7 Strange And Fascinating Weapons From Around The World

1.

Tessen - fan and weapon in one. Country of origin: Japan 1100s. The metal fan, or Japanese war fan, as it is also called, was used as a discreet but very effective weapon in feudal Japan. Particularly popular was that of female ninja warriors. At first glance, the fan looked like an ordinary and harmless fan, but were made of shiny and deadly steel. The fan could be used to attack, lock the opponent in grip, used like shields against arrows and weapons, and even as a help to swim faster!

2.

Whip sword - equally dangerous to the swinger. Country of origin: India 300s. Urumi is probably one of the most dangerous handweapon throughout the ages, not just for the opponent, but also for those who use it. The weapon is made of steel or brass, with several sharp blades and attached to a handle. These can be up to 170 centimeters long. When urumi is not in use, it can be rolled together and worn around the waist like a belt.

3.

Weapon to avoid grave robbery. Country of origin: United Kingdom and the United States, 19th century. The weapon was strategically placed inside the coffin and was activated when the thief came to the stumbled over a thread that activated the weapon. Then weapon then turned automatically in the thief's direction and was fired. The weapon could be charged with salt or other harmless "ammunition", but there were also more harmful variants.

4.

Duckfoot gun- shot in many directions. Country of origin: US 1700s. The weapon was designed to shoot at several people at one time and was especially useful for bank guards, jailmen and ship captains who could be attacked from several people at the same time. But it was not effective, since the shots often just hurt the opponent instead of killing him. The bullets also tended to ricochet, so the shooter was sometimes injured himself.

5.

Puckles machine gun- shot square bullets. Country of origin: United Kingdom 1718. James Puckle patented "The world's first machine gun". But the weapon was primitive and simply consisted of a huge gun mounted on a tripod. The word "machine gun" is connected today with automatic weapons. The weapon could only fire nine rounds per minute, but it was impressive compared to other guns at this time, which could only fire three rounds per minute. The weapon could fend off both round and square ammunition. The round bullets should be used against Christian enemies, while the square should be used against Muslim Turks. The reason was that square caused greater damage. Puckle said in the patent application that this would "convince the Turks about the benefits of Christian civilization."

6.

The belt buckle gun. Country of origin: Germany 1910s. The weapon was easy to use. All the person needed to do to activate it was to lift the bucket itself (same principle as the buckle on an airbelt). Then weapon appeared and the bullets was fired by pressing a trigger on the right side. Due to the small size of the weapon, the wearer had to be very close to the opponent to have some effect.

7.

Hexenfänger. Orgins: Europe, middle ages. The human catcher was in use until the 1700s and has also been used to arrest criminals and suspect witches. In German, it is called Hexenfänger. In the Middle Ages, it was often in this way that noble riders were caught. The attackers wanted victims to survive so that they could demand ransom from their families. The attacker did not need to worry that the spikes would penetrate the throat, when nobles usually fought in Armor.