War is a truly terrible thing, but at least we can all agree these 13 weapons shouldn’t be allowed to make it worse.
Although battles themselves are nothing new, as technology advances, humans come up with new (and totally horrific) weapons that ultimately go on to cause people around the world so much pain. Some of them are later deemed too inhumane for use in battle, but it’s unfortunate that so many lives have to be lost before such distinctions are made.
1. Mustard Gas
This gas, which causes victims’ lungs to fill with fluid and drown them from the inside, was commonly used during World War I. It has since been banned, but some still find ways to use it.
2. Nerve Gas
This horrible gas was used to interfere with the mechanism that transfers signals from the nervous system to organs.
3. Pepper Spray
Although this is banned from warfare, police officers and civilians continue to carry pepper spray for their own protection.
4. Plastic Landmines
They’re just as dangerous as metal ones, but they’re infinitely harder to find after wars end.
5. Bio Weapons
Banning these weapons is just plain common sense when you can’t ensure that they won’t come back to hurt your own people.
6. Napalm
Because napalm cannot be used in wooded areas or near civilians, it’s rarely used at all today.
7. Landmines That Don’t Self-Destruct
In 1980, it was ruled that landmines that can’t self-destruct after a certain period of time can no longer be used, since they pose an obvious threat to civilians.
8. Poisoned Bullets
Poisoned bullets have been banned since the 1675 Strasbourg Agreement.
9. Balloon Bombs
These were outlawed after the Japanese actually used them to start forest fires in Oregon, killing a Sunday school teacher and five children during World War II.
10. Salted Bombs
Unlike most nuclear weapons, salted bombs contain isotopes that make detonation sites uninhabitable for long periods of time.
11. Diseased Animals
Purposely releasing disease-ridden rodents and insects in war zones is no longer permitted.
12. Bat Bombs
Tested but never used by the U.S. government, strapping bombs on bats might have seemed like a good idea, but there was no way to ensure that the animals would fly to the correct locations.
13. Spike Pits
Containing spikes that were often smeared with fecal matter to induce toxic shock, these pits have been banned since the Vietnam War.
Human beings are brainiacs, but it’s a shame that this level of intelligence is often used for evil.
From bat bombs to plastic landmines, experts in the art of war have always pulled out all the stops when it comes to taking down enemies. While it’s a shame that such devastation has to happen at all, at least there are systems in place to ensure that uniquely horrible methods are never used again.
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