Pentagon Developed 'Laughing Bullets' 286
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..."
Re:Safe for entire range? (Score:4, Informative)
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.
"Laughing gas" isn't (Score:5, Informative)
Re:...Oblig (Score:1, Informative)
You can't have manslaughter without "man's laughter"
Re:Would it even work? (Score:2, Informative)
It's a nitrogen compound. Lots of explosive potential. Indeed it can be made by carefully heating ammonium nitrate (see McVeigh, Timothy). But if you apply too much heat, the nitrous oxide can blow up too (see Oklahoma City). How you'd get that stuff to survive a bullet-ride intact is a bit of a mystery to me.
You're an idiot (Score:1, Informative)
Read about how wrong you are here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide#Aeroso
Re:Safe for entire range? (Score:3, Informative)
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."