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Weapons are often referred to as a double-edged sword, capable of either taking lives or saving them, depending on their use.
Throughout history, inventive individuals have found ways to repurpose deadly weapons into peaceful creations. These transformations serve purposes ranging from artistic expression and fashion to practical uses like alleviating famines and generating power. The weapons in question include everything from small knives to automatic rifles, rocket launchers, armored tanks, helicopters, and even nuclear missiles.
10. Escopetarra
Escopetarra, which translates to "shotgun guitar" in English, is a term that blends the Spanish words "escopeta" (shotgun) and "guitarra" (guitar). Despite its name, this creation actually refers to guitars made from assault rifles, primarily AK-47s, rather than shotguns.
César López, a Colombian musician, invented and named the escopetarra after witnessing the devastating effects of a car bombing in the early 2000s. The explosion claimed 36 lives and injured 170 people outside a nightclub in Bogotá, Colombia.
López noticed a soldier at the scene holding his rifle as if it were a guitar, which inspired him to transform an old AK-47 assault rifle into a guitar. López continues to create escopetarras today, using rifles surrendered by various militias involved in Colombia's civil war.
9. The Throne of Weapons and the Tree of Life
Between 1977 and 1992, Mozambique was torn apart by a brutal civil war, resulting in over one million deaths and five million displaced people. After the conflict, the government launched the “Transforming Arms into Tools” program, allowing former fighters to exchange their weapons for farming tools. This initiative led to the collection of seven million weapons.
In 2001, Mozambican artist Cristóvão “Kester” Canhavato welded some of these weapons into a powerful sculpture known as the Throne of Weapons. The piece features rifles from several nations involved in the civil war, including weapons from the West, Russia, Portugal, and North Korea.
Another group of Mozambican artists created a second sculpture from the recovered weapons, a three-meter-tall tree encircled by various animals. This piece was called the Tree of Life. Unlike Kester, who exclusively used assault rifles and magazines for his sculpture, these artists incorporated rifles, pistols, magazines, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
8. Electricity
While many Americans may not be aware, Russia once contributed to one-tenth of the electricity generated in the United States. This began at the end of the Cold War when both Russia and the US agreed to dismantle a significant portion of their nuclear arsenals.
In 1993, both countries signed the U.S.-Russia HEU Purchase Agreement. The agreement required Russia to convert the uranium from its decommissioned nuclear weapons into nuclear fuel, which would then be sold to the US. The US, in turn, would process this fuel into rods for its nuclear plants.
The deal proved to be advantageous for Russia, as they were paid to eliminate their nuclear stockpiles. As Anton Khlopkov from the Center for Energy and Security Studies in Russia later remarked, “This is the only time in history when disarmament was actually profitable.” The agreement concluded in 2013 when the final batch of nuclear fuel was delivered to the US.
7. Tractors
After World War II, French farmers found themselves in a dire situation. Their lands were scarred by trenches and craters from artillery explosions, but that was not the biggest issue. Their farming equipment, particularly the tractors vital for agricultural work, had either been destroyed or sent to Germany by the Nazis.
The French army came to the rescue by converting 3,000 surplus M 17 (FT) Renault armored tanks into makeshift tractors. The conversion process was quick and straightforward, as the armor and weapons were removed, and a few additional parts were added to turn them into functional tractors.
This solution was beneficial for the French people, the farmers, and the army. It helped avert a potential famine, provided farmers with tractors they could not afford, and allowed the military to dispose of its obsolete tanks for a low cost. As the French military told the farmers, “Those little tractors that whipped the Hun will undo much of what the Hun has done,” with 'Hun' referring to the Germans.
6. Knife Angel
The Knife Angel (officially known as the National Monument against Violence and Aggression) is a towering 27-foot statue created by the National Ironworks Center in Oswestry, UK. The monument is made from 100,000 knives and blades that were seized by police from crime suspects across the UK.
The National Ironworks Center crafted this statue as a tribute to the victims of knife violence. In fact, 30% of the knives had traces of blood when they were handed over by the police. The center received such a large number of knives that they were able to create a second statue in the shape of a police dog.
Unlike the Knife Angel, the dog statue incorporated dog whistles, tags, and gun parts. The center described the monument as a tribute to every dedicated, courageous, and hardworking police dog. The sculpture was presented to the West Mercia Police Department, which proudly placed it outside their headquarters in Hindlip, West Mercia, UK.
