In recent tests at the company's Advanced Technology Centre in Bristol, a special liquid has been used to construct a material that is thinner than normal body armour and yet is able to stop a low-velocity bullet.

ECONOMIST: Monitor: Fluid defences | The

Last year, Corning, which makes the Gorilla Glass used for iPads and iPhones, unveiled a thinner, more touch-sensitive version of their product that could make it easier to produce a watch with curves.

CNN: Report: Apple working on an 'iWatch'

Had Mexico stamped its most-wanted list on a deck of playing-cards like the one used in Iraq, the pack would now look a lot thinner.

ECONOMIST: Mexico's drug war