On August 26th, political reporter Andrea Grimes posted a tweet joking that it would be difficult to make men wear rape prevention nail polish, which gained over 8,100 favorites and 8,000 retweets in the first 48 hours (shown below). On August 26th, the pop culture blog Animal New York published an article titled "Date Rape Drug-Detecting Nail Polish Won't Work," which speculated that the nail polish would have limited accuracy. On August 22nd, The Daily Mail reported on On August 24th, the women's interest blog Jezebel published an article about the nail polish. On April 15th, the Undercover Colors Facebook page was launched to provide updates and news related to the anti-rape nail polish product. On January 16th, the domain for the company's official website was registered, containing links to the company's social media feeds and a donation page. In early 2014, the company Undercover Colors was founded by North Carolina State University undergraduates Tyler Confrey-Maloney, Stephen Gray, Ankesh Madan and Tasso Von Windheim. The start-up has not received any institutional investor or venture capital funds.Undercover Colors is a brand of nail polish that changes its color upon coming into contact with any liquid containing incapacitating agents, such as rohypnol, xanax and GHB, or more commonly known as "date rape drugs." Invented by a group of male students at North Carolina State University in early 2014, the nail polish has received mixed reception in the blogosphere, with some praising the company's efforts at preventing sexual assault on campus, while others criticized the product as an ineffective solution to combating rape culture that places the burden of safety on women. Private investors, including Mike Hockenberry, Marjorie Kaufman, Liz Pharo and Mark Cuban, have backed Undercover Colors, Cook said. "One of the reasons it's one of the most underreported crime in the freshman year is because women think it's their fault. The agency analyzed sexual assaults of female college students from 2014 to 2015, the most recent data available. More than half of college sexual assaults occur between August and December, and freshmen are attacked almost twice as much as other undergraduates, according to the Department of Justice. The first semester can be a dangerous time. Undercover Colors is timing the release as college students head back to school. They also created a stick-on nail, but it isn't available for public sale yet. "The form in which that technology was to be delivered is the thing that has evolved over time and to get it it into a form that helps most people in the best way is to begin with is here." Their market research showed surprising demand from men, and not just in the LGBTQ community, he said. Letourneau said scientists got the nail polish technology to a point where it was working, but executives decided to shelve it in favor of something that could be used more easily by both men and women. "We're focused mostly on getting product out there, and we want to hear the first story of how this helps someone because that will make it all worth it," said Undercover Colors' director of research and development, Nick Letourneau, adding that it could eventually display a pattern or a written word like newer pregnancy tests do. The readout displays one dark pink line if the drink is bad or two lines if it's OK. Women can either drop the liquid on the test or dunk it into a drink. It takes about a minute to process and looks like a quarter-sized medallion with a foil coating on one side that resembles a miniature pregnancy test when peeled back. The Undercover tests are small enough to carry in a purse or wallet and can be purchased online for $34.99 for a five-test starter kit or $49.99 for 10 tests. They're tasteless and odorless, making them nearly impossible to detect and can make people drowsy or even cause them to black out. It would take a few years for the science to catch up.ĭate rape drugs are used in a fraction of all sexual assaults, but they still can put people in dangerous situations. The thinking was to give women a way to quickly and discreetly test their drinks at bars and parties with nail polish that changed colors when dipped into drinks laced with date rape drugs. They do not screen for other common date rape drugs, such as GHB or ketamine.įour classmates at North Carolina State University came up with the idea more than four years ago. They can detect Xanax or its generic alprazolam, Valium (diazepam) and flunitrazepam, also known as Rohypnol, said CEO Barbara Cook. The tests, which use just a few drops of liquid, look and operate much like a pregnancy test. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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