Slav & Viking Fest 2024, Poland.

Also known as the "BMW Flamethrower" was a 1998 invention by South African inventor Charl Fourie that functioned as a car-mounted flamethrower, designed to provide a defence against carjackings.

The invention came in response to the increasingly severe violent crime problem in South Africa, which in 1998 had already made the country, particularly Johannesburg, the per capita murder, assault, rape, and carjacking capital of the world.

The device was controversial in South Africa, with some speculating that the device might cause more carjackers to simply murder drivers with gunfire as a precautionary measure before approaching the vehicle, a tactic which was already fairly common.

The device was not banned, but the high price tag at 3,900 rand ($655) limited its market and made it unprofitable. By 2001, only a few hundred had been sold, and the device was taken off the market by Fourie, who instead started marketing a less expensive pocket-sized "personal flamethrower".

1. Jonathan in 2021
2. Jonathan (left) in 1886 when he was 53-54
3. Jonathan in 2021 munching on lettuce and cucumbers
4. Jonathan, 190, and his caretaker, Joe Hollins, 64, on St Helena island