The Craziest Military Inventions Have Been Named

• 9.11.2026, 18:47

Some of them seem like the stuff of science fiction.

Dogs carrying explosives, nuclear mines filled with live chickens, and weapons designed to induce vomiting—militaries around the world have devised ways to destroy the enemy that seem utterly insane today. Many of these inventions never made it to the battlefield, and some failed during testing, according to BBC Science Focus.

In 1941, the Soviet military attached explosives to dogs and trained the animals to charge at German tanks. However, the dogs were frightened by the gunfire and returned to their positions, blowing up Soviet equipment. The training also failed; the animals were conditioned to the smell of diesel, whereas German tanks ran on gasoline.

In the 1950s, the British military developed the Blue Peacock nuclear mines. To prevent the electronics from freezing underground, someone suggested placing a live chicken inside each bomb. The project was ultimately canceled.

In 2007, the American company Invocon offered the U.S. Navy a weapon designed to induce severe nausea in the enemy using radio waves. “Severe seasickness will be a side effect,” the developers explained.