Public order learning curve

This Greek chap isn't wearing sunblock but Maalox. Rhone-Poulenc's antacid remedy has become the must-have demo accessory of the year and sales are booming. For why? It neutralises tear gas - not actually a gas at all but a powder (2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile) that reacts with moisture on the skin, and which the aluminium hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide in Maalox very effectively stops irritating the eyes and mucous membranes. 

It reminds me of that old saw about the Swiss and cuckoo clocks; conflict rapidly brings in its wake an accelerated development of both offensive and defensive solutions. But fails to answer why the Maalox solution was not discovered in Northern Ireland, often once clouded with CS gas ....