Bike thieves could get a nasty shock next time they put their bolt cutters to work, thanks to a new lock that could cause immediate vomiting.
The SkunkLock is the brainchild of San Francisco entrepreneur Daniel Idzkowski and his partner Yves Perrenoud, who came up with the idea after seeing bike locks severed with apparent ease in the city and the surrounding Bay Area.
Idzkowski finally lost patience when a friend's expensive electric bike was stolen despite being secured with two locks.
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"I blurted out, 'Why didn't it blow his balls off?'" he told The Guardian. "The biggest problem in this industry is that people don't know that the lock that they bought for $20 is absolutely worthless."
"We realised that people don't need a bigger stronger lock; we needed a lock with a fundamental deterrent."
The two men set about developing a chemical compound that would provoke an instant sensation of nausea.
The result, formula D_1, is placed in a pressurised container inside a steel U-lock and sprays the would-be thief if the lock is pierced.
Idzkowski and Perrenoud tested it on themselves and on gutsy volunteers.
"At two feet it was pretty bad. It was absolutely vomit inducing in 99 per cent of people," says Idzkowski. "At five feet it's very noticeable and the initial reaction is to move away from it. At ten feet it's definitely detectable and very unpleasant."
Not only does the nauseating formula repel all but the most strong-stomached of thieves, the pungent odour "is sure to cause a scene that makes people look in the direction of the crime", says the Daily Mail.
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Carrying or using any "noxious substance" for self-defence is illegal in the UK, but the SkunkLock team say they have a suitable alternative that would be compliant with the law.
The two men are now looking for investors on the crowdfunding website Indiegogo to get the business started. A $99 pledge guarantees donors a SkunkLock when the fundraising total has been reached, subject to legal clearance. So far, Idzkowski and Perrenoud have raised $5,000 (£4,100) of their target $20,000 (£16,400)
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