Buzz
Open your cupboard and take a look. What do you notice? Think about the well-dressed individual you encountered on the street earlier. Chances are, your first thoughts didn’t include phrases like 'a weapons stash' or 'a dangerous threat.'
Throughout history, the need for self-defense and combat has driven humanity to repurpose everyday objects into tools of protection or harm. This article highlights ten such items that serve dual roles. While they maintain their original functions, they can also be adapted for defensive or offensive purposes.
10. Belt Buckle Gun
During World War II, the Nazis constructed a variety of innovative devices, one of which was a belt buckle that also functioned as a firearm. Known as the koppelschlospistole, it was originally designed by German officer Louis Marquis while he was held in a prisoner of war camp during World War I. The Nazis later refined this invention during World War II, producing two versions: a double-barreled model that shot two 7.65-millimeter bullets and a quadruple-barreled version that fired four 5.6-millimeter rounds. Each barrel was equipped with its own trigger.
This buckle pistol was reportedly intended for high-ranking Nazi officials as a final means of defense if captured, though some believe it was designed for Nazi operatives. It could be discharged in two ways: by activating a concealed spring that revealed the barrels and fired when the wearer feigned surrender, or by releasing a catch to expose the barrels and then pulling individual triggers to shoot. Only twelve of these pistols were ever produced, and there is no evidence they were used in battle. Today, they are considered rare and valuable collector’s items.
9. Bob Semple Tank
When World War II began, New Zealand and Australia swiftly recognized three critical realities: First, they faced the imminent danger of a Japanese invasion. Second, neither country had the industrial capacity to manufacture heavy weaponry to defend against such an attack. Third, Britain and the United States were preoccupied with their own military preparations and unable to supply them with arms.
Faced with this critical situation, New Zealand was compelled to develop its own armaments. Among these was the Bob Semple tank, which, in practical terms, hardly qualified as a tank. Essentially, it was a Caterpillar bulldozer retrofitted with metal plates and equipped with six machine guns.
Only a few Bob Semple tanks were ever constructed. The vehicle required a crew of eight, and the combined weight of the crew, weapons, and armor reduced its speed to a sluggish 24 kilometers per hour (15 mph). Standing at 3.7 meters (12 ft) tall, it was also excessively cumbersome and had to come to a complete halt before shifting gears. Since Japan never invaded New Zealand, the tank’s effectiveness in battle remains unknown. Nevertheless, it demonstrated New Zealand’s unwavering resolve to protect itself from potential Japanese aggression.
8. Key Guns
The concept of embedding a firearm within a key may seem unusual, but in 1854, several inventors in the United States accomplished just that. At the time, prisons were overcrowded and filled with dangerous inmates who often assaulted guards during cell operations. To address this, someone devised the idea of integrating a gun into the key used by guards to unlock cell doors.
There is no record of the single-shot key guns successfully preventing prison escapes, as they were as impractical as they were bizarre. For starters, the gun had no sights, making accuracy nearly impossible. Additionally, it could only be fired by touching the gunpowder hole at the back with a lit cigar. This required the guard to either be a smoker or carry a cigar that could be quickly lit before any potential escapees reached him.
Another issue was that prisoners attempting to escape would instinctively grab the key, even if unaware it concealed a gun. The inventors later introduced a modified version with a trigger, eliminating the need for a lit cigar. However, this improvement backfired, as escapees who seized the key would quickly realize they were holding a firearm.
7. Feces-Tipped Arrows and Explosives
For thousands of years, human excrement has been utilized in warfare. The Scythians, for instance, used arrows coated with a toxic blend of viper venom, human blood, and feces. In the 12th century, the Chinese developed bombs containing gunpowder, poison, and fecal matter. During the Middle Ages, some armies catapulted the waste of plague victims into besieged fortresses to spread disease among the inhabitants.
Excrement was also employed during the Vietnam War, where Viet Cong fighters created booby traps using sharpened punji sticks coated with feces. These bamboo traps didn’t kill American and South Vietnamese soldiers instantly but caused severe infections that could prove fatal.
More recently, in 2009, a Russian inventor named Aleksandr Georgievich Semenov patented a “Method of Biowaste Removal From Isolated Dwelling Compartment.” Despite the technical name, it essentially describes a tank shell designed to carry human waste. The concept involves a tank crew relieving themselves into the explosive-filled shell, which is then fired at the enemy. Semenov claims the shell offers “additional military-psychological and military-political effects,” but it’s clear the primary goal is to add a grotesque twist to warfare.
