14 DAY TRIAL // It's good news for ladies who fear that they might fall victims to not-so-manly men while enjoying a night out in the city: a color-changing nail polish that detects date rape drugs stands to soon hit shelves.
The nail polish, dubbed Undercover Colors, is the brainchild of a team of four undergraduate students and chemistry enthusiasts at North Carolina State University in the US, The Blaze informs.
It is not yet available to the general public, but, judging by the comments folks have thus far posted on the official Facebook page for this real world-oriented science project, folks cannot wait for it to make its market debut.
“As females we shouldn't have to worry about things like being date raped, but since sadly we do I am so glad there are people like you guys making it so we can protect ourselves!!!!” writes social media user Lauren Teal.
As detailed in a product description on Facebook, the nail polish the four students hope to soon launch is designed in such ways that, when coming into contact with one date rape drug or another, it changes color.
This means that, simply by dipping their finger into their drink, women can tell whether or not something is off. Hence, they can keep themselves safe from potential attackers, and even alert their friends and authorities.
“We are developing a nail polish that changes color when it comes in contact with date rape drugs such as Rohypnol, Xanax, and GHB,” the North Carolina State University students write on Facebook.
“With our nail polish, any woman will be empowered to discreetly ensure her safety by simply stirring her drink with her finger. If her nail polish changes color, she'll know that something is wrong,” they go on to explain.
Despite the fact that they have until now only developed an Undercover Colors prototype, the students are confident that, with help from people willing to donate to support this project, it will not be long until they can introduce the world to their innovative nail polish.
It is estimated that, in the United States alone, about 18% of all women have to deal with unwanted romantic advances at least once in their lifetime. The students expect that, once their nail polish becomes available, assailants will think twice before attempting to force themselves on a woman.
As they put it, “Through this nail polish and similar technologies, we hope to make potential perpetrators afraid to spike a woman’s drink because there’s now a risk that they can get caught. In effect, we want to shift the fear from the victims to the perpetrators.”