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Chemical-Releasing Bike Lock Causes Vomiting To Deter Thieves (bbc.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from BBC: The "Skunklock" is a U-shaped steel bicycle lock with a pressurized, stinking gas inside. The gas escapes in a cloud if someone attempts to cut the lock. The company claims its "noxious chemical" is so disgusting it "induces vomit in the majority of cases." Even better, it claims, the gas causes "shortness of breathing" and impaired eyesight. The idea, which tries to make stealing a bike as unpleasant as possible, is raising money for production on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. "Our formula irreversibly ruins the clothes worn by the thief or any of the protection they may be wearing," the company claims on its crowdfunding page. Since stolen bikes sell for a fraction of their true cost, replacing clothing or equipment could make the theft more trouble than it's worth. Skunklock says it has tested its foul gas, and it even penetrates high-end gas masks -- though most thieves are unlikely to go to such lengths. But the company said that the compressed gas is perfectly safe -- and can only be released "by trying to cut through it with an angle grinder." If the chemical countermeasure is released, it is a one-time only use, and the lock, which costs over $100, will have to be replaced. But the hope is that the unpleasant experience will cause them to abandon the attempted theft, leaving the bicycle behind.
or Middle School or Elementary School
Is it even legal to use this in any developed country? Any sort of problem (a delay in the mechanism, failure or bystanders) and you got a terrorism charge.
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Won't the bike itself be equally tainted by this chemical?
Our formula irreversibly ruins the clothes worn by the thief or any of the protection they may be wearing
What about the bike? Doesn't this ruin the bike?
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If it truly does cause shortness of breathing and impaired eyesight then it's nothing more than a booby trap that causes physical harm, which is illegal last time I checked.
For example, you can legally cause an alarm system in your house to start fog machines, flash bulbs, and loud sirens to disorient would be thieves and scare them away, but if you had it auto-pepperspray an intruder you'd probably land yourself in a heap of trouble... It's the same reason we can't have car alarms that trigger stun gun like devices in cars to stop car theft...
Offensive devices and substances are generally only allowed for use in defending life and property when a human is in control... automatic deployment of such things isn't legal nor is it a good idea...
I can defeat this with a roll of duct tape.
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katko_v._Briney
geek. lawyer.
so disgusting it "induces vomit in the majority of cases."
It's filled with haggis.
Given the effects I would have thought such a device would be considered illegal in most western countries to use or sell. Even things like Mace or pepper spray are illegal in a lot of places as are mantraps or anything designed to incapacitate or injure a person.
Them saying "noxious chemical deterrent" is so f**king vague. WHAT is the actual chemical(s) used?
They claim this device is legal, but I have my doubts on that.
So what if the thief cuts the chain instead of the lock? Is the normal lock that much easier to cut than the chain? Or is the design such that it's all lock and nothing else?
By putting in a chamber to hold the gas, you then ruin the integrity of the lock by make the metal weaker and easier to cut thru.
If I am stealing bikes, like I did when I was a junkie, puking isn't going to stop me from finishing the job and grabbing the bike. By putting in the gas, you made it easier to cut thru the lock, so I'm guessing it won't stop as many people as you think.
Be seeing you...
but is anyone else noticing that the lock is $100, for $100 i'd want a lock to protect my lock
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just 'cause someone's stealing your stuff doesn't mean you can commit acts of violence on them. At least in most Jurisdictions. A buddy of mine went through some criminal law classes and he always got a kick out of the look on people's faces when they found that out. It makes sense though. If you don't feel threatened you shouldn't be attacking somebody. That's sort of a key component of civilized society. I guess you could make the argument that if you're poor enough having what little you have stolen is a threat, but ideally we shouldn't have anybody that poor.
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Next.
Perhaps this invention will win the IgNobel prize for Peace, like the flame-throwing car alarm did in 1999.
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
Just keep pepper spray and be always be prepared to use it if you see someone tampering with your or anyone else's locked bicycle.
There's no substitute for people being vigilant. Not long ago in San Francisco a guy went up and cut through a bicycle lock with a circular saw in broad daylight, as people walked by. I think there are other more serious problems to worry about.
They'll smack them to break open the scent vial for fun. Like bumping alarmed cars, but so much more annoying to everyone nearby.
Should exist for global DDoS attacks.
So if you have one of these devices on your person, backpack, or bike while you're in motion and are hit by a vehicle wouldn't this pose a danger to everyone on scene?
What do colleges do with these at the end of the semester? Owners would leave stripped bikes locked to racks and the school would auction them off periodically.
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I feel like getting gassed by this will be regarded as a sunk cost, and now they DEFINITELY gotta steal the bike, to make up the loss. If this somehow finds mass usage then bike thefts become much less profitable, or at least must be done in the nude. And this could probably be circumvented if the lock's gas feature is advertised, by wrapping a saw and the lock together in a cut resistant garbage bag, tying it up tightly, then sawing as normal.
Our formula irreversibly ruins the clothes worn by the thief or any of the protection they may be wearing...
