# Is carrying a bag of marbles/ball bearings a viable method of self-defense? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 24, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244 "2013-02-24T12:33:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/41 "2013-02-25T20:31:48Z")
> [@electronbee](#): > > Hamster style myself. Running from a polar bear joke. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/42 "2013-02-25T20:36:33Z")
Blind the pusuer with Silly-String®. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/43 "2013-02-25T20:37:30Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > But it’s not certain that you could beat him with your bag of marbles. What would you play for starters? Ringer, chasies, dropsies? Steelies… ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/44 "2013-02-25T21:06:24Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > i carry a bunch of bananas with me. peel and throw. Plus, you can eat the fruit for an added burst of energy while you’re running away. Bicyclists swear by them. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/45 "2013-02-25T21:32:24Z")
I think you should carry a sword. If they see it no one will bother you. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/46 "2013-02-25T22:00:32Z")
[Ping-Pong balls](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxwPfwwy878)? ---
**Author:** ![Bones\_Daley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@Bones\_Daley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bones_Daley)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/47 "2013-02-25T22:45:46Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > I have several motorcyclist friends who regularly travel long distance, most often on the Interstate system. All have stories of being harassed, even driven off the road by other non-two-wheeled drivers. Their answer to the harassment is to get ahead of the offending driver, reaching into the bag of ball bearings and toss a handful over their shoulder. I am not quite sure what this mode of retaliation is designed to achieve. If it is directed against the windshield of the offending driver, then the effect is surely negated by the fact that the ball bearings are travelling faster than the pursuing driver …obviously the effect would be dramatically increased by the cyclist doing a U-turn further on down the road and coming back at his target in the other lane … If the ball bearings land on the road surface then nothing is achieved …leastways I surmise … ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/48 "2013-02-26T02:49:29Z")
Have you considered driving a Zamboni and laying down a slick surface behind you? Zambonis: [ul] [li]very popular with the ladies[/li][li]you won’t lose it in parking lots and the theft rate is low[/li][li]no speeding tickets[/li][li]the view of traffic equals or exceeds that of SUVs[/li][li]open air driving is nice in the Summertime[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/49 "2013-02-26T03:13:32Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Don’t be silly, how can you paint a hole? 😕 You have to use a _whole_ can. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244/50 "2013-04-01T18:10:59Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Blind the pusuer with Silly-String®. The government is way ahead of you. [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency report.](http://www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/Science_and_Technology/DARPA/719.pdf) Unfortunately, in practice this non-lethal weaponry turned out lethal by suffocation. I’m sure that the technology is still being considered, if not in use somehow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-carrying-a-bag-of-marbles-ball-bearings-a-viable-method-of-self-defense/651244.md?page=2)