A terrible idea for police reform from 1924: Robots who battle protesters
Robocop isn't just a campy gore-fest from the 1980s — it's also a horrifying and apparently serious proposal from Science and Invention magazine in May 1924:
The "Radio Police Automaton," which features tear gas dispensers, caterpillar treads, and glowing eyes, was envisioned as a new way to keep a rowdy populace in check, as the caption explains:
Just don't let the Pentagon see these plans or the 1033 program may suddenly offer a terrifying new product.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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