Super Glue as Self Defense
9 comments
Some considerations:
- Cyanoacrylate glue ("superglue") polymerizes in moisture. Open packages last only a month. You will probably need to find a way to prevent polymerization by mechanically opening sealed glue packages and/or adding a stabilizer.
- Cyanoacrylate glue takes about a minute to harden. There exists "cyanoacrylate accelerators" to reduce the period to a few seconds. You will probably have to formulate a package to combine the accelerator and glue upon impact.
In the Spielberg film "Minority Report" when their leader gets precognitively flagged as being a murderer the PreCrime team goes on the chase. As they are staging to capture him, they say "Only bind foam and sick sticks"--i.e, non-lethals. Sick sticks were explored in the film: an electroconvulsive emetic, like a "vomit taser". Pretty cool.
Bind foam was not explored. Presumably, it's like "expanding foam", and you point it at someone, and spray them and they get "bound". Could be good to call Spielberg and see what he thinks of your glue idea.
Minority Report did extensive workshopping and brainstorming with futurists and scientists to come up with plausible future tech. Maybe the precogs saw something in you and your SF-exodus glue-taser idea?
Bind foam was not explored. Presumably, it's like "expanding foam", and you point it at someone, and spray them and they get "bound". Could be good to call Spielberg and see what he thinks of your glue idea.
Minority Report did extensive workshopping and brainstorming with futurists and scientists to come up with plausible future tech. Maybe the precogs saw something in you and your SF-exodus glue-taser idea?
Note that it can be used by thieves to immobilize their victims.
I don't see how this is true, but I think it's a good idea worth exploring.
If someone has a knife in their hand, assuming you see it and are able to pull out your glue gun or glue sword and you strike them....are they really unable to use their knife to stab you?
If someone has a knife in their hand, assuming you see it and are able to pull out your glue gun or glue sword and you strike them....are they really unable to use their knife to stab you?
Note that cyanoacrylates have some downsides: the activating glue can get hot enough to blister skin (esp. in larger amounts, or in reaction to natural fibers like cotton), and the fumes released are quite toxic.
Does anyone make a Kevlar tech vest and scarf?
You will be the cause of as many assault charges as you cure.
What alternatives do you recommend in San Francisco, where serious assault charges are resulting in instant release from jail?
Is bear spray legal there?
amazing posts like this are why i look on the 'new' tab of hacker news
As a previous resident of San Francisco, I'm sickened by the recent attacks. I left in part because I didn't feel safe.
I grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona. Lethal force has always been a necessary part of my life. However, living in SF meant I wasn't allowed to protect myself properly.
This caused me to think about how to protect myself without guns & without lethal force.
Constraints cause creativity.
Questions I started asking: What would stop an attacker in their tracks? What's easy to carry and doesn't harm people permanently? What's legal and not likely to be made illegal?
Super Glue is the answer.
Super Glue makes skin stick to itself INSTANTLY.
They use it in emergency rooms and ambulances to stop bleeding from cuts, bullet wounds, etc. It saved many lives in Vietnam because it was easy to carry and stopped the bleeding from bullet wounds.
The instant stickiness is the key to its success. If you get it on your fingers, you'll have a hard time separating them. If you get it on a weapon or ammunition, you'll have a hard time using them or won't be able to use them at all. If you get it on your lips, good luck talking for a few days. If you get it in your eyes, you'll blink and instantly seal your eyes shut for several days. Making you temporarily blind.
It can instantly stop any attacker.
We don't use it this way. We use it to fix broken lamps, make art and save lives in emergency rooms.
It has so much more potential to use as protection without lethality. Teachers & Schools could use it without fear of having a gun in the classroom. Individuals can use it to protect themselves on the street without carrying dangerous or illegal weapons. Police can use it to stop crime without lethal force. Armies can use it to stop an entire brigade in their tracks.
Carrying it with you at all times has an added benefit. If you or anyone else gets hurt, you can seal those wounds instantly until help arrives.
The problem is that Super Glue has not been turned into something that can be used this way. It needs to be turned into an aerosol, paint ball, whatever and marketed to the masses.
I'm starting an open source project to turn this into a reality. I need your help making this happen.
If you're a 3d printer magician, scientist, product builder or simple want to help - I'd love to hear from you.
Together, with Super Glue, we can save lives and protect the innocent.