embassy staff.

Rather than dismantle the threat, the Pentagon chose to study it, spawning DARPA’s Project Pandora. This initiative probed ELF microwave effects on primates, hoping to understand—or perhaps replicate—the phenomenon. Though findings were inconclusive, Project Pandora’s leader remained convinced of a serious security risk until the program was shuttered in 1969.

Today, low‑frequency microwave and radio waves pervade daily life, from cell phones to Wi‑Fi, and studies suggest they can disrupt sleep cycles and mental processes. The world is awash with invisible signals; we still lack full knowledge of how these pervasive emissions might influence health or cognition.

7 Heart Attack Guns

Amid the Watergate fallout of the early 1970s, Senator Frank Church chaired a committee probing CIA overreach. Among the committee’s startling discoveries was a covert firearm dubbed the “Heart Attack Gun.” This modified pistol allegedly fired a microscopic dart laced with a potent shellfish toxin, delivering a lethal dose that could trigger a heart attack within moments.

The dart’s entry wound would be no larger than a mosquito bite, dissolving almost instantly while releasing its poisonous payload. Whether the Heart Attack Gun ever saw operational use remains uncertain, but the mere possibility that such a silent, undetectable weapon could still be in circulation adds a chilling layer to the CIA’s clandestine legacy.

6 Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munitions

Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Earthlight imagined a futuristic weapon that hurled a molten‑metal jet into space, piercing enemy battleships. While fictional, the concept echoes real‑world armor‑piercing tools known as self‑forging penetrators (SFPs), which use a chemical charge and metal liner to breach armored targets.

Traditional SFPs, however, suffer from inefficiency and handling challenges. To overcome these limits, DARPA engineered the Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition (MAHEM). This munition employs electromagnetism to shape and thrust a continuous jet of molten metal at a target, offering superior adaptability and penetration power—reminiscent of Clarke’s imagined weapon.

Details on MAHEM remain scarce, but reports indicate China’s Nanjing University of Science and Technology has reverse‑engineered the technology for its own use, underscoring the intense, secretive arms race between East and West.

5 Biological Weaponry

Between 1949 and 1969, the US military conducted covert biological‑weapon experiments on its own citizens without their consent. In 1950, a Navy vessel released billions of microscopic microbes over San Francisco, sparking a sudden surge in illness and possibly claiming a civilian life.

Another test unfolded in 1966 within New York City’s subway system, where researchers dropped light‑bulb capsules filled with bacteria onto train tracks to gauge how far the pathogens would travel. Additional trials involved dispersing zinc cadmium sulfide clouds over entire cities, ostensibly as a smoke screen for nuclear‑war scenarios.

While the official line claimed these experiments aimed to improve defensive capabilities against foreign threats, critics argue the risks outweighed any benefit. Moreover, the specter of modern gene‑editing technology looms large; in 2016, DNI James Clapper warned that engineered organisms could become weapons of mass destruction if misused.

Genetic manipulation now enables microbes with amplified virulence, yet some argue that genetically modified crops—GMOs—present an even subtler, widespread threat. In 2013, roughly 300 scientists publicly disputed claims of GMO safety, prompting chains like Chipotle and Trader Joe’s to ban them. Nonetheless, agribusiness giants, heavily subsidized by the US government, continue to push GMO crops, raising concerns that covert biological threats persist under the guise of agriculture.

4 Subliminal Messaging

Subliminal messaging is a well‑known tactic in advertising, exploiting subconscious urges to steer consumer behavior. Yet declassified CIA paperwork titled “The Operational Potential of Subliminal Perception” reveals that the agency has explored the same principles for espionage and possible mind‑control applications.

The document outlines a precise methodology for leveraging subliminal perception to persuade individuals to act against their usual inclinations. Although the authors concluded the technique’s operational impact was “extremely limited,” the CIA’s historical knack for achieving objectives within tight constraints suggests even modest effects could be weaponized.

3 Flying Aircraft Carriers

In the late 1920s, the US Navy experimented with airborne aircraft carriers, constructing two massive zeppelin‑style airships—the USS Akron and the USS Macon. Each carried a crew of 60 and could launch and retrieve Sparrowhawk fighter planes mid‑flight. Both vessels ultimately met tragic ends, sinking beneath the ocean.

