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Vomit-inducing flashlight to make catching criminals a messier act
Bad news, bad guys: the US Dept of Homeland security has developed a flashlight that'll make you sick. Literally. The light uses an array of ultrabright LEDs that flash in a way that'll induce nausea, making people barf all over the damned place.
Gross, right? But hey, if you had a choice between getting shot or throwing up everywhere, which would you choose? That's what I thought. Just another example of creative ways to take people down without actually hurting them, which I, for one, am all for. Just don't let the barf light get into the wrong hands, I.E. anyone but cops. That's the last thing we need to have popping up at parties.
MIT Technology Review, via MedGadget
By SirSaxMan at 4:24 PM ON 08/07/07
Just wait until someone figures out how to transmit that pattern to a jumbo-tron at the local sports arena. Classic
By UF at 7:31 AM ON 03/13/08
Don't taze me, br-OOOUOUUUGGGGHHH
By anon at 2:51 PM ON 06/04/09
UF wins.
By LTL at 11:37 PM ON 06/04/09
Well, from the picture it uses a specific spectrum of light flashing at a specific rate. Wear some colored glasses, criminals, and it should break the effect?
Oh well, a "smart criminal" is an oxy moron (most of the time)
By Eli at 9:51 PM ON 06/05/09
I can't wait 'till somebody figures out what the patterns of light are... and makes this into a ScreenSaver!!! OMG
By Steed at 4:12 PM ON 06/08/09
The American's need to stop coming up with ways of ruining people and develop technologies that might save our sorry planet.
Also, second on that Don't Taze me broo-uuugghhhhhh-
By Rob at 8:36 PM ON 06/08/09
Hmm, looks good on the surface, but I see abuse-potential galore. Yet another form of public-pacification. Don't like the way we are doing things? Enjoy tasting your lunch again.
By andrew at 10:50 PM ON 06/08/09
wow... flash grenade means nothing to me anymore
By wuz at 1:29 AM ON 06/09/09
Building on what Andrew said, what if they could create a multidirectional "grenade" with this tech; it wouldn't be just "flash-bang" and it's over, instead it would keep working...scary.
By fenderflip at 9:55 PM ON 06/09/09
I wonder who cleans up the vomit?
By charles at 4:08 PM ON 06/15/09
"Just don't let the barf light get into the wrong hands, I.E. anyone but cops"
Screw that, cops are the bad guys, they're the last ones who need something like that.
By LP at 7:38 PM ON 06/17/09
Can't wait until Bulimics get ahold of this one. It'll save a lot of fingers down throats.
Might be useful in hospitals, though, in cases where people have ingested poisons and vomiting needs to be induced.
By Jason at 2:48 PM ON 06/20/09
Holy crap it's the sick stick from Minority Report
By qed at 12:11 PM ON 06/21/09
They copied it from the London Olympics organising committee.
Those guys came up with a flashing London 2012 logo that caused some people to have epileptic seizures.
Beat that.
By qed at 12:12 PM ON 06/21/09
They copied it from the London Olympics organising committee.
Those guys came up with a flashing London 2012 logo that caused some people to have epileptic seizures.
Beat that.
By CaribbeanCharacter at 3:52 PM ON 06/21/09
"Those guys came up with a flashing London 2012 logo that caused some people to have epileptic seizures."
Epileptic siezures can be induced by any flashing light. Some are so sensitive that driving down a street with the sun dappling through the trees can cause them to go into a seizure.
"The American's need to stop coming up with ways of ruining people and develop technologies that might save our sorry planet."
Why are you waiting for us to save everything? What have you done lately? Besides, you people are always complainin about how brutal and violent we are, but whewe come up with a non-deadly weapon it's not enough?
Bite me.
By Jonnie at 3:14 PM ON 06/22/09
I don't think that battery is big enough to power all those LED's.
on your cellphone!
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