Flying Off Shelves: Bullet-Proof Backpacks

It's the perfect product for a nation on edge about school shootings: the bullet-proof backpack. "It's an awful thing—you would never imagine your child with this kind of stuff—but since the Newtown tragedy, our sales are more than 10 times better," says the head of the Utah-based Amendment II, which will sell you an Avengers- or Little Mermaid-themed armored backpack for just $300, the AFP reports.

Several other companies report similar results. "It's the busiest I've seen it in my life," the president of Backpackshield.com tells the AP, saying he sold 15 armored backpacks yesterday alone; some months, he only sells one. Some companies also sell book-size bulletproof inserts that slide into most backpacks. The AP notes, however, that all of these products are designed to protect against handguns, not assault rifles. "We don't guarantee anything," cautioned a BulletBlocker executive. "It is just peace of mind, security for parents."