Rumors now swirl that DARPA is reviving this concept under the “Gremlins” program, intending to retrofit C‑130 transports to house swarms of stealth drones instead of manned aircraft. If true, these sky‑borne carriers could covertly project drone fleets over hostile territory, echoing the Avengers‑style “Helicarriers” described by alleged space‑program insiders like Corey Goode.

2 Project Thor

Dubbed “rods from God,” Project Thor envisions kinetic energy weapons that drop massive tungsten rods from orbit onto terrestrial targets. Conceived in the 1950s by Jerry Pournelle, the system would employ a pair of satellites: one for targeting, the other housing 6‑meter (20‑ft) tungsten spears that could pierce hundreds of feet into the Earth’s crust, delivering devastation comparable to a nuclear blast—without radioactive fallout.

Although the expense of lofting such rods into space seemed prohibitive, the concept resurfaced during the George W. Bush administration, with claims that trillions of dollars may have been earmarked for secret weapon projects. Whether Project Thor ever materialized remains uncertain, but its potential illustrates the extreme lengths to which the US might go to secure a strategic edge.

1 HAARP

Hugo Chávez thrust the High‑Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) into the global spotlight when he accused the US Air Force of using the Alaskan transmitter array to trigger the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Previously, HAARP had been dismissed as a fringe conspiracy, but the facility’s closure in 2014 and subsequent reopening in 2017 by the University of Alaska Fairbanks reignited speculation.

UAF’s first post‑reopening experiment aimed to generate an invisible aurora over Alaska—an effort many interpreted as proof of HAARP’s alleged weather‑control capabilities. While the program’s defenders assert it merely studies ionospheric physics, persistent accusations claim it can manipulate weather patterns and broadcast mind‑control signals, yet definitive evidence remains elusive.

10 Alleged Secret Weapons Overview

From lasers that may have fueled wildfires to acoustic cannons that could shatter hearing, the United States military’s hidden toolbox spans the spectrum of science and speculation. These ten alleged secret weapons—each shrouded in mystery, intrigue, and occasional controversy—highlight how modern warfare increasingly blends cutting‑edge technology with covert strategy. Whether fact or fiction, they remind us that the true face of conflict often lies far beyond the public eye.

10 crazy attempts have surfaced throughout history where nations tried to turn ordinary soldiers into literal living explosives. Suicide bombing is synonymous with terrorists today, but it hasn’t always been that way. It used to be the mainstay of standing armies and was extensively used by the Axis powers during World War II. The kamikaze of Japan are a well‑known example, where pilots were trained to ram their airplanes into Allied ships. Below is a countdown of the most outlandish schemes ever devised.

10 Kaiten

The kaiten were the underwater version of the Japanese kamikaze airplanes. Like the airplanes, the pilots were expected to ram their torpedo submarines into enemy ships, killing the pilot and destroying the ship. Work started on the kaiten in February 1944, and a prototype was deployed in July the same year.

The kaiten was more of a torpedo than a submarine. It was even powered by a torpedo engine. The pilot was only there to guide it to its target. The first prototypes allowed the pilots to escape as the torpedo moved closer to its target. However, most pilots were not interested in escaping. Later versions did not even allow them to do so.

A kaiten pilot had two opportunities to hit his target. If he lost the second opportunity, he was expected to blow himself and the torpedo up. The kaiten’s inability to dive deep underwater was its greatest limitation, since it made it vulnerable to Allied attacks. Some missed their targets, and others did not explode even when they hit their targets.

The Japanese navy did manage to successfully deploy kaiten against US ships, however. The USS Underhill was a notable casualty. It sank on July 24, 1945, after it was attacked by six kaiten. Japan suspended kaiten attacks a week before it surrendered.

9 Fieseler Fi 103R

During World War II, Britain found itself at the receiving end of the infamous V‑1 flying bombs fired from Nazi Germany territory. The V‑1 attacks were as successful as they were scary. But they would have never been as scary as the Fieseler Fi 103R, the manned version of the V‑1.

By 1944, Germany was already losing the war and had started getting some crazy ideas. Someone thought it would be cool if they could launch manned missiles from bombers. The German high command bought the idea but thought it would be cooler if they just put a person inside a rocket. The V‑1 was already successful, so it became the vehicle of choice.