6. Plow Gun
During the US Civil War, Union farmers near the North-South border faced frequent raids by Confederate forces. In 1862, W.H. Fancher and C.M. French devised the “New and Improved Ordnance Plow,” a farm plow integrated with a gun. The idea was to allow Union farmers to defend themselves by aiming their plow—and the attached firearm—at Confederate raiders while working in their fields.
The weapon was never constructed, as it was highly impractical. Moreover, Confederate soldiers were not foolish and would quickly recognize the plows as potential threats. Unable to distinguish between armed and unarmed plows from a distance, they would likely shoot at any farmer with a plow, regardless of whether it was weaponized.
5. Kubotan
The Kubotan is a compact, 14-centimeter-long (5.5 in) keychain baton created by Takayuki Kubota in the 1960s. It is designed to strike vulnerable body areas and apply painful pressure points to subdue attackers.
In the 1970s, the Los Angeles Police Department adopted the Kubotan and enlisted Kubota to train its female officers in its use. The tool gained a reputation for handling uncooperative suspects, earning it the nickname “Instrument of Attitude Adjustment.” Other agencies, including the FBI and CIA, also incorporated the Kubotan for personal defense and, potentially, for managing difficult individuals.
4. Walking Canes Concealing Guns, Swords, and Style
In the 1850s, societal norms dictated that gentlemen carry a cane, a symbol of wealth and status. However, this also made them prime targets for the numerous criminals roaming the streets. To address this, multi-functional walking canes were invented, doubling as concealed sword sheaths. This allowed a gentleman to swiftly draw a sword from his cane and defend himself in a sword fight if attacked.
Cane swords eventually gave way to cane guns, which functioned exactly as their name suggests. Among the most notable was a .31-caliber model manufactured by Remington Arms in 1858. Another innovative design featured a handle that could be transformed into a buttstock for added stability.
3. Aunt Jemima Flour Bomb
During World War II, George Bogdan Kistiakowsky, a scientist and soldier with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)—the precursor to the CIA—created an edible baking flour that also served as an explosive. Named Aunt Jemima after a popular U.S. flour brand, it combined ordinary baking flour with HMX, a highly potent explosive.
Aunt Jemima flour could be used to bake bread or muffins just like regular flour, and it was technically edible. However, resistance fighters were strongly cautioned against consuming it, as it could lead to severe stomach issues. Distributed to Chinese resistance fighters during the war, it was intended for use against Japanese occupying forces.
When not baked into food, the flour could be fashioned into an improvised explosive. Even when baked into bread or muffins, all that was needed to convert it into a bomb was the addition of a detonator.
2. A Helmet Gun That Also Functioned as a Cooking Tool
During World War I, Albert Bacon Pratt from Lyndon, Vermont, devised an unconventional firearm enhancement: a helmet with an integrated gun. Dubbed the “helmet gun,” it lacked a traditional trigger and instead relied on the user blowing into a tube to fire bullets. Aiming was automatic, as the gun would shoot in whatever direction the wearer faced.
Automatic targeting was far from ideal, but the helmet gun’s biggest flaw was its recoil, which posed a serious risk of neck injury to the shooter. Pratt claimed to have addressed this issue by incorporating a spring mechanism inside the helmet to absorb the kickback.
Pratt didn’t stop there. He also suggested that the helmet’s top could be detached and repurposed as a cooking tool. However, the concept of a helmet-mounted gun that doubled as kitchenware was impractical and unnecessary. As a result, the bizarre invention faded into obscurity.
1. Scooter and Artillery Combo
In the 1950s, France dealt with numerous uprisings in its colonies, including Algeria and Indochina (modern-day Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia). Insurgents often struck French targets and retreated before heavy weaponry could be deployed. To counter this, France developed a militarized Vespa scooter, the Vespa 150 TAP, designed specifically for its airborne special forces. The scooter carried an M20 recoilless rifle and multiple rounds of ammunition, enabling rapid response to guerrilla attacks.
The concept behind the scooter was to enable rapid deployment and airdrop capabilities, delivering heavy firepower to the lightly equipped French airborne troops. The weapon wasn’t fired directly from the scooter; instead, it was dismounted and assembled on a tripod before being used in combat. Approximately 500 of these scooters were produced, and they effectively outmatched the insurgents. However, their use remained limited to Algeria and Indochina, never seeing action elsewhere.
