Barbed wire was also a very popular way to stimulate a number of conditions. It was a popular way to test the strength and rigidity of many materials such as clothing and equipment, as soldiers had to force their way through the sharp spikes. Barbed wire evolved from a primarily defensive role to a lethal instrument during the First World War. Some soldiers in World War I laid wire to defend their trenches to create areas where the enemy could be trapped and killed. Its ability to trap made it "Barbed wire was used to channel attacking enemy forces into prepared kill zones, covered by either machine guns or artillery target points," Wyatt Evans said. “In their rush to cross no-man's land and reach enemy positions, they sometimes erred in the areas of destruction,” he said (Sloat). After the First Battle of the Marne and the rise of static trench warfare on the Western Front, barbed wire appeared in ever-increasing quantities on both sides of No Man's Land. The transformation of barbed wire from this mixed economy to the mechanized landscape of modern warfare would forever transform its symbolic meanings while retaining its original purpose. Barbed wire suited the nature of fighting during the war and was essential to the defense of the trenches. Some citizens have filed lawsuits and engaged in shooting wars to protest the installation of fencing. The barbed wire also forced many people