The pilot was not originally expected to die in the attack. He would just aim the Fi 103R at the target and bail out before it hit. However, this would have been impossible, since the escape would have interfered with the workings of the aircraft.

However, unlike the V‑1, the Fi 103R would not be targeted at British cities. The V‑1 was handling that already. Instead, the Fi 103R would have been aimed at Allied ships in the English Channel. Germany produced almost 200 Fieseler Fi 103R’s during the war. Fortunately for the Allies, the Nazis never deployed any, since the German high command was not really interested in the weapon.

8 Proxy Bombings

While Islamist terrorist groups today will brainwash people with their ideologies before ordering them into bomb‑strapped vehicles, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) used a more terrible and cowardly tactic during its decades‑long war with the British government.

The IRA targeted people with links to the British government. Holding their families hostage, the IRA ordered their victims to drive bomb‑laden vehicles into British targets. The bombings were deadly and controversial. Sometimes, the driver only had moments to escape from the vehicle before it exploded. But they weren’t always that lucky.

One notable victim of the IRA’s cowardice was Patsy Gillespie. In June 1990, he was forced to drive his wife’s vehicle—which had been rigged with bombs—to the police barracks in which he worked as a cook. He did, and the IRA left his family alone … for a while. Four months later, they returned and ordered Patsy to drive another bomb‑laden vehicle to a military checkpoint. Patsy died in the explosion alongside five soldiers.

7 Maiale

The maiale (Italian for “pig”) was a manned torpedo manufactured in Italy during World II. Work started on the torpedo in 1935 over concerns that the Italian navy was surrounded by the British and French ships in the Mediterranean Sea. World War II broke out in 1939. The same year, Italy deployed the first maiale in the Mediterranean.

The 5‑meter‑long (16 ft) maiale was armed with either a 300‑kilogram (662 lb) warhead or two 150‑kilogram (331 lb) warheads. Two crewmen rode the torpedo into the English and French harbors. Once under enemy ships, the crew detached the front part of the torpedo, which contained the actual warhead, attached it under the enemy ship, and escaped before it exploded.

The maiale’s first deployment ended in failure. One was destroyed by an aircraft, and the other retreated after it was shot at. The maiale later found success in December 1941, when it sank two British battleships and a tanker in Alexandria, Egypt. However, the crew were captured before they could escape.

The maiale remained in Italian service and was extensively used against British ships and Allied merchant ships until Italy signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943. While it was a success, it was difficult to operate and was prone to sinking into the water. This is why it was called “The Pig.” Many torpedoes were lost during tests.

6 Yokosuka MXY‑7 Ohka

The Yokosuka MXY‑7 Ohka was one of the infamous Japanese kamikaze airplanes. It was as deadly as it was feared. For a start, it was rocket‑powered, which was unusual. The majority of airplanes used by the Allies were driven by propeller engines.

The idea was simple. Once an Allied invasion was detected, Mitsubishi G4M2e bombers transported and released swarms of Ohkas toward the advancing Allied force. The Ohkas dived toward the enemy. Once they got close enough, the pilot fired the rocket engines, causing the deadly aircraft to speed toward their targets.

The Ohka’s first combat deployment ended in disaster when all 16 bombers transporting them to the target were attacked and destroyed. Some bombers managed to release some Ohkas, but they were far away from their target. While Japan later found success with the Ohka and even used them against US ships, they were taken out of production because the bigger G4M2e bombers were vulnerable to Allied attacks.

5 Sonderkommando Elbe

Sonderkommando Elbe was a special group of Luftwaffe (Nazi Germany air force) pilots trained to ram their airplanes into Allied aircraft. As we mentioned earlier, the tide changed toward the end of World II, with Germany on the losing side, and the Germans had been getting crazy ideas. One was the Fieseler Fi 103R. Another was removing all weapons and armor from aircraft and ordering the pilots to ram them into Allied planes.

The idea ended up worsening Germany’s situation. While Germany had better airplanes than the Allies, it did not have enough. The Germans didn’t have enough pilots or fuel, either. Turning their aircraft into manned missiles only reduced the number of planes and pilots at their disposal. While the pilots were expected to bail out of their airplanes before they crashed, it would not have been easy.

