The Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Ranked for All You Pessimists

A weapon of mass destruction is not a mere bomb, something that goes off and destroys a designated area. They are humanity’s greatest, most destructive, and most terrifying weapons, capable of fueling nightmares and keeping entire countries in check. The fear of their mere existence shapes our current political landscape.

Consider this list then as a ranking of what most to fear in the coming years, and also as a way to interiorize yourself with their destructive power. With some of them, based on their effects, you’ll be better off not surviving the initial impact.

Chlorine Gas

While it has industrial uses, chlorine gas has a dark history as a chemical weapon. It’s considered a persistent hazardous material and was even used as an unconventional weapon during Operation Iraqi Freedom, posing a lingering threat on the battlefield.

Mustard Gas

First used on a large scale in World War I, mustard gas is a horrific chemical agent. It’s classified as a blistering agent because it causes severe chemical burns on contact with skin, eyes, and the respiratory tract.

White Phosphorus Munitions

This stuff has been used for over a century. It ignites instantly on contact with air, burning at over 1,400°F and causing horrific burns that can go right to the bone and are nearly impossible to extinguish.

Sarin

Discovered by German scientists trying to make better pesticides in 1938, Sarin is a colorless, odorless nerve agent. Exposure can cause respiratory paralysis and death in as little as one minute. Its production was outlawed in 1997.

VX Nerve Agent

Considered the most toxic and fast-acting chemical warfare agent ever developed. A single, tiny drop of this oily liquid absorbed through the skin is enough to disrupt the nervous system and fatally paralyze the body within minutes.

Weaponized Anthrax

This biological weapon uses the spores of the Bacillus anthracis bacterium. A 1993 study estimated that just 100 kilograms of anthrax released over Washington, D.C., could cause between 1 and 3 million fatalities, making it a terrifying threat.

Weaponized Smallpox

Smallpox was officially eradicated, but there’s a deep fear that modern biotechnology could recreate it. The British military gave it a test run as a biological weapon against Native Americans way back in the 1760s.

Thermobaric Weapon

Also known as a vacuum bomb, this weapon releases a cloud of explosive material that uses oxygen from the air to ignite. The result is a massive fireball and a uniquely powerful, long-lasting blast wave that is devastatingly effective.

Dirty Bomb

While it has radioactive components, a dirty bomb isn’t a nuclear bomb. It’s a conventional explosive packed with radioactive material. The main danger is the initial blast; the radioactive fallout is typically not enough to cause severe illness unless you’re right at ground zero.

Neutron Bomb

Invented in the 1950s, this specialized nuclear weapon was designed to maximize lethal radiation while minimizing the physical blast. The idea was to neutralize enemy personnel, like tank crews, while leaving buildings and infrastructure relatively intact.

Cobalt Bomb

This is a theoretical “doomsday” weapon that has, as far as we know, never been built. It’s a hydrogen bomb wrapped in cobalt, designed to create an immense amount of long-lasting radioactive fallout to render huge areas uninhabitable.

Little Boy Atomic Bomb

This was the first atomic bomb ever used in warfare. Developed by the Manhattan Project, the 9,700-pound device was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, by the B-29 bomber known as the ‘Enola Gay’.

Tsar Bomba Hydrogen Bomb

In 1961, the Soviet Union detonated the most powerful explosion in history. The 50-megaton blast was 1,500 times stronger than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs combined, with a flash of light visible over 600 miles away.

AI-Controlled Weapon System

This is the future of horror: armed, fully-autonomous drone swarms, or “Slaughterbots.” A single person could unleash thousands, creating a dangerously unpredictable situation and raising the ultimate ethical question of allowing machines to make life-or-death decisions.

Engineered Pandemic Pathogen

This might be the ultimate threat. Using modern gene-editing, a bad actor could create a virus more contagious or deadly than anything in nature. An accidental or deliberate release could trigger a pandemic worse than anything humanity has ever seen.