Answer: U.S. Law Enforcement Officers

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jack Cover, a NASA researcher, developed a non-lethal electronic weapon he envisioned as the law enforcement tool of the future. This device fired a pair of electrified probes which, when attached to the target, sent pulses of nervous-system disrupting energy.

Cover named the device after his childhood hero and early 20th century Science Fiction character Tom Swift. The device, Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle, or TASER, went on to become an indispensable part of the modern police officer’s toolkit.