h a l f b a k e r y
Not just a think tank. An entire army of think.
idea:
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, best, random
meta:
news, help, about, links, report a problem
account:
Browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
or Create a new account.
|
|
|
Sooner or later most jogger's cross paths with a dog that wants to give them a somewhat less than cheerful greeting. The usual responses are, run faster, climb higher, or kick hard (pepper spray being an unreliable). Shocking shoes would make the third option much more effective. During normal use
they'd pretty much look like regular running shoes. The only difference would be pairs of prongs folded neatly against each edge of the shoe. If a dog attacked though and both running faster and climbing higher weren't alternatives, the wearer would use the toe of each shoe to tap a button on each heel, causing the prongs to spring out into a spike-like position. The prongs would be connected to a battery so when you kicked at the attacking dog they would give it a taser/stun-gun like shock, discouraging it from further aggression. The batteries powering the taser/stun-gun could be kept in either the heel of the shoes or on the ankle weights that some joggers use (whichever is more comfortable). Women might also find this a useful addition to whatever they're carrying for protection when they jog down deserted trails too.
How a taser works
http://www.g4techtv..._of_Tasers_pg2.html
Link borrowed from jonthegeologist [longshot9999, Jan 24 2005]
Shoes with Built in Stun Gun
http://www.shinyshi...hoes_with_buil.html
[HalfBaker, Dec 22 2007]
[link]
|
| |
Sounds good but I'd be worried about the weight of the battery -- you're asking joggers to carry it for miles. |
|
| |
Also there is a yob problem .. as undesirables buy the shoes and kick people with them during muggings / bullying. |
|
| |
How would you overcome these problems? And of course your feet are gonna get sweaty and water is a conductor .. if you start adding non-conductive padding for safety .. you're talking about a bigger shoe and again more weight. How would you tackle this? |
|
| |
Besides - what would this give you that carrying a tazor gun wouldn't? |
|
| |
britboy - According to the link, a taser uses standard AA batteries. Most joggers could carry that extra weight without much effort. The sweat, and rain for that matter, wouldn't be a problem until the prongs were deployed (the connection wouldn't be active until you pressed those heel buttons). The edge of the shoes would be rubber, insulating the user from them when they're used. As for what this would give me that carrying a taser wouldn't - free hands. I don't like to carry anything when I'm jogging. |
|
| |
Couldn't do anything about undesirables buying them, but then again they can buy stun guns too so that wouldn't be a new problem. |
|
| |
OK - I'll accept all that! Have a sticky bun!! |
|
| |
The one problem I see is this //the wearer would use the toe of each shoe to tap a button on each heel, causing the prongs to spring out into a spike-like position// But once one shoe has prongs poking out of it, would it be wise to try and activate the other shoe? Not that I'm criticizing, I just think that one shoe is enough. Or is it? The taser/stun gun works by having a somewhat prolonged contact with the target. A simple kick might not do it. but Im gonna [+] this anyway because its a good fuckin idea. |
|
| |
"...because its a good fuckin idea." Had to laugh. Almost to a word what entered my mind while reading this. Lots of first hand experience as I have? Though I have to be fair - I'd probably end up avoiding the poor mutt and booting the owner with these. I've never carried pepper spray. I'd always assumed it would stop a bull in its tracks. Unreliable? |
|
| |
Jung - It can be unreliable due to several reasons. |
|
| |
1. Weather conditions - both high winds and extreme
cold can diminish its effect. |
|
| |
2. Delayed effect - differing rates of sensitivity exist. |
|
| |
3. Non-discriminating - it affects everyone within
range. |
|
| |
4. It has an effective shelf life (the batteries in the
shoes would share this weakness). |
|
| |
Power could be generated by the movement, or the speed, or the jogger's weight as it impacts the ground -ok, I'm no engineer and I don't understand physics, but I think this could work without the need of batteries. After all, there's a jogger producing energy, right?- |
|
| |
A dog attacked me while I was rollerblading, almost 7 months ago. I would have loved something like this to prevent the horrible scar I got on my right leg. |
|
| |
Jog softly and carry a big stick? |
|
| |
I didn't know you were so conceited [rambling_sid]. ;) |
|
| |
I think this one (albeit in a somewhat different form) has been baked (see link). |
|
| |
What about a piezo-electric shock? Some of those shocks are quite strong; they don't require batteries, and discharge on compression. |
|
| |
Might work best for small dogs, but small dogs are the ones that need the most kicking. |
|
| |