When Lieutenant John Pike casually hosed down a line of seated protesters with pepper spray, a lot of weird stuff immediately followed. No, we’re not talking about the evolution of the meme. Or even the nationwide backlash. More »
We’re awaiting confirmation from UC Davis police, but after examining photos and videos of the incident, this is what we believe campus police used against the Occupy Wall Street protesters at UC Davis this weekend. It’s nasty. More »
In South Africa, ATMs have been weaponised with pepper spray to ward off thieves. What could possibly go wrong?? More »
This week’s New Yorker (yep, you heard me right) has a cool piece on the development of non-lethal weapons for military and police. You can tell the writer, Alec Wilkinson, had a good time reporting it. The story focuses on Charles Heal, a badass part-time Marine and part-time LA Sheriff’s Department officer known in some circles as “Mr. Non-Lethal Weapons.” As a product evaluator and consultant, Heal has helped create about 25 different non-lethal weapons, including:
Because getting maced just doesn’t suck enough, there’s now mace pepper spray gel. This shit will coat your face with pure, burning stickiness, turning your misinterpreted flirting into a blind search for water or anything else that’ll provide relief for your painful, painful face. The benefit to the sprayer is that there’s no mist, so all of the painful chemicals will end up in your assailant’s eyes, nose and mouth rather than in the air around you. It “sticks to the face like glue,” according to the marketing materials. Holy shit. Only US$15! How can you say no?! [Product Page via Gadget Lab via Book of Joe]