Germany’s idea of ramming airplanes into the Allies was not very successful in combat. While the airplanes destroyed some Allied bombers, Germany lost more aircraft than the Allies. Besides, the Allies quickly and easily replaced their airplanes, while the Germans could not so readily replace theirs, further worsening the situation of the Luftwaffe.

4 Bomi

The Bomi is straight out of the United States. Its name means “Bomber‑Missile.” It was developed during the Cold War, at a time when the US and Russia were only concerned with developing new technologies to deliver nuclear warheads into the other’s territory.

Bell Aircraft Corporation came up with the idea. They thought a pilot guiding an intercontinental ballistic missile into Moscow would be a good idea. The missile was divided into two compartments with a crew of three. A two‑man crew manned the rear compartment and were responsible for launching the missile from base.

The rear compartment detached in midair and returned to base, while the third crewman in the forward compartment flew into space before gliding into Moscow. The pilot would aim the missile toward the target before bailing out. This idea of bailing out sounds ludicrous, since the pilot would most likely have remained in the range of the 18.14‑kilogram (4,000 lb) nuclear warhead.

The US Air Force later dumped the idea because the missile could not reach Moscow. Besides, the US government was only interested in delivering nuclear weapons into Russia with either bombers or missiles, not with a hybrid of both.

3 Fukuryu

The Fukuryu (Lurking Dragons) were the Japanese versions of today’s suicide bombers during World II. The soldiers conscripted into the unit were armed with bamboo canes with 15‑kilogram (33 lb) bombs at the ends. The divers would sneak into enemy harbors and attach the bamboo canes to ships. The resulting explosion would kill the divers and damage or sink the ships.

Interestingly, the divers were more likely to die before they could strap the bombs to the ships. This was due to their unorthodox means of maintaining an oxygen supply. They connected their helmets to a tank containing caustic lye. The air they breathed out went into the tank, where it mixed with the lye to form oxygen, which they breathed in again. The idea was to breathe the clean air in through the nose and to exhale into a tube that led to the lye tank.

Messing up this specific breathing pattern could quickly lead to unconsciousness. About 50 divers died during training after inhaling the lye. Sometimes, water entered the tank, turning the lye into a deadly gas. It was also normal for divers to get stuck in seaweed. Survivors who never detonated their bombs were no better. Many suffered respiratory issues and brain damage.

2 Shinyo

At this point, we can all agree that the Japanese were so determined to stop the Allies from invading their territory that they used suicide attacks as a regular combat tactic. The shinyo (“sea quake”) boats were another suicide weapon deployed by the Japanese. They were modified torpedo boats containing deadly explosives.

Two types of shinyo boats were developed. The first, which was designed for the navy, was rammed into enemy ships, killing the pilot and causing extensive damage to the ship. The other, which was developed for the army, was used to drop depth charges around the enemy ship before fleeing. The pilot was not supposed to die in the attack, though they sometimes did because the boats were not fast enough to vacate the area before the depth charges exploded.

1 Marder

The marder was a small one‑man submarine built in Nazi Germany. The submarine was not supposed to kill the operator even though it often did. It was an improved version of a similar submarine, the neger. The marder solved some of the neger’s problems, including its inability to remain underwater.

However, the marder was not really better than the neger it was supposed to replace. While it could dive underwater, it could not do so beyond 30 meters (100 ft). For safety reasons, it usually remained between 13.7 and 15.2 meters (45–50 ft) below the water. Anything deeper was suicide.

Both submarines carried one torpedo, which the pilot fired before fleeing the area. However, fleeing after firing the torpedo was difficult in both designs. While the marder was successfully used against Allied ships, it was still listed as an unsuccessful weapon since one third of the pilots died during missions.

10 insane ancient weapons have shaped the brutal tapestry of human warfare, making history as dramatic as any fantasy epic. The history of human warfare is as storied as Game of Thrones and even more incestuously brutal. Time and again, the wisdom of the ages has been put to figuring out how to efficiently stab, maim, shoot, and in all other ways kill our enemies, and damn, are we good at it.

10 Insane Ancient Weapons Overview

10 Greek Steam Cannon

In 214 BC, the Roman Republic laid siege to the Sicilian city of Syracuse in a bid to gain strategic control of the island. General Marcus Claudius Marcellus led a naval fleet of 60 quinqueremes—Roman battleships—across the Strait of Messina in a frontal charge while his second-in-command attacked from the land. But as the noose tightened around the city, the mighty Roman army found itself repelled by an unlikely adversary: Archimedes.

