Brilliant (no pun intended - well, ok, maybe...)

Wicked Lasers, out of Hong Kong, makes lasers (really, they do). Now they've created a monster of a laser, the Spyder III Pro Arctic Series. What's so "monster" about this laser? Well, check out this image:

And the warning on their website (this is a direct quote, hence the misspellings):

Warning: Extremely dangerous is an understatement to 1W of laser power. At close range, this Class 4 beam will cause immediate and irreversable retinal damage. Use with extreme caution and use only when wearing proper safety goggles with an O.D. of 3+ is required and 4.4+ for longer exposures. Customers will be required to completely read and agree to our Class 4 Laser Hazard Acknowledgment Form.

Yeah, that's right: this laser WILL CAUSE immediate and irreversible (i.e., permanent) retinal damage. This isn't your garden variety laser pointer (which, kids, you still shouldn't point at someone's face, or at a reflective item like glass or a mirror or anything shiny - only at cats, or the floor in front of the cat, rapidly moving it towards an immobile object like a wall - that's for the cat's benefit, of course: exercise, and collision avoidance training). In fact, this laser is so powerful that it can burn skin, light fireworks and cigarettes, and cause vision damage even reflecting off diffuse surfaces (in other words, the reflection off a non-shiny wall can still cause permanent blindness or blind spots). Serious laser, and only $200 plus shipping (and that includes one set of laser safety goggles so you can go blind all your friends permanently while retaining your own eyesight - what a great gag, huh? NOT!). (I can think of a great dad's day present... although likely it'll be a late one.)

If you want more info about lasers and laser classifications (and damage they can cause), check out the Wiki laser safety article. In the meantime, let me get to torturing exercising my cat using my garden variety laser pointer.