States and countries all have their own laws, and many things are banned in one place or
another.
But some items have been banned in the whole United States - or even in the whole world.
Here are ten of the most illegal things ever invented.
#10.
Body Armor
Wait, body armor?
Why is the government banning an item designed to protect you?
After all, soldiers wear it all the time, and the protective gear has often saved them
from a fatal injury in combat.
And kevlar bulletproof vests have become standard issue for many police officers, making it
possible to survive a bullet to the chest with only some bruised ribs.
But for civilians, being in possession of a bulletproof vest or other items of body
armor could land them some serious jail time in the United States.
Why does the US government want to keep these items out of civilian hands?
The argument is simple - the average American is unlikely to need body armor.
Unless you’re really paranoid, no one is walking through life expecting to take two
bullets center mass.
So the government assumes that if you want bulletproof vests or other body armor, you’re
probably planning to commit a crime where you’re expecting to be shot at.
That’s why they made it illegal under federal law for anyone convicted of a felony to possess
a bulletproof vest, and anyone who commits a federal crime while wearing one will get
a longer sentence.
States have joined in with similar laws.
The law has been challenged under multiple grounds, but it stands to this day.
But even stranger, one of the most illegal items out there is...a toy.
#9.
Lawn Darts
If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember those lazy summer days in the front
yard.
Dad was grilling, and you and your siblings and friends were playing a rousing game of
lawn darts.
A target would be laid on the ground, and the players would take turns tossing sharp-tipped
darts underhand.
The goal would be to get the darts inside the target ring and score a point.
Some versions had a bullseye ring that could be hit for bonus points, and the game became
popular due to how easy it was to set up and the low cost compared to other games.
And what could ever go wrong with giving kids some sharp-tipped darts?
The darts were legal until 1970, when the Food and Drug Administration classified them
as a mechanical hazard.
They were still allowed to be sold, but additional precautions were required and they were banned
from toy stores.
They remained technically legal for another eight years - until a seven-year-old girl
was killed by the darts in 1987, and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission acted.
The darts had caused a whopping 6,100 emergency room visits in that eight year gap.
Canada soon banned them as well, and the deadly toy has not been on store shelves since.
Lawn darts are an accidental hazard - but this next item definitely intends to create
chaos.
#8.
Machine Guns
It’s one of the ultimates in weaponry.
Machine guns are known for being two things - fast and powerful.
They’re auto-firing long-barrel firearms that autoload - meaning you don’t need to
do anything but squeeze the trigger, and you’ll have a hail of bullets ripping at the enemy.
Unlike traditional assault rifles, the machine gun is designed for sustained fire and as
such is very popular in the military.
It’s often mounted atop a tripod for easy maneuvering, and can be used by tank gunners
and shooters positioned above the fray as enemies approach.
But if you’re a civilian looking for one of these powerhouse guns, you’re out of
luck.
The US is often known as a bit of a wild west scene for guns, with most nations having far
stricter gun control.
But even in the United States, the machine gun is a step too far.
A law banning machine guns was actually tucked into a bill repealing most previous gun control
laws in 1986, making this one of the only laws banning a type of gun that the NRA actually
supported.
But technically machine guns aren’t 100% illegal - the law only applies to guns made
after it took effect.
So if you can find a thirty-five year old machine gun, it’s fair game - but otherwise
you might be facing charges for possession of an illegal weapon.
But some banned weapons are a lot smaller.
#7.
Switchblade
It’s a weapon that hides in plain sight.
It looks like a simple handle, similar to the one you would see on a swiss army knife.
But the goal of this weapon isn’t to contain many useful tools that you can use on the
go.
It only has one item - a razor-sharp blade that slides out automatically when a button
or switch on the handle is pressed.
This hidden weapon makes the switchblade easy to contain or slip into clothing and get past
security - which made it a very popular choice for criminals who wanted to rob or attack
people.
And after a wave of switchblade-related crime, the government sprung into action.
During the 1950s, there was a lot of alarm over a switchblade crime wave.
While there was no real evidence that an army of young delinquents was cutting people with
switchblades, it didn’t stop Congress.
In 1958, the US Congress passed a law prohibiting the sale, manufacture, or importation of switchblades
across the United States.
Most states soon introduced their own laws banning the personal possession of switchblades
and harshly punishing anyone who used them in a crime.
Most of the rest of the world soon followed, with dozens of nations declaring themselves
switchblade-free zones.
But if you’re a fan of this old-timey weapon, places like Poland and Mexico are still havens.
It’s not hard to see why this next item is highly illegal.
#6.
Nuclear Material
The use of nuclear energy was a game-changer in many ways in the 1940s and beyond.
Nuclear plants became one of the most efficient ways to produce energy for a growing nation
- although fears of deadly meltdowns were constant.
And of course, scientists figured out how to unleash the devastating power of nuclear
energy in the last days of World War 2, with a pair of massive nuclear detonations over
Japan.
The proper use of nuclear energy became a hot topic across every country, but there
was one thing just about everyone agreed with.
This was not something that should be in civilian hands.
Obviously, no one wants civilians to have nuclear bombs - that would certainly bring
a new dimension to neighbors feuding over their fence line - but the United States has
banned all unauthorized possession of nuclear material or byproducts.
That’s because nuclear material can be highly toxic, and should only be handled by people
who are well-trained in handling and disposing of it.
Not only could one mistake kill the handler, but it could contaminate the entire area and
poison countless people if it leaks.
