A K wrote on 6/16/2020 :
The Story Behind The PepperÂ*Spray

Today, the pepper spray is anÂ*indispensable self-defense tool, especially to
women. But women are not the only ones who use it. Â*In fact, it was approved
for use by civilians after the FBI found it an effective tool to control
unruly mobs without causingÂ*irreparable damage. Have you ever wondered about
whose idea it was to use pepper sprays as weapons.

Heres the story€¦
The use of chemicals rather than violence, in self defense has a long and
interesting history. Â*As far back as 428 BC, the Spartans used a combination
of burnt wood and sulfur to produce toxic fumes that kept enemies at bay. The
earliest known pepper spray was invented by the ancient Chinese. They flung
wrapped, powdered chili pepper on their opponents faces. Sometime during the
mid 19th century, the Japanese police of the Tukagawa Empire came up with an
innovative box that could spray pepper into their opponents eyes. They
dubbed it €œMitsubishi€�.

It is the Mitsubishi that has evolved into the modern day self defense spray.
Oleoresin Capsaicin (OC) is the environment friendly ingredient used in this
spray. Meant to be sprayed on the opponents eyes, it causes pain, tears and
momentary blindness, effectively incapacitating the attacker be it human or
animal. The modern day version was developed by Dr. Frank Hayes and Prof.
James H. Jenkins in 1960. It was first used by the FBI as a non-violent way
to control violent mobs.

Research has shown that these sprays can been used to prevent animal attack.
The Postal Service of the US issues dog pepper sprays to its personnel
delivering letters to protect themselves against dog attacks. They are used
in Alaska to effectively stop bear attacks.

I carry one for that exact reason if I'm out walking late or early.