For everything the Romans threw at him, Archimedes was always three steps ahead. Ballistae on the outer walls tore through the advancing cavalry. Seaward, the Claw of Archimedes lifted whole ships out of the water and shattered them in a shower of splinters and screaming slaves. For two years, the siege dragged on, an epic battle of military might versus scientific wit.

During this siege, Archimedes was said to have devised a weapon so devastating that it was able to burn ships to cinder from 150 meters (500 ft) away. All it took was a few drops of water. The device was deceptively simple: a copper tube heated over coals with a hollow clay projectile dropped down the barrel.

When the pipe got hot enough, a tiny bit of water was injected into the tube below the projectile. The water instantly vaporized, blasting the projectile toward advancing ships. On impact, the clay missile exploded, spraying burning chemicals onto the wooden ships.

Even today, Archimedes’s steam cannon is a matter of intense speculation. Mythbusters gave it a bust, but a team at MIT was able to build a working—and highly effective—model using the original description of the cannon.

They calculated that their .45-kilogram (1 lb) metal shell was launched with 1.8 times the kinetic energy of an M2 machine gun firing a .50-caliber round. If they hadn’t shot it directly into a wall of dirt, they guessed that it would have had a range of 1,200 meters (4,000 ft). And they only used half a cup of water.

9 Whirlwind Catapult

Catapults are the age‑old war machines, and like modern rifles, there was a different kind for every purpose. While films have shown us the wall punchers and beast machines used by Greek and Roman armies, the Chinese devised a smaller version that could strike important targets with pinpoint accuracy: the xuanfeng, or whirlwind catapult.

Like a sniper rifle, the whirlwind catapult was a one‑shot, one‑kill form of attack. They were small enough to be quickly moved around a battlefield, and the entire catapult could be swiveled on its base while someone sighted out a target. This gave them a strategic advantage over heavier catapults and trebuchets which, while much more destructive with a single shot, took time and manpower to maneuver into position.

To add to their deadly accuracy, the Chinese built these whirlwind catapults with two sling ropes and two release pins, keeping the sling pouch perfectly centered in the middle. No other cultures were known to do that.

8 Rocket Cats

Nobody had ever heard of rocket cats before 2014. Nobody, that is, except for Franz Helm, the man who invented them. Sometime around AD 1530, the artillery master from Cologne, Germany, was putting together a military guide to siege warfare. Gunpowder was just beginning to have an impact on warfare, which made the book popular. Helm’s manual contained descriptions of nearly every kind of bomb imaginable, all of it colorfully illustrated and grimly outlandish.

Then he added a section advising siege armies to find a cat. Any cat will do, he said, as long as it came from the city you were trying to vanquish. Then tie a bomb to it. In theory, the cat would scamper back to its home and subsequently burn down the entire city. Pigeons were fair game, too.

Whether or not these things actually happened is a question that people are still trying to answer, but the answer is “probably not.” According to Mitch Fraas, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania who had the pleasure of being the first person to translate the text, there isn’t any historical evidence that anybody actually tried to do what Helm suggested. The most likely result of such a scheme, he said, would be setting fire to your own camp.

7 Triple‑Bow Arcuballista

Invented and perfected throughout the height of the Greek and Roman empires, the ballista was basically a giant crossbow mounted on a cart. But the arms of the bow didn’t bend like those of a normal crossbow. Instead, they were solid beams of wood mounted between twisted skeins of rope. When a lever was turned, the ends of the arms rotated toward the back of the ballista and twisted the ropes to create torsion.

It was an immensely powerful weapon, but leave it to the Chinese to say that one bow wasn’t enough. They wanted three. The evolution of the multiple‑bow arcuballista was gradual, beginning in the Tang dynasty with a crossbow that used two bows for added power. Records from the period state that this bow could fire an iron bolt up to 1,100 meters (3,500 ft), more than three times the range of other siege crossbows.

