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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Charl Fourie’s Blaster was a real car-mounted anti-carjacking device reported in South Africa in 1998, and contemporary reports said it had been fitted to vehicles. But that establishes that it was built and installed—not that it reliably stopped carjackings or was safe. No independent outcome study in the available sources verifies its effectiveness.
What was the Blaster?
The Blaster was a vehicle security device developed by South African inventor Charl Fourie amid concern about carjackings. Wired described it on December 11, 1998, as a system using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from a bottle in the car’s trunk, with two nozzles under the front doors. An electric spark ignited the gas to produce flame alongside the vehicle. Wired’s contemporary report and a December 18, 1998, Mail & Guardian report describe the same basic arrangement; Mail & Guardian specified a 14,000V spark.
It was intended to be activated when a driver faced an attempted hijacking. The sources describe a flame-producing deterrent, not a system that physically prevented someone from taking the car.
In what sense did it “work”?
The evidence supports a narrow answer: the device was more than a fictional concept. Wired reported that it had been fitted to 25 vehicles shortly after its debut. Mail & Guardian also reported 25 installations and said there were “hundreds” of orders for the new year. Those are figures published at the time, not an independently verified sales record; the reported orders do not establish how many were ultimately fulfilled.
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That evidence does not show that the Blaster reliably deterred attackers, prevented theft, or produced a particular injury. The contemporary articles relay claims about what it might do, but no independent effectiveness or safety study is established in the available sources. “Actually worked” is therefore accurate only if it means the device was built and installed—not that its anti-theft performance was proven.
What did the inventor claim about safety?
Fourie made a striking claim about the effect of the flames. Wired quoted him saying, “My personal feeling is that it would definitely blind a person — he will never see again.” That was the inventor’s personal belief, not a tested finding or proof that the system consistently caused blindness. The reports do not establish how often it was activated or what happened in real incidents.
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What did it cost, and how common was carjacking?
Wired and Mail & Guardian each reported a price of R3,900 in 1998. Wired gave a US-dollar equivalent of $655 at the time; that historical conversion should not be read as a current price or adjusted value. The installation and order counts are likewise contemporary reports rather than a verified total of customers or completed sales.
A 1998 SFGate report, citing “official figures,” put South Africa’s carjacking rate at 32.7 per 100,000 people from January through November 1998, compared with 29.1 per 100,000 for the same period in 1997. These are figures as reported at the time, not independently checked here against the original statistical publication. Read the contemporary SFGate report.
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Why did the Blaster receive an Ig Nobel Prize?
Charl Fourie and Michelle Wong of Johannesburg were listed as the 1999 Ig Nobel Peace Prize winners for “inventing an automobile burglar alarm consisting of a detection circuit and a flamethrower.” The award record links the concept to patent WO/1999/032331, titled “A Security System for a Vehicle.” The recognition documented the invention’s unusual premise; it was not a safety certification or an endorsement of proven effectiveness. The Ig Nobel winners archive lists the award.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was it legal?
The available sources do not establish whether the Blaster was legal in South Africa when it was offered, or whether a comparable device would be legal today. A South African government page for the Dangerous Weapons Amendment Act 29 of 1990 does not, by itself, resolve how the law applied to this vehicle device. A later US patent that mentions the Blaster is not proof that it was approved, safe, effective, or legally available. Laws vary by place and can change, so the historical reports are not a basis for a current legal conclusion.
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What the historical record can—and cannot—tell us
- Established: The Blaster was reported in 1998 as a South African vehicle-mounted system using LPG, under-door nozzles, and an electric spark.
- Reported at the time: Contemporary articles gave a price and early installation figures, but they do not establish final sales.
- Not established: Independent evidence that it reliably prevented carjackings, a verified record of outcomes or injuries, or its historical and current legal status.
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