South African inventor Charl Fourie won an Ig Nobel Peace Prize for inventing the Blaster, a literal car-mounted flamethrower designed to deter violent carjackings in the late nineties.

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South African inventor Charl Fourie won an Ig Nobel Peace Prize for inventing the Blaster, a literal car-mounted flamethrower designed to deter violent carjackings in the late nineties. By flipping a switch on the dashboard, drivers could trigger a burst of liquefied petroleum gas from nozzles under the doors, engulfing any approaching criminal in a massive fireball without actually damaging the vehicle's paint job. It was completely legal at the time since the law allowed for lethal self-defense, but it was eventually discontinued due to high manufacturing costs and terrifying safety liabilities. Nothing screams peak dystopian late-stage capitalism quite like weaponizing your daily commuter sedan into a fire-breathing dragon just to pick up groceries!