Fair Isaac, a large fraud-detection firm based in Minneapolis, operates a system so fast that it can block dialled calls before they are even connected.

ECONOMIST: Computing

"They came up on us so fast that I could see Carl trying to block and he finally said there's no real way to block the speed that they're bringing, " Johnson said.

NPR: David Ragan Steals Last-Lap Victory At Talladega

The launcher shoots the bottles at a velocity of 984 feet per second, fast enough to smash a double-layer breeze-block wall and allow assault troops to enter a building, according to the manufacturer, BCB International.

FORBES: Wacky Weapons #1: Water Cooler Bombs Blow Holes in Walls

They had a slightly larger yard than most of their crammed-in neighbors, so they had closed it off with sheets of rusty corrugated metal, and there, at four long wooden tables beneath a string of light bulbs which dangled from a second-story clostra-block window, they served up to thirty customers per night, if the turnover was fast.

NEWYORKER: Ghosts