US military chiefs are said to have considered developing an 'aphrodisiac' chemical weapon that would make enemy troops sexually irresistible to each other.The Sunshine Project, which exposes research into chemical and biological weapons, revealed the plans, according to New Scientist.

Provoking widespread homosexual behaviour among troops would cause a "distasteful but completely non-lethal" blow to morale, the proposal says. Other ideas included chemical weapons that attract swarms of enraged wasps or angry rats to troop positions, making them uninhabitable. Another was to develop a chemical that caused 'severe and lasting halitosis', to identify guerrillas trying to blend in with civilians. There was also an idea to make troops' skin unbearably sensitive to sunlight. The proposals, from the US Air Force Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio, apparently date from 1994. The lab sought Pentagon funding for research into what it called "harassing, annoying and 'bad guy'-identifying chemicals". Sunshine Project spokesman Edward Hammond said it was not known if the proposed six-year research plan was pursued.