Slippery Slime Developed to Control Crowds

powlow writes "Southwest Research Institute (press release )developed a non-hazardous chemical spray system that spreads a highly slippery, viscous gel (which the lab designated a "mobility denial system" and dubbed "banana peel in a can") to inhibit the movement of individuals or vehicles on treated surfaces. Marines Corps believes it can be used for crowd control. (Defense Technical Information Center's PDF Report) In tests, volunteers attempted in vain to walk across a lawn sprayed with the slime, and in fact, had they not been safety-harnessed during the tests, many would have broken bones."

Comments

Field tests

[dubl-u]

They also field-tested this at Mardi Gras this year in New Orleans. Unfortunately, the crowds mistook it for a personal lubricant and 47 people ended up hospitalized for exhaustion.

Re:Field tests

[Kintanon]

Greasing the pillars didn't stop me, I ended up with close to 50lbs of beads after climbing one greased pillar.>:)

Kintanon

Won't do much to crowds...

[gnovos]

Cop1: "EVERYONE DISPERSE! THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING!"

Cop2: "They aren't moving, slime em."

SPLOTCH!

Cop1: "NOW EVERYONE DISPERSE!"

Hippie: "Ok, ok, we're moving... um, wait a second, we CAN'T MOVE!"

Cop1: "Bill, you go out there and drag a few out."

Cop2: "You got it Bob..."

(Bill slips on the slime halfway down the street)

Cop1: "Damn... Hey, Charlie, get you but out there and help Bill!"

... hours pass ...

Cop1: "Steve, you go and try and help Jim help Greg help Monica help Charlie help Bill."

Cop7: "Sure thing boss!"

Re:Won't do much to crowds...

[tunah]

Cop1: "Steve, you go and try and help Jim help Greg help Monica help Charlie help Bill."

Did you *have* to use the names Bill and Monica in a story about lubricant?

Re:Won't do much to crowds...

[gnovos]

Cop1: "Steve, you go and try and help Jim help Greg help Monica help Charlie help Bill."
Did you *have* to use the names Bill and Monica in a story about lubricant?


I would have to call that a true Freudian slip . Hee hee!

Next showing in Afganistan:

[Pig Hogger]

Ossama Bin Laden on ice

Beats the crap out of the beauty and the beast. Reserve your tickets now!

Re:Many would have broken bones?

[Shotgun Willy]

With this, you're forcing the people to stay at the scene, which kind of defeats the purpose

Not if they are rioting on a steep hill.

Re:Many would have broken bones?

[Kenneth]

There are also weaker versions of tear gas (irritant gas?) that are often used to break up protests in some countries. It isn't plesant, and has the tendency to make you want to be elsewhere, but isn't nearly as bad as the real tear gas.

(ot) In the Dominican Republic, I saw the strangest thing. There was a huelga (translates as strike, but more resembels a riot). There were rocks and molitov cocktails being thrown by protestors, and tear gas and rubber bullets being shot by police. At noon, everyone went home for lunch and then siesta, at 2:00 everyone came back and resumed the protest.

As for the goo, I tend to doubt it will be used ON protestors. More likely it will be used to prevent passage across a particular area. Slime a nice perimeter around something, and it makes it very difficult to get through. It would be a good substitute for a fence when you need a barrier in a few seconds.

Re:Many would have broken bones?

[booch]

This is terrible. The protesters get broken bones, and the cops don't even get the joy of beating them.

Re:You forgot the most important one.

[Aqualung]

It's budweiser... not like there was any real beer in the tent to start with ;)

Re:Marine Corps?

[JabberWokky]

delicious mixture of mashed potatoes, sausage gravy, syrup, and Jell-O.

There is no such thing as a mixure of those four ingredients that can be qualified with the characteristic "delicious".

--
Evan