... including your bicycle!
...Until someone decides to be "funny" and uses such a lock to chain up someone else's bike/door/whatever? Good luck regaining access to your own property without getting maced in the process...
the tool of the thieves are 1) those giant pincer for cheap cable lock 2) hammer and screwdriver for the U one or 3) cheap can of liquid N i saw used + hammer 4) and the usual small but of metal used as picklock.
nobody will be using an angle grinder to steal a bike.
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You're so American it's painful: the first thing that springs to your mind about a bike lock is litigation and terrorism.
If only there was some nudity in there for you could get hung up on.
This would be against the law in the UK.
Just wait until the kids find these, and fill the lock mechanism with super glue. Now what are you going to do. Cut it?
Good idea until the lock breaks and I have to cut free my own bicycle, as has happened to me twice in the last five years.
Wasn't there a story about thieves using liquid nitrogen to shatter bike-locks? I imagine that would work here.
Aren't bolt cutters faster and quieter than an electric grinder ?
Plus they will pinch off the cut ends, keeping the stink in.
...you better not lose the key
They should take it a step further and include an anesthetic that will knock out the thief for a couple hours, since time is a thief's worst enemy.
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and goes into shock and maybe dies from exposure to the chemical. It might be the thief or an innocent bystander. Or maybe someone reacts to the chemical and backs away into oncoming traffic and gets hit by a truck. This is no different than booby-trapping your house with a shotgun pointed at the door. It won't stand up in court. The company making the lock, the principals of the company, and the person who put the lock on their bike will all be sued and probably jailed.
thief #1 cuts the lock and is overcome by the gas
thief #2 sees incapacitated thief #1 lying next to the unsecured bike
thief #2 takes bike
There's no substitute for people being vigilant. Not long ago in San Francisco a guy went up and cut through a bicycle lock with a circular saw in broad daylight, as people walked by. I think there are other more serious problems to worry about.
My son had his bike lock freeze on the UT campus several years back. The usual campus thongs, and a campus cop passed by while he hacksawed off the cheap lock. ONo one questioned him...
I wonder if these people could make a locking gas cap.
http://www.lockpicking101.com/...
I feel sorry for other people that have to unlock bicycles such as the police, fire department, and city workers when bicycles are locked up in the wrong places or look like they've been abandoned.
Probably in most jurisdictions in the US, and certainly in Calif, this would be considered a booby trap, and if it harmed the thief, you would be guilty of a crime and also subject to a lawsuit from the thief. In fact, if you did this yourself in person, wthout the lock doing it automatically, if the thief had not threatened you personally, you would probably be guilty of an assault. IANAL, but you don't have to be a lawyer to know something about the law.
Send all the Naggers back to Africa where they can screw up their own country.
http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pi...
I just read the heading and I've already thought of two ways to beat this.
Oh wait, two more since i started the heading.
I'm not going to list them but this is pretty trivial to beat.
Meanwhile, you've created a way for any member of the general public to release vomit inducing gas in theaters, restaurants, and any other crowded spaces.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
Or, if parked in the "wrong" place, a national security threat.
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As the old joke goes, a 5 kg bike requires a 15 kg lock. A 10 kg bike requires a 10 kg lock. A 20 kg bike requires no lock.
Some judicious application of scratches, rust paint, duct tape (to seat) and dirt will also go a long way to deter theft.
I have a 15-year old bicycle that I wouldn't be able to sell for much (even legally). It's fairly nice, but there's an abundance of cheaper and lower quality new bikes. I have used it for a number of years now for running errands like shopping for groceries. I use a simple steel cable + lock to secure it to whatever is handy (where I live, most shops are not big on the biking thing). I have recently noticed a couple of random things: ... but no attempt has ever been made to steal it. Admittedly, I park it for an hour or two at the most at commercial venues, and always during daylight (business hours).
(1) despite not being a high-priced item, it is still desirable. I often get people talking to me about selling it to them. Reason being that there are a lot of people where I live that walk, jog, or take public transport to their low-paying jobs and would love to have some quicker and less-tiring, but perhaps cheaper, form of transport. Public transport is often not cheap, and not accessible in many areas.
(2)
(3)Then again, nobody gives a hoot. When I once broke the key inside the lock of the previous cable, I spent a 30-minute brisk and tiring walk back home (about 2.5 miles) to go fetch a car and a hacksaw. Absolutely nobody questioned me (including the security guards) when I proceeded to saw through the lock (about 5 minutes tops) and take the bike away in my car.
Then again, if you remove a chastity belt from some people I know, puking will occur naturally.
Skunklock says it has tested its foul gas, and it even penetrates high-end gas masks
My BS detector just went off. I'm wondering if someone is planning to run with the money.
I can think of a few possibilities. More possibilities are easily obtained at Derek Lowe's marvelous web page, "Things I Won't Work With", including one chemical that not much is known about, because when the reaction takes place "that's when people start diving out windows and vomiting into wastebaskets, and the quality of the data tends to deteriorate."