Self-defense products have been around for millennia. When you get right down to it, even back in biblical times when people used to throw sticks and stones at each other self-defense items were any thing that could disable your foe. The birth of modern-day self-defense products is much more recent.
Two best-selling self-defense products for personal defense and personal security are pepper sprays and stun devices.
“The use of chemical compounds as weapons dates back thousands of years. In 428 BC, Spartans burned wood saturated with pitch and sulfur to create toxic fumes. Dating back to ancient times the Chinese put ground cayenne chili pepper in rice paper and flung it in the face of their opponents. Additionally, during Japan’s Tukagawa Empire, police used the ‘Mitsubishi’, a box used to blow pepper into the eyes of opponents.”
Pepper sprays or defensive sprays are also known as OC spray (from Oleoresin Capsicum.) Capsicum is a mixture that causes tearing of the eyes, pain and even blindness temporarily. It has been used by military and law enforcement agencies for crowd and riot control. The temporary blindness allows police officers to more easily apprehend suspects.
The main ingredient in pepper spray is a chemical derived from plants including chiles that is mixed with a solvent like ethanol. The solvent is then evaporated leaving a resin. Then emulsifier is used to suspend the OC in water, then pressurized to make an aerosol.
Pepper sprays usually come in small canisters that can be easily carried or concealed in a pocket or purse. Some come with UV marking dyes so assailants can be identified.
Civilians use it for self-defense, personal security and personal defense quite effectively. The biggest selling brand name is Mace.
And I learned today that the origin of the stun gun was in the late 1800′s after batteries were developed. The “electric prod pole” or “cattle prod” was a forerunner for the modern-day stun gun.
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