- Flaming spears, surreptitious Wolverine claws,
and razor-sharp steel whips--
these weapons bring the pain in a serious way.
While we wouldn't want to encounter
any of the hurt bringers on this list,
we'll sure as hell tell you about 'em.
It's the nine most badass weapons
in all of history.
[upbeat music]
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This snazzy, little spike choker
caught a lot of people's eyes in the eighteenth century.
It's the mancatcher.
While it may look deadly,
the mancatcher was somehow a nonlethal weapon.
This jab necklace was used to catch men
and drag them off their horses,
and the attached pole allowed catchers
to scoop their targets from a safe distance
so that the victim's sword would remain out of range,
rendering them defenseless.
The men caught up in the stab scarf
were often noblemen who were made targets for ransom
or aggressive prisoners on the run from guards.
The more we look at this death locket,
the more we have a hard time believing
that the mancatcher was entirely...
[coughs] nonlethal.
Don't mess with the Maduvu,
also known as the maru, the madu, or the maan kombu.
This weapon is believed
to have originated in southern India.
It eventually became a common weapon
of the Silambam,
a traditional Indian martial art involving weapons.
The Maduvu was made from blackbuck horns
joined by a crossbar to create
a double-sided spike fest to attack opponents.
Sometimes the Maduvu included an attached shield,
making it look like a cute, little tadpole
that could spell your doom.
Cute.
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This attempt at a multi-shot firearm
might have been better used in a folk song
than in self-defense.
The harmonica gun held nine to ten rounds
of ammunition in a crossbar-like sliding clip
that resembled--what else? A harmonica.
Whatever you do, do not put your lips
to this thing expecting a tune.
The gun was available as both a pistol
or a shotgun, and neither version
was very user-friendly.
Operators had to move the slide manually
to get the rounds in place, and the bulky sliding clip
made balancing the gun difficult
when operators tried to fire their first or last rounds
as the slide hung off awkwardly
toward one direction, tilting their shot.
To make matters worse, gunslingers would have
had to disassemble the slide
before putting it in a holster,
which turned their ability to quickdraw
into a slow take out ya gun.
Although a bit of a dud as far as firearms go,
today Sam Houston's original harmonica rifle
is on display at the Smithsonian.
[dramatic music]
Stick some razor-sharp obsidian
into a cricket bat,
and you've got yourself a macuahuitl.
The macuahuitl is likely the most well-known
ancient Aztec weapon, and that's for good reason.
This thing slaps.
This deadly weapon came in both single-handed
and two-handed versions for double the deadliness.
Sporting a wide, flat wooden bat
decorated with intricate designs
surrounded on the edges
by obsidian sharper than steel.
The obsidian blades were made
in an incredibly complex process
called knapping.
Designed for close combat and used like a club,
the macuahuitl was typically used
in tandem with a shield and a spear thrower
called an atlatl.
Spanish conquistadors claimed the Aztecs
could use a macuahuitl to behead a horse
in a single swing, though historians today
think that may be a bit of an exaggeration.
[upbeat electronic music]
Resembling what can only be described
as a boo-boo boomerang, it's the kpinga.
Though the weapon has a deceivingly fun name,
it was specifically designed to inflict
maximum damage to enemies.
The kpinga is a traditional throwing knife
of the Azande people of north Central Africa.
It features three blades of various shapes,
some resembling a sickle, others a dagger,
as well as a wrapped handle for gripping and throwing.
Professional warriors were known to carry
up to four kpingas attached to their shields in battle.
In combat, kpingas
were most commonly thrown overhead
to easily penetrate opponent shields an armor.
They could also be thrown using a low sidearm
aiming to chop off the target's legs.
Real tiger claws have nothing on this thing.
It's the bagh nakh, a deadly knuckle duster
adopted and used by the Nihang Sikh warriors
in India sometime after 1,500 C.E.
The bagh nakh featured four to five metal claws
designed to slash opponents.
A bit like if you attached a bunch of knives
to a pair of brass knuckles--yikes.
The Nihang Sikhs would conceal their bagh nakhs
in their turbans and use them on unsuspecting targets
giving it the reputation of a seditious weapon
of thieves and assassins.
Famously, when Hindu Maratha rebels
were at war with the Bijapur Sultanate in 1674,
the Maratha leader Shivaji accepted a meeting
with Afzal Khan.
Both men agreed to come unarmed,
but Shivaji came packing with a concealed bagh nakh.
Afzal first attacked Shivaji
but failed to pierce his armor.
Then Shivaji slashed Afzal with his bagh nakh.
This bloody event and the weapon used
changed the course of Indian politics forever.
[dramatic music]
What do you get when you combine a spear
with an explosive charge?
Baby, it's a fire lance.
Developed in China in the 10th century C.E.,
the fire lance also known as huo qiang
used a hollow bamboo tube attached to a spear
filled with projectiles and gunpowder.
When set off, the firework would shoot the projectiles
including arrows and buckshot and release poisonous fumes.
The firepower was only effective
within a range of a few feet and could only be fired once,
but after it was expelled,
the fire lance could still be used as a spear.
By the 12th century, an arrow version of the weapon
was developed called a huo jian.
The technological advancement of using gunpowder
to power traditional weapons paved the way
for the development of guns and rockets.
A whip made of a thin, flexible, razor-sharp blade--
not for the faint of heart.
Literally translated as curling blade,
the urumi originated in the southern states of India
between the 4th and 2nd century B.C.E.
and is one of the most dangerous weapons
on our list.
Unlike most blades, the urumi was used to slash
rather than stab at opponents.
It could be used to strike continuously
by swinging the weapon in arcs,
which made it an effective weapon
for defense against multiple opponents at once.
Anyone who got close to the urumi's wrath
was at risk of being slashed including those wielding it,
but on the upside, it could be rolled up
when not in use. Perfect for travel.
The urumi is still used today
as part of Kalaripayattu martial arts,
and Indian fighting style that is considered
one of the oldest in the world.
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Ah, I love the smell of Greek fire in the morning.
That's right, the Byzantine Greeks
had their own form of napalm, Greek fire.
Around 678 C.E., Greek warships began packing
their own flamethrowers for use in naval battles.
Invented by a Christian Greek named Kallinikos,
the flamethrowers employed a highly-flammable liquid
that was heated in a cauldron on the ship,
then squirted out of a giant syringe
at the enemy.
It could be used in catapulted incendiary bombs
as well as sprayed under pressure.
Just about anything that came into contact
with the flammable liquid was immediately set on fire,
and because water had no effect on it,
there was no way of putting it out.
This stuff turned naval battles
into a hellscape at sea.
According to one witness,
"every time they hurl the fire at us,
"we go down on our elbows and knees and beseech our Lord
to save us from this danger."
Even today, scientists can't seem to determine
exactly what the recipe for Greek fire was.
All we know for certain is that it became known
as the most devastating weapon of Christendom.
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How's that for some seriously badass weaponry?
Know of a historical weapon more badass
than the ones on this list?
Let us know in the comments below.
That's it for us.
We gotta go change our shorts after thinking
about what a kpinga could do to a person--yikes.
Until next time, grab a shield...
[bell dings] Dodge the claws,
and try to steer clear
of any boo-boo boomerangs.
♪ ♪