5. Artificial Reefs
Coral reefs are vital for the survival of marine life, but unfortunately, they are being destroyed by human activities and climate change. In response, governments have begun creating artificial reefs from old subway cars and other durable materials that can withstand underwater conditions. However, Jordan took a unique approach by constructing artificial reefs out of decommissioned military tanks, armored vehicles, and helicopters.
The weapons were submerged between 50 and 90 feet deep in the Red Sea, just off the coast of Aqaba in Jordan. As of July 2019, Jordan had already sunk 19 decommissioned weapons, with plans to add more as they acquire additional weapons. The aim is for these reefs to serve as both a museum and a tourist attraction.
4. Garden Tools
Swords to Plowshares is a program run by RAWtools, a Christian nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing gun violence. Through this initiative, individuals can turn in their firearms, which are then transformed into agricultural tools. So far, RAWtools has converted assault rifles like the AK-47 and AR-15 into spades, plows, hoes, mattocks, and trowels.
The collected firearms are first cut into pieces before being sent to the furnace. Once heated, the red-hot metal is hammered into new shapes. Victims of gun violence and anti-gun violence activists are invited to take part in the process of transforming these weapons into farm tools.
Mike Martin, the founder of RAWtools, was inspired by an Old Testament verse stating that true peace will only come when weapons are converted into agricultural tools. However, he launched the program only after the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14, 2012, in which 28 people were killed and two others injured, making it one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
3. Pots And Pans
Ships are made from steel—tons of it—and when they become outdated, they are recycled. In fact, 95% of a typical ship can be repurposed, including warships. These ships are dismantled and processed into new products, which can range from a variety of items, including pots and pans.
One warship that made headlines before being scrapped was the HMS Invincible, a British naval ship that served in the Falklands, Balkan, and Iraqi wars. The British navy sold the ship to Leyal Ship Recycling in Turkey for £2 million ($3.2 million).
The sale was considered unusual because it took place online. However, it appears that the sale of decommissioned warships over the internet is common. While it's reassuring to know that warships are being recycled, the actual process of cutting ships—warships included—into pieces is hazardous, intricate, and dangerous. Many workers lose their lives each year during this procedure.
2. Chemotherapy
Chemical weapons were extensively used during World War I, earning the conflict the nickname 'The Chemist's War.' Chemists of that era were actively involved in creating chemical weapons for their respective sides. Chlorine, xylyl bromide, and mustard gas all made their first appearances on the battlefields of World War I.
While all three of these chemicals were deadly, mustard gas was especially lethal. It was first used by Germany against Allied troops in Ypres, Belgium, in July 1917. This single attack killed 10,000 Allied soldiers, with many more injured.
Unlike other chemical agents, mustard gas was not stopped by gas masks, as it could penetrate the skin. Protective clothing offered no help either, as the gas could seep through fabric. The victims of the attack suffered from painful, bloody coughs and skin riddled with blisters. Six weeks later, most died in excruciating agony.
Two decades later, as the world braced for World War II, Allied scientists began researching ways to prevent and treat mustard gas exposure. They were determined not to be caught off guard. Two Yale University doctors, Louis Goodman and Alfred Gilman, discovered that soldiers exposed to mustard gas during World War I had lower white blood cell counts compared to others.
Goodman and Gilman soon realized that mustard gas could reduce the white blood cell count in the body. This led them to hypothesize that mustard gas could potentially be used to treat cancer. White blood cells play a key role in fighting infections but can sometimes mutate and cause leukemia.
To verify their hypothesis, the researchers injected a few subjects with nitrogen mustard and observed that after several treatments, their leukemia symptoms disappeared. They had been correct: mustard gas had the ability to cure cancer. This marked the first instance of chemotherapy and laid the foundation for modern cancer treatments.
1. Headphones and Wristwatches
IM, a Swedish organization, works alongside Latin American governments to reduce the number of illegal firearms on the streets, transforming the metals from these weapons into useful products. They refer to this repurposed metal as Humanium metal.
In 2018, IM collaborated with Yevo Labs to release a special edition of their Yevo 1 wireless earbuds. The earbuds and their charging case featured parts made from Humanium metal. It’s worth noting that while Yevo Labs had previously launched Yevo 1 earbuds without gun metal, the special edition version incorporated it.
The same year, IM teamed up with watchmaker Triwa to produce wristwatches made from Humanium metal. The guns used in the making of these watches had been confiscated by law enforcement in El Salvador.
