Driving Away Teens With Buzz

from the bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz dept

A security consultant in the UK has figured out a way to drive troublemaking teenagers away from storefronts, by creating a device that emits a high-frequency sound that can't be heard by many people over age 20. Young people can hear higher frequencies than older people, so instead of using a previously proven technique for keeping kids away -- playing loud classical music -- the device emits a high-pitched pulsing noise that's making the front of a Welsh supermarket (the only test location so far) unbearable for the young ruffians that used to hang around drinking, smoking and harrassing customers. They begged the shopkeeper to turn it off, but he told them it was necessary to keep birds away so they wouldn't spread flu. The consultant's other anti-loitering tools include "zit lamps", special blue lights that accentuate teens' pimples and blemishes, hoping they won't hang out in places where they won't look good. While The Mosquito appears for now to be a good solution, what happens when the kids have gone deaf from their iPods and can't hear the buzz any more? Perhaps the shopkeeper chasing them away with a broom is still safe.
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  1. identicon
    Joe Schmoe, 29 Nov 2005 @ 11:24am

    No Subject Given

    The first lawsuit that comes along claiming the emitted sounds have "caused" a hearing loss will take care of everything...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    dorpus, 29 Nov 2005 @ 11:40am

    Williams Light

    Using blue light to light up infected skin is a very old technology.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Joe Schmoe, 29 Nov 2005 @ 12:05pm

    No Subject Given

    This is akin to news stories that went around a few years ago about gas stations limiting loitering by playing clasical music over their PA's.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    James Brierley, 1 Aug 2006 @ 5:48am

    Hearing loss ...

    Hi, the first lawsuits might not be far away.. a guy at work was playing this to people in the office and I happen to be in the same room as where it was played .. not I have tinnitus (constant buzzing sound in my head) which was possibly caused by this and I have to go to a specialist to find what exactly is causing this....

    If this 'teel repellent' is the cause you can bet your ass i'll be pursuing this further .. it's nice and all to find a solution to 'repell' teens from their storefront... but not at the cost of other peoples hearing .. and sanity .. imagine a constant buzzing in your head that never goes away ..

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Rory Swenson, 19 May 2008 @ 9:38pm

    comment

    If the parents arnt watching there kids mabey someone should bitchslap them and mabey the kids should watch.?

    link to this | view in thread ]


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