The government isn’t playing around - illegal possession could carry up to twenty years
in prison, or up to life if it leads to someone’s death.
But some items are so dangerous, the entire world agreed to ban them.
#5.
Poison Gas and Chemical Weapons
World War I turned into a horror show for its soldiers, who not only faced high-intensity
trench warfare, but a new and deadly type of weapon - chemical weapons.
Starting with respiratory agents like chlorine gas, these weapons could poison an entire
company - but they were risky.
They would drift with the wind, and could even turn around and hurt the army that just
shot them.
One of the early attacks using Chlorine gas killed five thousand soldiers, and the world
was horrified by these new advances in warfare.
So, with a united voice, they took action.
In the aftermath of World War I, nations got together and prohibited the use of chemical
weapons.
Multiple future treaties would update these bans, ultimately banning five types of chemical
agents - blood agents that cause a slow death from poisoning, blister agents that cause
chemical burns to the skin and eyes, choking agents that affect the respiratory system,
nerve agents that shut down the body’s organs and neurotransmitters, and nettle agents that
cause severe skin irritation.
The world has largely abided by these regulations and WW2 saw minimal use of chemical weapons
- but even today, certain rogue actors like the Syrian government continue to terrorize
civilians with these banned weapons.
Another weapon was banned for being too sneaky.
#4.
Non-Detectable Fragments
It’s one of the deadliest, most deceptive weapons around.
A bomb goes off, spraying shrapnel around the battlefield.
A soldier is hit and seriously wounded, and the medical convoy manages to get him off
the field to surgery.
The surgeon takes x-rays to determine where the fragments are located - and comes up empty.
Nothing is showing up on the x-rays, and the soldier soon dies of internal bleeding.
But it’s not a tragic equipment failure - it’s by design, and it was quickly becoming
a plague in warfare.
What is the secret of these weapons?
They’re made with plastic.
While plastic is allowed to be used in weapons design today, the Convention on Certain Conventional
Weapons banned the use of any weapon that is designed to spread plastic shrapnel or
other non-detectable fragments.
The reasoning is that regardless of the reasoning behind the conflict, actively making it harder
to save the lives of wounded soldiers is inhumane.
The 1979 treaty has held, and the use of these weapons has been drastically reduced.
The main purpose of this treaty is to eliminate weapons that cause unnecessary pain - and
this next one is a doozy.
#3.
Cluster Munitions
Cluster bombs look like any other bomb - at first.
They’re dropped from a plane or launched from a ground-based battery, and deliver an
explosive payload when they hit.
But they don’t stop there.
When they hit, they launch countless other mini-bombs contained within, spreading their
payload over a wide area.
This was considered a great way to damage large collections of weapons, disrupt infrastructure,
and take out whole groups of soldiers at the same time - and they are very effective at
devastating enemy areas.
Maybe too effective.
Bombs don’t differentiate between enemies and civilians, and the more bombs are distributed,
the more likely civilians are to get caught in the crossfire.
But the problem with cluster bombs isn’t over after the battle.
It’s common for mini-bombs to fail to explode when they hit, staying on the ground - until
a civilian comes across them days, weeks, or even years after the fact.
When it gets dislodged and accidentally triggered, it can kill someone.
All these reasons led to the passing of the Convention on Cluster Munitions banning the
bombs, and it’s since been ratified by 120 nations.
But what cluster bombs do occasionally, this next weapon does by design.
#2.
Land Mines
Few weapons cause more damage - intentional and unintentional - than land mines.
When enemy tanks roll into the battlefield, few conventional weapons can stop them.
That’s why land mines were indispensable in many 20th century wars.
Buried underground with a trigger near the top, they get triggered by pressure atop the
mine - and deliver an explosive payload that can stop a tank in its tracks and spray the
area around with shrapnel.
When a battlefield is laced with mines, any step could be the last for a soldier.
But the mines don’t go away when the war does.
During brutal wars, it’s common for the country to be littered with landmines.
Egypt has a shocking 23 million unexploded landmines after several brutal conflicts.
And landmines can keep functioning years or even decades after being planted, meaning
it’s common for civilians out for a walk to trigger one and lose a limb or worse.
The stories of horrible carnage from old land mines led the world to pass the Ottawa Treaty
in 1997 banning landmines - although China, Russia, and the United States have not signed
it.
But no weapon has the potential to create a butterfly effect like this one.
#1.
Biological Weapons
Viruses are unpredictable things.
They get into the population, spread from person to person - and begin to mutate.
Cures and vaccines that might have worked on one version of the virus might not work
on a variant, which means countries work hard to contain their spread.
But that didn’t stop countries from experimenting with spreading disease as a weapon.
From rudimentary versions like blankets laced with smallpox being distributed to indigenous
populations, to weaponized modern weapons containing anthrax or even plague, these weapons
could decimate a targeted population.
But diseases rarely behave predictably.
That’s why in 1972, the world got together for the Biological Weapons Convention, which
banned the development, use, or stockpiling of bioweapons of any kind.
This covered countless disease vectors, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, toxins, and insect
vectors like mosquitos and fleas used to deliver them.
This treaty became one of the most ratified in the history of the world with 183 state
parties joining up and only a select few nations around the world holding out.
Because everyone has reason to fear a biological weapon gone wrong.
For some more unexpected things that were banned, check out “20 US Foods You Never
Knew Were Illegal To Eat” or watch this video instead.