Slashdot Mirror


Hair Could Help Police To Check Alibis

Ant writes "This story mentions forensic scientists have developed a technique which should allow police and immigration officials to find out where a person has been living for the last few months or years - by analysing residues in their hair."

29 comments

  1. But... by ravenspear · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm bald you insensitive clod!

    1. Re:But... by onya · · Score: 1

      you must be a terrorist. turn yourself in immediately.

    2. Re:But... by echeslack · · Score: 1

      I know it was a joke, but most people have hair elsewhere.

    3. Re:But... by satanami69 · · Score: 1

      I still have a few left, and I'll be damned if I'm giving it to them.

      --
      I really hate Dan Patrick.
    4. Re:But... by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm bald you insensitive clod!

      Then you must have lived near Mount Baldy. See, it still works.

    5. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Advances in technology will allow for expert analysis of where your pubic (and in some cases public) hair has been. It would hard to argue that your crotch was in sudan, iran and north korea and you were in france. This is unless you are bald in every way.

    6. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then you must have lived near Mount Baldy. See, it still works ... or near Chernobyl 8-)

  2. You know you order too many books online when... by Txiasaeia · · Score: 1

    ...the subject for this story reads "Hair Could Help Police To Check Alibris," and then wonder if they could really trace your book purchases with DNA from your hair...

    --
    Condemnant quod non intellegunt.
  3. FP! by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 3, Funny

    Follicle PROOF!
    oh damn, i fail preposterously.

    1. Re:FP! by preposterity · · Score: 1

      I'll be the judge of that

  4. one day soon? by rhettoric · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One potential problem is that samples taken from people with short hair will only give a limited history of very recent movements - leading to the suggestion that criminals or asylum seekers may shave their heads to destroy information on their past whereabouts.

    Does that mean we aren't too far away from "You have the right to shave?"

  5. Re:You know you order too many books online when.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In other news, scientists are working on tracing your lame /. posts by examing residues from your hair.

  6. Work place? by eingram · · Score: 4, Funny

    When I worked at a local burger joint many years ago, people could tell just by looking at my hair where I had been for the past few hours. :) My hair was all greasy and clumped together, and probably had the occasional french fry or onion ring sticking out of it.

    Yeah. They got shut down.

  7. Going Bald by tiny69 · · Score: 3, Informative
    One potential problem is that samples taken from people with short hair will only give a limited history of very recent movements - leading to the suggestion that criminals or asylum seekers may shave their heads to destroy information on their past whereabouts.
    That's it, I'm going to shave my head and be bald from now on.
    --
    Go not unto/. for advice, for you will be told both yea and nay (but have nothing to do with the question)
    1. Re:Going Bald by the_brat_king · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Jokes aside, what of those of us who keep short cropped hair? If we become "suspected" or "of interest" does our lack of long golden locks implicate us further? I've worn my hair at between 1/4 inch and 3/4 inch for the past 7 years, give or take a couple periods of laziness. I understand that "other" hair can be used, but hair recycles itself, so there's not a lot of that other hair that's been around for years (in the extreme cases), or even a lot of months.

  8. Only outlaws... by OldManAndTheC++ · · Score: 4, Funny
    Will this inspire a law requiring you to register when you get a hair transplant?

    If doll-hair is outlawed, only outlaws will have doll-hair. Umm ... and dolls.

    --
    Soylent Green is peoplicious!
    1. Re:Only outlaws... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      They're called action figures. NOT DOLLS!

  9. It's Elementary, My Dear Watson by Radical+Rad · · Score: 4, Funny

    If they find Juji Fruit matted into your armpit hair... ...they can tell you've been living in a 24 hour movie house watching the Bourne Conspiracy over and over, sleeping on the floor, and eating whatever the patrons spill between the seats.

  10. Hehehe by Julian+Morrison · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You're not just going to have to shave.

    You're going to have to wax.

    Head hair's not the only hair.

    1. Re:Hehehe by blengino · · Score: 1

      yes and theycan say that I have been in my underwear for the past week ;)

      --
      Sorry about my bad english, isn't my natural language
      America starts in Tierra del Fuego and ends in Alaska
  11. But will it work on geeks? by Alsee · · Score: 2, Funny

    Most geeks don't drink it unless it's carbonated+caffinated and don't eat it unless it's sealed in plastic. They generally ain't too big on tap-water exposure either.

    -

    --
    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  12. Is Elvis still alive? by Gary+Destruction · · Score: 1

    Now we'll finally know the truth! Get hair from places he's been sighted.

  13. Before you cue balls start pillaging by WateryGrave · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I nearly worked for a Company that did hair follicle testing for illegal drug use. One of the first questions that came up from our group was: "what about bald people?" The presenter smiled and said that while some people may not have hair on their head, almost everyone has hair somewhere. Chew on that one for a while.

    1. Re:Before you cue balls start pillaging by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean you don't get a full body wax? I know I do.

  14. Food is shipped all around the world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Therefore, anyone that eats Kraft Macaroni and Cheeze is eating the isotopes prevalent in the pasta. The pasta is made up of grain shipped in from random places. The cheeze sauce is made from who knows what, margerine and milk that could be local,but could also be shipped in from a thousand miles away.

  15. In order to use this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...imports should be stopped, thus leading to regrowth of small/local buissness and kill Wal-mart and alike. Good side-effect would be that monopoly of food corporations would be broke, badly paid jobs at wall-mart (see an earlier article on slashdot, iirc) would decrease in number and local farmers could develop some profit....

    But, unfortunately, this (discovery) is not good reason enough for the scenario above to happen.

    And about water, here, in my country, many people use bottled (at a remote location) water in 5l recipients, and is considered a little insane to drink tap water.

  16. Poor Homer by kannibal_klown · · Score: 1

    With all of the trouble he gets into, it's only a matter of time until his last 3 hairs are plucked.

  17. Can it be jammed? by Thomas+Shaddack · · Score: 2, Interesting
    How long it will take until "isotope ratio kits" appear on the market?

    Look up the ratio of various isotopes in your region. Make an estimation of the volume of local water you ingest. Add measured amount of isotope mixture to every your morning coffee, shifting the average ratio to the value of the region you want to appear to be from.

    What will be the next round of this game?

    We can look forward to interesting new technological games once cheap mass-produced mass spectrometers appear on the market.

  18. News Flash by BigGar' · · Score: 1

    Nair has just been declared a theif's tool and thus illeagal to possess, as has wax, razors and scissors. Cry's from models & body builders for some way to remove unwanted hair were met with "Why, what don't you want us to know?"

    --


    Shop smart, Shop S-Mart.