At least 200 years later, the invading Mongol forces inspired another arms leap for Chinese arcuballista designers. Sometime during the early Song dynasty, they rolled out the sangong chuangzi nu—the “triple‑bow little bed.” Details of this arcuballista are few and far between. But it’s believed that the Mongolian army, stymied by these powerful defense machines, recruited Chinese engineers to build their own triple‑bow behemoths. This eventually turned the tide of war in the Mongols’ favor and led to the rise of the Yuan dynasty.

6 Gun Shields

Even in the 16th century, when the concept of firearms was still fresher than the pain of a first divorce, people figured out that adding a gun to something gave it at least twice the shooting power. King Henry VIII was especially sold on the idea. In addition to a walking staff made deadly with a spiked morning star and three pistols, his royal armory included 46 gun shields like the one pictured above.

These shields were typically wooden discs with a gun poking through the center, although each was different from the next. Some had iron shielding on the front and others had metal grates above the gun for sighting, but they were all regarded as decorative curiosities more than anything of actual historical interest.

Most of them were appropriated by scattered museums, where they gathered dust in display boxes along with other one‑off oddities from the Middle Ages. But the UK’s Victoria and Albert Museum recently took a closer look at their specimen and discovered that gun shields may have been more commonplace than most historians originally believed. So they rounded up as many as they could find and got to studying.

What they found was that several of the gun shields had powder burns from where they’d been used. Some of them also appear to have been designed to lock onto a ship’s gunwales, where they were probably used as an extra layer of shielding as well as a line of antipersonnel fire. In the end, though, it probably made more sense to keep the shields and the guns separate, so the bizarre gun shield fell into obscurity.

5 Chinese Flamethrower

As some of the earliest firearms, the Chinese proto‑guns were a vast, imaginative arsenal that was unlike anything that had been created to that point. With no prior bias for how a gunpowder‑driven weapon should look, Chinese inventors had a blank canvas to create some of the most bizarre guns the world has ever seen.

Fire lances, the first incarnation, emerged sometime in the 10th century. These were spears affixed to bamboo tubes that could shoot a burst of flame and shrapnel up to a few feet away. Some shot lead pellets, others released a burst of poisonous gas, and some fired arrows.

These soon gave way to pure fire tubes as armies ditched the spears in favor of cheap, disposable bamboo guns that only gave one shot but could be mass‑produced and fired one after the other. They were often given multiple barrels, leading to nearly endless flavors of death.

From the bowels of this creative mayhem emerged the sky‑filling spurting tube. Historians usually call this weapon a flamethrower, but that description doesn’t quite do it justice. Using a low‑nitrate form of gunpowder, this weapon could produce continuous bursts of flame for up to five minutes.

But it was the addition of arsenious oxide to the mixture that made it so lethal. The toxic smoke induced vomiting and convulsions. To top it off, the barrel was often packed with razor‑sharp porcelain shards. The result was instant laceration followed by a searing bath of poisonous flame. If your Chinese foe didn’t kill you right away, your insides would slowly stop working from the acute arsenic exposure. Eventually, you’d fall into a coma and die.

4 Percussion Pistol Whip

On March 17, 1834, Joshua Shaw was granted a patent for the only thing that could have made Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark even better: a riding whip with a pistol hidden in the whip’s handle. What made it particularly useful—and potentially dangerous—was the way it was fired.

Instead of using a trigger like most guns, the pistol had a button in the side of the handle that you could press with your thumb. That allowed a person to hold the whip like they normally would and still have access to the pistol’s trigger. Normally, the trigger was flush with the handle, but when it was cocked, the button would stick out for immediate firing.

At least one of these pistol had a button in the side of the handle that you could press with your thumb. That allowed a person to hold the whip like they normally would and still have access to the pistol’s trigger. Normally, the trigger was flush with the handle, but when it was cocked, the button would stick out for immediate firing.

At least one of these percussion pistol whips was actually made, although there aren’t any records of them being produced in any kind of numbers. It exists now more as a curiosity than anything else. Its major drawback was that the pistol could only be fired once, but then again, sometimes one shot is all you need.

3 Hwacha

China was fiercely protective of its gunpowder weapons during the 14th and 15th centuries. They held the most explosive advance in military technology since the bow and arrow, and they didn’t plan on giving it up without a fight. China imposed strict embargoes on gunpowder exports to Korea especially, leaving Korean engineers to fend for themselves against a seemingly endless onslaught of Japanese invaders.

