military

Water Cooler Bottle Blaster

British company BCB has developed what is essentially a potato cannon on steroids. Called the Wall Breaker, this pneumatically charged cannon launches water cooler bottles at 984 feet per second.

Need to break through concrete in a hostage situation? No problem. Want to rip a giant hole through a cargo van. They have you covered.

This was developed for the British military, so I’m not sure we’ll be seeing a consumer version available anytime soon. Impressive all the same.

The Kukri Knife of Nepal

The Kukri Knife of Nepal

A kukri is the incredibly large and heavy knife carried by Gurkha soldiers. Real kukri knives are handmade by knife smiths in primitive village forges in the Himalayan foothills of Nepal. I ordered mine from a knife maker in Kathmandu. Even with shipping, for a handmade item such as this, the cost was surprisingly reasonable (well under $100).

Arduino Goes to War

Arduino Goes to War

Shown uppermost is the prototype of a handheld artillery spotting device developed as a student capstone project at West Point. The blue board to upper left is pretty clearly an Arduino Mega. You can see, in the near upper corner of that board, where the DC power jack has been desoldered and the pads hardwired to the battery pack. The system, called DemonEye, is now reportedly undergoing field testing.