It really doesn’t matter how old you are – folding and throwing a paper airplane is pure, gleeful fun. But there’s also something pretty great about being able to feed regular paper into a device that folds paper airplanes for you and then shoots them out machine gun-style.

A German YouTube user who goes by the name Papierfliegerie (the German word for paper airplane) shared a video of a 3D printed paper airplane machine that he created. He had most of the parts custom printed from a 3D printing service and purchased the rest online or at a hardware store.

The motor that makes the whole thing function was scavenged from a cordless screwdriver. As the video shows, the machine contains rollers to move the paper through it and small ridges that manipulate the paper into perfect flying form. And one by one, an entire fleet of paper airplanes comes shooting out.

As an added bonus, it’s a much faster way to deliver your TPS reports to your boss than walking them over – and if you have good aim, the sailing papers will hit your boss square in the head.

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These antique cutlery sets may have come in handy the last time someone told you your mashed potatoes were a little on the lumpy side. The set above dates back to 1715 and the scenarios in which it would have been useful are probably lost to time. But using the weapons would require at least a few seconds of forethought since the barrels actually point directly toward the user. To fire them, the user would have to flip them around and aim the handle of the utensil at the intended adversary.

Another set of deadly cutlery ups the stakes (steaks?) a bit by sporting double barrels. One trigger on each meant that both barrels would fire at once, essentially giving the cutlery-holder the ability to fire four bullets in a second’s time. Although the date and place of origin are unknown, this set does at least keep its barrels pointed away from the user at all times. We are loathe to point out the obvious, but aren’t knives and spear-like forks like these deadly enough on their own?

(via: Douglas Self’s Museum of Retro Technology)

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The novelty of 3D printing is getting yet more novel. In an attempt to legitimize the convenience the technology brings, an American (who else?) additive manufacturing firm has printed a working metal handgun that is the first of its kind.

Solid Concepts, a California-based 3D printing company, created all of the more than 30 parts to their handgun with stainless steel and a custom-made alloy. The laser-sintered firearm was based on a classic model from 1911, the 45ACP.

Building each part entailed powdered metals interacting with a high-intensity laser. According to a spokesperson for the firm, the gun “functions beautifully and has already handled 50 rounds of successful firing.” Technological advances aside, hopefully this won’t throw any kinks into the vital realm of gun control reform.

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The handgun has been used for hundreds of years as an effective and easily carried weapon, but the form factor that we are familiar with today has not always been so concrete. In the early days of handguns, manufacturers experimented with multiple barrels as a way to fire multiple rounds before reloading. This resulted in some truly bizarre looking firearms.

Pepperbox pistols were first used in the 1500s. The unusual gun features multiple rotating barrels numbering between four and 24. Although they were sometimes made of one continuous piece, the barrels were often all made of separate pieces and individually removable for easy maintenance. The earliest models of this type of gun did not rotate automatically after each shot; the barrel assembly had to be rotated by hand to move the next pre-loaded barrel into position. The pepperbox pistol was the predecessor to today’s revolver, only instead of a moving cylinder these weird pistols used rotating barrels to shoot one bullet at a time.

Duckfoot pistols are even more bizarre looking, featuring multiple barrels designed to shoot all at the same time. The spread-out barrels are meant to strike multiple targets or adversaries at once. They were often used in situations where one person might be up against several enemies simultaneously, such as in the case of prison guards or sailors. Despite looking totally awesome, the duckfoot pistol and pepperbox pistol both faded into obscurity around the time more sophisticated handguns were invented.

The post Bang Bang Bizarre: 2 Odd Multi-Barreled Guns of the Past first appeared on Gajitz.

For people who enjoy the idea of tracking down majestic animals but don’t relish the thought of killing them, a group of brothers has created a novel camera. It’s shaped like a rifle but instead of shooting bullets, it shoots pictures and videos through a scope-like lens. The gun/camera is currently raising funds on Kickstarter for an initial production run.

Tentatively called the Kill Shot (the inventors aren’t married to that name, apparently), the rifle camera allows hunters to track animals outside of hunting season without breaking the law. It also lets non-hunters feel the thrill of the hunt without dealing with the aftermath of a kill. The inventors envision a dedicated website where users could upload their photos and videos to share with the whole community of Kill Shot owners.

We can actually imagine this concept causing some problems because of its resemblance to a weapon. Unless it is clearly marked as a “toy” or otherwise deviates from the appearance of a rifle, carrying it around could put “harmless hunters” in harm’s way simply by virtue of looking like a gun. Hopefully this issue is resolved long before the item hits the open market.

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