7 Most “Advanced” inventions of Ancient Times

5. Poison gas: At first, a useful military tool was used fighting off insects rather than other humans. The Chinese and Egyptians used poisonous gas to rid their houses of fleas (just like and ancient flee bomb). Later, the Chinese took this tool a step further, and altered it to make a chemical weapon to wipe out opponents in war. The way they used poison gas is quite simple. When enemies would try to undermine their city in an attempt to get in, they would secretly tap into those tunnels with terra-cotta pipes. They would then hook the other end up with ox-hide bellows, connected to furnaces that would burn poisonous substances, such as mustard balls. The gases were then pumped into the tunnels to rid of the “pests”. Soon, the Chinese developed the idea to launch these gases at their opponents in the form of mortar. Known as “Heaven Rumbling Thunderclap Fierce Fire Erupters”, poisonous gases were placed in mortar shells and launched at the foe.

6. The first guns: The Chinese, with their fascination of blowing things up, developed the first guns, though they are not in the form we now know. They were originally hand-held cannons that launched anything from pieces of metal to porcelain. Believe it or not, the Turks added upon this idea and could get them to shoot one and a half miles!

7. Hand grenades: These little buggers were originally used between the Christians and Muslims in the Crusades, and are now one of the most important weapons in modern infantry warfare. In A.D. 1000, they were constructed of glass or earthenware, and were filled with gasoline, or other explosive substances. These ancient hand grenades (especially the glass ones) could wreak havoc for their attributes as “shrapnel bombs”. Until recently, there was little proof of the use of these little tools, but all over Egypt and Samarkand, archeologists have been finding these egg-shaped containers that we now know once had deadly attributes.