GadgetReview

I hate getting old. It sucks and nothing better to remind you of your age with the loss of your hearing ability. As a teen I often could tell when a TV was on just by the sound of a high pitch buzz. Now in my mid 20s I am lucky if I know if the washing machine is on. Unfortunately, this is just life, and like everyone you naturally lose you ability to hear as well.

In the case of the Mosquito, a high pitched device, be glad that your age has afforded you a limited range of hearing. Recently tested at a South Wales convenience store, the Mosquito has proved effective in deterring unwanted lingering
teens.

At first, members of the usual crowd tried to gather as normal, repeatedly going inside the store with their fingers in their ears and “begging me to turn it off,” Gough said. But he held firm and neatly avoided possible aggressive confrontations: “I told them it was to keep birds away because of the bird flu epidemic.” (excerpt from News.com)

The Mosquito works by emitting a high pitched noise that can only be heard by the youthful. Older visitors to the store in South Wales couldn’t hear a thing while

“It’s loud and squeaky and it just goes through you,” said Jodie Evans, 15, who was shopping at the store even though she was supposed to be in school. “It gets inside you.”

The Mosquito, lent to the store owners on a trial basis, has generated enough press for its inventor, Howard Stapleton, to generate numerous orders and appear on a talk show. Although some experts question the devices ability to not affect the older crowds (everyone’s hearing ability ranges), Stapleton reaffirms explaining that those who can hear it of the older age, won’t be hanging around much like in the case of the South Wales convenience store loitering issue.

Stapleton is considering building a much louder version that can be used in the case of emergencies (i.e. swarmed by a group of teenagers stealing from a store).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 29th, 2005 at 4:20 pm and is filed under Wacky. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.