Seattle plans to put Ping-Pong tables in parks to stop prostitution

I played a lot of Ping-Pong in my high school gym class, and let me tell you, I did not hire any prostitutes the whole time! The city of Seattle has apparently noticed this correlation in the lives of its residents, too, as the Seattle Parks Department has announced its plan to install Ping-Pong tables in several city parks in a bid to reduce crime in public spaces.

All joking aside, the goal is to change "the perception that parks can be dark and unsafe," says the Parks Department's Adrienne Caver-Hall. Initial results suggest it's working: The first park to receive a Ping-Pong table saw criminal incidents in that area drop dramatically, from 46 in 2009 to just 16 in 2014.

The Ping-Pong will be free to play, and the tables were purchased with funds raised by the local community.

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