Four North Carolina State University students have hit the nail on the head with their invention.
The materials science and engineering students have created a nail polish to help detect if colorless, odorless compounds are being used to drug drinks.
The nail polish, named Undercover Colors, changes color when common date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol, Xanax and GHB, have been slipped into drinks. Women can identify the drug by sticking their fingers inside their glasses.
According to UF Health, about one in three American women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime.
“I’ve never seen someone put something in someone’s drink, but I’ve been with people who have thought someone did,” said UF telecommunication sophomore Sami Wax, 19. “And that is very scary.”
Similar preventative products have been made available to the public, including coasters that change colors, said Rita Lawrence, GatorWell’s interpersonal violence prevention coordinator.
“[It’s] not just women who are sexually assaulted, it could happen to anyone,” she said.
Lawrence said the nail polish can be part of a strategy against date rape, but awareness is key.
Allyson Montoya, a 19-year-old UF English junior, said she would consider buying the nail polish when it becomes available to the public.
“If they have that with them, it’s almost like carrying a weapon with you,” Montoya said.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 8/28/2014 under the headline "Nail polish exposes date-rape drugs"]
