Safety in numbers, those numbers being one

Ripped from the headlines!

Sorry, not to go all Law & Order on you. But I saw this article (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/20/MNG0UOOA1I1.DTL), and it gave me an idea for today's post. Basically, some observant citizens saw a guy drug his date's drink while she was in the bathroom. They stopped him. Crisis averted.

According to the article and enough anecdotal evidence I've accumulated over the years, this happens a lot. Which is horrible. I can't pretend to know how or why people do this, or how we could even stop them from the impulse to do it. But if we can't stop the criminals, let's do what we can to help out the victims.

Here's what I want. A small, pen sized device (maybe it is a pen?) that could be dipped into a beverage and would detect the presence of a predetermined list of substances. If the pen changes colors, you need to get a new date.

This isn't just for women either. Friends tell me that everyone is at risk, especially when travelling abroad.

I see a couple of problems, especially in a one on one situation. How do you do this without coming off as paranoid? I'd like to think I would see my date as responsible and cautious if they were using this device. Good things to be. Now granted, some dudes might freak out. But does anyone really want to be on a date with someone who would freak out about something like that? Or you could wait until they went to the bathroom. I feel like there are a lot of ways around this.

And of course, what do you do if the results are positive? Again, there are ways around that, too. You could run like hell. You could excuse yourself, call the cops, and then run like hell. My mind is racing with how this could go horribly wrong...but damn it. The good guys need to start employing some technology to help our people out. You know, other than mace and pepper spray. Great in a crisis, but not nearly devious enough to compete with the real villains.