Could This Save You From Getting Roofied?

Update: The sly foxes over at Jezebel did some digging, and found some evidence that even thought we don't know too much about it yet, this polish may be malarky. According to Animal New York’s “Backdoor Pharmacist,” there are two major issues with what little we do know of the formula. For one, it’s faulty — it apparently reacted to cow milk, but only changed color for GHB (a common rape drug) two out of three times. There’s also the sickening fact that there are just far too many rape drugs for this to be effective. Whether it’s benzos or sedatives, one nail polish can’t possibly detect them all. What’s more, most of us already ingest the most common rape drug of all: alcohol. So the moral, ladies (and gents)? Watch your drink, pace yourself, and just be mindful of who you chat up at the bar. Head over to Jezebel to read the full report.

Here's something for people who say painting your nails is a waste of time: Developers at N.C. State University are working to create a nail polish that can allegedly help detect date-rape drugs. How, exactly, is it said to do that? The lacquer changes color when it's exposed to the drugs, according to Elle.com.

Unfortunately, little is known about the sleuthing polish yet, which is still in its prototype stage. For one, we still don't have any intel on which drugs this lacquer is supposed to detect. (It's worth noting that while "roofie" has become commonly associated with date-rape drugs in general, it does technically refer to the drug Rohypnol.) Also, we still don't have any information on how it works. Will it detect a drug in your system, or will you have to stealthily spill some liquor on your paws for the polish to pick up on it? How quickly will the reaction take place? We reached out to the developers for the answers, but they were unable to comment.

Of course, there are a few things we must acknowledge with regard to products that are purported to prevent date rape. For one, date rape does not only refer to sexual assaults that involve drugs. Second, and more obviously, we (much less our nail polish) are not responsible for preventing drugs from being slipped into our drinks. The only people who can stop that from happening are the heinous individuals perpetrating these crimes in the first place. But, we do realize that we don't live in a perfect world, and tools that could help us detect these drugs are something every woman should have access to. So, while it's sad products like this are needed at all, it's nice to know people are not only taking this problem seriously but also working to create ways to potentially help women protect themselves.

We're looking forward to seeing how this, and other technologies of its kind, progress. For now, though, we'll have to wait until the N.C. State University experiments get a little farther. (Elle.com)