The classic pro sports t-shirt cannon is seen across different sporting venues these days, but its start originated during World War II.  I couldn’t resist passing this article up.  From the article:

The T-shirt cannon can be traced back to Britain during World War II, when sailors on commercial freighter ships were left vulnerable after their anti-aircraft weapons had been rerouted to warships. Desperate to protect themselves from enemy attack, the sailors adopted a weapon developed by the Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development. Dubbed a Holman Projector, it could shoot projectiles out of a tube using steam from the ship’s boiler.

From there, they started launching potatoes and even beer bottles, and the idea was born.

I should point out that the concept of delivering prizes to spectators like this is actually a much older practice.  I know that the Romans would throw wooden balls into the crowd that could be redeemed for prizes.  However, these were not $20 t-shirts, but items like the services of a slave or an entire villa.  In other words, depending on one’s social rank, these game-time prizes could utterly change your life.