Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Pentagon Developed 'Laughing Bullets'

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the we-must-not-have-a-hysteria-gap dept.

plasmadroid writes "It might sound like a joke, but documents unearthed by New Scientist show that the Pentagon actually funded research into 'non-lethal' bullets that would also hit a target with a dose of laughing gas. That way, they'd not only be stunned but incapacitated by fits of giggles. Another idea was to put stink bombs inside rubber bullets. I guess it would work, but the idea of crowds of rioters giggling uncontrollably while being pelted with rubber bullets is truly bizarre..."

3 of 286 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Safe for entire range? by east+coast · · Score: 3, Informative

    Perhaps it's like a Simunition FX.

    And please, don't misunderstand the non-lethal aspect of the technology. Non-lethal doesn't mean harmless. These rounds would likely cause bruises and sometimes breaks of the skin. I guess it's still better then being dead.

    --
    Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
  2. "Laughing gas" isn't by CoolVibe · · Score: 5, Informative

    Nitrous Oxide, also known as "Laughing gas" does not make people laugh. Read more here on WikiPedia.

  3. Re:Safe for entire range? by eth1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    "If we were to define non-lethal as not possible to kill someone with, we couldn't even define marshmallows as non-lethal due to their choking hazard."

    This is exactly why police departments, etc. don't ever refer to these things as "non-lethal" (at least not in an official manner). They're properly called "LESS-lethal."