A new product promises to keep women safe from sexual predators, with the help of some very cool technology. "Never leave your drinks unattended" is a caution women often hear when they're heading out for a night on the town.
Now a group of entrepreneurial undergrads at North Carolina State University are helping women avoid date rape with just the tip of their finger. Their company, Undercover Colors is developing a nail polish that changes color when it detects common date rape drugs like Rohypnol, Xanax, and GHB.
Calling themselves “the first fashion company empowering women to prevent sexual assault”, the founders say they “want to shift the fear from the victims to the perpetrators”. Their idea follows hot on the heels of a crowdfunding campaign for pd.id, a portable gadget that women can use to detect drugs on cups, straws and coasters. But the great thing about Undercover Colors high-tech polish is that you won’t have to remember to put it in your purse and it’s extremely discreet.
North Carolina State has already given the students access to a campus lab and schedule 1 drugs for testing as they look for donations to develop the polish further. However, some people in the blogosphere have been critical: “What is stopping rapists from simply using other means, including the current go-to drug, alcohol, to facilitate the crime? Are you working on developing a product that will make them afraid to actually rape?” asked Maya Dusenbery, Executive Director of feministing.com.
But if the recent buzz is anything to go by they’ll soon meet their goal. The start-up already has over 32,000 likes on their Facebook page and plenty of praise from moms whose daughters are heading off to university.
Unfortunately, there’s no word yet on which colours will be available when the polish does finally launch. (You’re) Busted Blue or Gotcha Gold, perhaps?
http://www.theloop.ca/this-new-nail-polish-has-a-secret-talent-preventing-date-rape/
Now a group of entrepreneurial undergrads at North Carolina State University are helping women avoid date rape with just the tip of their finger. Their company, Undercover Colors is developing a nail polish that changes color when it detects common date rape drugs like Rohypnol, Xanax, and GHB.
Calling themselves “the first fashion company empowering women to prevent sexual assault”, the founders say they “want to shift the fear from the victims to the perpetrators”. Their idea follows hot on the heels of a crowdfunding campaign for pd.id, a portable gadget that women can use to detect drugs on cups, straws and coasters. But the great thing about Undercover Colors high-tech polish is that you won’t have to remember to put it in your purse and it’s extremely discreet.
North Carolina State has already given the students access to a campus lab and schedule 1 drugs for testing as they look for donations to develop the polish further. However, some people in the blogosphere have been critical: “What is stopping rapists from simply using other means, including the current go-to drug, alcohol, to facilitate the crime? Are you working on developing a product that will make them afraid to actually rape?” asked Maya Dusenbery, Executive Director of feministing.com.
But if the recent buzz is anything to go by they’ll soon meet their goal. The start-up already has over 32,000 likes on their Facebook page and plenty of praise from moms whose daughters are heading off to university.
Unfortunately, there’s no word yet on which colours will be available when the polish does finally launch. (You’re) Busted Blue or Gotcha Gold, perhaps?
http://www.theloop.ca/this-new-nail-polish-has-a-secret-talent-preventing-date-rape/
