Pepper Spray: The Latest at Toys R Us Times Square

Sure, all the news is obsessed with how well Black Friday shopping was, but Gothamist was more interested in a twist on Christmas shopping madness. The pepper spray incident at Toys R Us at Times Square on Saturday, which forced an evacuation of the store. Luckily, it seems that pepper spray only causes a "rotten egg" smell, burning in the throats, and coughing, so everyone was all right, but the store was closed for a half hour and with thousands more people on Times Square sidewalks, the police shut down parts of Times Square. And if you thought that pepper spray would keep shoppers away, then clearly, you don't believe in the power of marketing, capitalism, or Santa Claus: Shoppers, including small tots, returned to the store once it opened. The FDNY does not think it was an "orchestrated" event and say that the amount of pepper spray leads them to believe it came from a small keychain pepper spray device, like perhaps someone accidentally pressed it. Now, being a conspiracy theorist, Gothamist wonders if it was an angry parent, trying to get others to leave so he or she could buy the coolest toys for the kids. Or was it a ploy to get onto the Ferris Wheel without waiting on line?

Did you have any nightmarish experiences while shopping this weekend? What are some of the non-harmful-spray tactics people use to get their goods?