By the turn of the 16th century, however, Korea had more than stepped up to the gunpowder challenge and was churning out their own war machines, matching any of the spurting tubes defending the Chinese mainland. The Korean tour de force was the hwacha, a multi‑rocket launcher that could fire over 100 rockets on a single match. The larger versions used by the king could fire closer to 200. These things were samurai busters, capable of taking down entire formations of densely packed samurai with each salvo.

The hwacha‘s ammunition was called a singijeon, which was basically an exploding arrow. The singijeon‘s fuses were adjusted based on the range of the enemy so that they would explode on impact. When the Japanese invasion began in full force in 1592, Korea already had hundreds of hwachas in operation.

Perhaps the greatest testament to the hwacha‘s power came during the 1593 Battle of Haengju. When Japan mounted an attack on the hilltop fortress with 30,000 troops, Haengju had barely 3,000 soldiers, civilians, and warrior monks in place to defend it. The odds were overwhelming, and the Japanese forces advanced with confidence, unaware that Haengju had one final trick up its sleeve: 40 hwachas mounted on the outer walls.

The Japanese samurai struggled up the hill nine times, only to be repelled again and again by a rain of pure hellfire. More than 10,000 Japanese died before they called off the siege, signaling one of the first major Korean victories in the Japanese invasion.

2 Axe Guns

Nearly every culture has made at least one version of a gun‑blade combination. Not only do they look cool, they offer a lot of versatility on the battlefield. The bayonets used in the Crimean War and the American Civil War are probably the most famous modern examples, but the trend has been around since the first Chinese fire lances in the 10th century.

Yet somehow, nobody really nailed it like Germany did. Some of the most well‑preserved examples of German axe guns currently reside in the Historisches Museum in Dresden and date from the mid‑ to late 1500s. These ornately carved pieces featured heavy battle axes on the barrels of wheel‑lock firearms.

Some could be used as a chopper and a shooter simultaneously, while others were primarily axes that revealed a gun barrel when the axe head was removed. They were likely developed for cavalry, which explains the extended handles on what would otherwise be a pistol.

1 Hellburners

It was 1584, six long winters into the Eighty Years’ War, and Federigo Giambelli could taste vengeance in the air. Years earlier, he had offered his service as a weapons designer to the Spanish court, but they’d laughed him out of the country. Fuming, he’d moved to Antwerp, where he finally found the opportunity to avenge his bruised Italian ego.

Fresh off a victory against the Ottomans, Spain sent the Duke of Parma to lay siege to Antwerp, which had become the hub of Dutch separatists. The duke hoped to choke the city with a blockade of ships across the River Scheldt.

Antwerp retaliated by sending fire ships—literally, ships on fire—against the blockade. Laughing, the Spanish army pushed them away with pikes until the vessels burned themselves into the river. Still wanting revenge on the Spanish, Giambelli asked the city council for 60 ships, vowing to break the blockade. But the city just gave him two.

Undeterred, Giambelli began building his masterpiece weapons. With each ship, he gutted the hold, built a cement chamber inside with walls 1.5 meters (5 ft) thick, and loaded in 3,000 kilograms (7,000 lb) of gunpowder. He capped it with a marble roof and piled each ship high with “every dangerous missile that could be imagined.”

Finally, he constructed a clockwork mechanism to ignite the whole load at a predetermined time. These two ships became the world’s first remotely detonated time bombs, which he called “hellburners.”

As night approached on April 5, Giambelli sent 32 fire ships ahead of his hellburners to distract the Spaniards. The duke called his men onto the blockade to keep the ships away. But one hellburner grounded too far from the blockade and gently “popped” when its igniter misfired. With the fire ships fizzling out, the second hellburner merely nudged the line of Spanish ships and appeared to be dead in the water. Some of the Spanish soldiers began to laugh.

Then the second hellburner exploded, killing 1,000 men and blowing a 60‑meter (200 ft) hole in the blockade. The sky rained cement blocks the size of tombstones. Most importantly, the blast opened the artery to resupply the city.

Shocked, the Dutch didn’t move to bring in the supplies they’d stationed downriver. A few months later, they surrendered to Spain. Giambelli couldn’t have cared less. His war was over because Spain damn well knew his name now.