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Search for 'nonlethal weapons' part science and part fiction.(News)

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From: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)
Date: 20050301
Author:

Byline: Burt Constable

Long before the Taser became the popular and controversial weapon of choice, it was a mere literary acronym - the Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle.

As fans of 20th century science fiction know, Tom Swift was a boy inventor who was the protagonist in a series of novels by Victor Appleton.

In the 1911 book, "Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle," the plucky lad invented a gun that shot powerful electric charges. He took his new weapon to a firing range and aimed at a scarecrow standing behind a steel armor plate.

The current zipped through the ...

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