Checking to see if your drink has been tampered with is about to get a whole lot more discreet. Thanks to the work of four North Carolina State University undergrads, you’ll soon be able to find out without reaching for a testing tool. That’s because you’ll already have five of them on each hand.
The team — Ankesh Madan, Stephen Gray, Tasso Von Windheim, and Tyler Confrey-Maloney — has come up with a creative and unobtrusive way to package chemicals that react when exposed to Rohypnol and GHB. They put it in nail polish that they’re calling Undercover Colors.
As long as you remember to brush on a coat before you head out to the bar, you’ve got plenty of “test strips” at the ready. If date rape drugs are detected, the polish changes color just like the special coasters or paper strips you may already have seen. And unlike the Pd.id (which is a very clever invention in its own right), you never have to worry about running out of power if you’re testing with your nails.
Sure, it might look a little odd if you wind up with one discolored nail, but at least you’ll have been tipped off about a potentially disastrous drink.
For those who scoff at detection devices like Undercover Colors or Pd.id and say “just don’t leave your drink unattended,” remember that you — or your friends– are also putting trust in the bartender who’s mixing your drink and the server who’s delivering it. The old adage goes “better safe than sorry,” and when it’s as easy as dipping a fingernail into a glass, well, why not be safe?
Originally posted:Science!
By Lee Mathews
Originally posted:Science!
By Lee Mathews
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