Teen-repellant
I don’t normally post links to stories elsewhere, but I thought this was worthy of that honour, and a brilliant simple solution to a problem around the world.
http://news.com.com/2102-11395_3-5974937.html?tag=st.util.print, from which:
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The device, called the Mosquito (”It’s small and annoying,” Stapleton said), emits a high-frequency pulsing sound that, he said, can be heard by most people younger than 20 and almost no one older than 30. The sound is designed to so irritate young people that after several minutes, they cannot stand it and go away.
So far, the Mosquito has been road-tested in only one place, at the entrance to the Spar convenience store in this town in South Wales. Like birds perched on telephone wires, surly teenagers used to plant themselves on the railings just outside the door, smoking, drinking, shouting rude words at customers and making regular disruptive forays inside.
“On the low end of the scale, it would be intimidating for customers,” said Robert Gough, who, with his parents, owns the store. “On the high end, they’d be in the shop fighting, stealing and assaulting the staff.”
December 1st, 2005 at 10:19 am
I thought you’d like that. I have noticed that even at the age of 23 I can no longer hear the high-pitched whine from our TV. I hope this means that I won’t be affected by any of these Mosquitos.
April 6th, 2006 at 4:27 am
What an awful device! It’s likely to upset not just troublesome youths but also innocuous ones, including small children who would be unable to explain to their parents just why they felt so uncomfortable! And then there’s the wildlife: Maybe it doesn’t bother dogs, but what about insects, birds, etc.? And me! I’m relatively innocuous but I have hearing that I’m proud of and I hate being subjected to high frequency sounds!
June 5th, 2006 at 10:24 pm
This article on the BBC Website was rather amusing, and made me think of this post of yours. I know that it’s about six months since you wrote this post, but I thought it might be relevant to bring it to your attention, if you weren’t already aware of it!