New Material Makes Cups And Straws Able To Detect Date Rape Drugs
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As a married man and father, I’ve seen my clubbing days, with the occasional exception, fall way into the past, and my bar days seem to be just as dwindling. This means that, percentage-wise, my potential to be a date rapist is close to nil, which is good, since it’s one of the most disgustingly reprehensible distinctions that a man could possibly be saddled with. The easiest way to avoid those most detestable of fiends is just to assume that all men are created equally evil and to never accept a drink from one, as well keeping your self-purchased cocktail ducttaped to your hand at all times. But booze is pricey and his eyes had just the right twinkle to them, am I right, ladies? Luckily, most men like myself still hold onto the morals that keep us from becoming monsters.
But just in case all trust has died, Mike Abramson’s start-up company Drink Savvy is aiming to be the mainstream prevention against date rape in its development of “smart” products that can detect and warn of the presence of common date rape drugs such as the odorless, tasteless, and colorless GHB, rohypnol, and ketamine. Along with technical assistance from Dr. John MacDonald, Professor of Chemistry at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, as well as Contract Researching Organizations, Abramson is using an Indiegogo campaign to raise $50.000 for production and shipping costs.
The products themselves are an assortment of cups, glasses, stirrers and straws made from plastic materials that are actually capable of detecting the drugs once they’ve contacted the material. The clear plastic turns red and alerts to the fact that the guy you’ve been flirting with should be drug out into the street and pistol-whipped.
Abramson’s eventual goal is to supply the products for free to certain rape clinics, and for online wholesaling. I’m guessing there would be some contracts made with bars and clubs in cities where date rape is most prevalent. (A study earlier this year named Fairbanks, AK among those with the highest percentage of rape cases.)
I can’t say I’m completely optimistic that this product will be the widespread rape-stopper that it deserves to be, but that’s just because it takes a lot for Americans to assimilate to anything by the masses, beyond shitty pop music anyway. But I’m certainly pulling for the product to make it big. While it probably won’t stop every once of the million plus cases that are reported annually, this is the kind of crime where every single bit helps. And if we could just start this whole Prison Eunuch idea I had a few years ago, the floors could be safe for dancing again.
