Vomiting, blackouts, dizziness and even death – having your drink spiked is a horrific experience, even if you are with friends who can make sure you get home safely.
It’s also horrifically common – especially if you’re under 24, which more than 50% of drink spiking victims are.
First hand encounters with drink spiking, and the sexual assaults that can follow such incidences, are what lead four undergraduate engineering students – Tyler Confrey-Maloney, Stephen Gray, Ankesh Madan and Tasso Von Windheim, who all attend North Carolina State University – to develop a Undercover Colours. It’s a line of nail polishes that change colour when they’re exposed to common date rape drugs.
The students’ goal is to create a drink spiking detection system that works simply by stirring one’s drink with a finger.
In an interview with Higher Education Works, the four male students explained:
“All of us have been close to someone who has been through the terrible experience, and we began to focus on finding a way to help prevent the crime.
We wanted to focus on preventive solutions, especially those that could be integrated into products that women already use. And so the idea of creating a nail polish that detects date rape drugs was born.”
The students are currently seeking funding for further research and development through their Facebook page.
Now, in an ideal world there’d be no need for a nifty drink spiking detection products because no one would spike anyone else’s drink. And, if your drink does get spiked, it is never your fault for not noticing.
When it comes to sexual assault, and its precursors, the blame should always be placed firmly on the perpetrator, not on the victim.
But unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world, drink spiking does happen, and if a drug detecting nail polish might help prevent people from consuming date rape drugs, then here’s hoping it’s available soon.
What do you think of this product?
This post originally appeared on The Glow and has been republished here with full permission.
Top Comments
This is a cute idea, but not very practical. The most commonly used date rape drug is alcohol, which is a likely component of your alcoholic drink.
Also the nail polish does not test for rohypnol, one of the more commonly used date rape drugs. And even if it did, the vast majority of rapes don't happen with the use of drugs. Mostly women are simply smaller than the man and in a position where she trusted him, not necessarily incapacitated on tranquilizers.