We all do things that we later regret. For most people, the consequences of such investments do not go beyond the immediate social circle. Minorities have to consider the impact of their decisions on entire countries - and sometimes the whole world. As a rule, scientists remain idealists forever. They are focused on their inventions and, more often than not, are guided by purely humanistic goals. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for world governments: here are a few examples of inventions whose creators regretted for the rest of their lives.
Dynamite
Inventor: Alfred Nobel
Paradoxically enough, the man who gave his name to the Nobel Peace Prize was known during his lifetime as the inventor of war machines. By creating dynamite, Alfred Nobel hoped to end major conflicts - a weapon of such power was supposed to make people think about the consequences of its use. After the first use of dynamite on the battlefield, the scientist was forced to reconsider his overly optimistic hopes.
Pepper spray
Inventor: Kamran Logman
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Kamran Logman led a team of technicians hired by the FBI to develop a non-lethal weapon. Like many other inventors of weapons, Logman had his own ideas about the world around him - not very much connected with reality. The scientist was amazed to see his creation in action: the police dispersed the crowd of protesting students, generously pouring them with pepper spray. The repressive power of the whole world has received an excellent weapon against peaceful demonstrators.
Nuclear fusion
Inventor: Albert Einstein
The famous equation E = mc² can be considered the forefather of the nuclear bomb. Einstein, a famous pacifist, regretted his role in the creation of this destructive weapon for the rest of his life. Personally, he never worked on a bomb - the security check of the project participants turned out to be too tough. Instead, the brilliant scientist initiated a campaign that resulted in the US building a bomb altogether. At the start of World War II, many believed that Germany was working on an atomic bomb, and Einstein wrote an open letter to Roosevelt urging him to do the same.
AK-47
Inventor: Mikhail Kalashnikov
Kalashnikov developed the AK-47 at the end of World War II. Unfortunately, this wonderful weapon became a real cash cow for the Soviet regime. The machine went into mass production and for export: for three quarters of a century, freedom fighters of all stripes cannot get enough of this fact. The AK-47 is officially recognized as the deadliest firearm of the 20th century. Until the end of his life, the inventor himself was tormented by the question of moral responsibility for the blood shed throughout the planet. In 2010, Kalashnikov even wrote a letter to the Russian Orthodox Church asking for help in resolving this moral dilemma.
Ecstasy
Inventor: Alexander Shulgin
Alexander Shulgin created a modern ecstasy formula in the late 1970s, and tested the drug on himself. He later published an in-depth study on ecstasy motivating the use of pills in psychotherapy. And for some time, the drug showed wonderful results: an experienced doctor cured severe depression in just three sessions - without ecstasy, such work takes several years. Unfortunately, the luminaries of medicine considered this method of helping patients not canonical - but the ravers are still grateful to Shulgin. The ecstasy formula was hastily banned, which did not stop chemists from synthesizing analogues.
Lethal injection
Inventor: Jay Chapman
Shooting, electric chair, hanging, gas chamber - American criminals have always had plenty to choose from. But the public, for some reason, did not really like these ways of solving problems. It's somehow unethical, or something. The new method (lethal injection) was proposed by Oklahoma's chief medical officer, Jay Chapman. He intended to kill a whole herd of hares in one fell swoop: humane execution was supposed to reduce the number of appeals to court against death sentences, prisoners would not have to spend years waiting for death, and medieval methods would be a thing of the past. The US government took Chapman's idea with a bang. And the good doctor, having watched once how a criminal dies from a "painless" injection, renounced innovative ideas forever.