www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/04/27/spark.hollow/index.html
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A design student has come up with an invention h e hopes will help eliminate drinks being spiked in bars. Tom Martin, 23, has created the "Hollow" glass as part of his final year of a design degree at London's Brunel University. The idea for the glass came after a friend was sexually assaulted when he r drink was spiked in a bar last year. He says the Hollow could stop future attacks happening because it is impo ssible to tamper with drinks in it. Hollow has double walls -- the inside wall is lower than the outer one an d the gap between the two is so narrow, a special nozzle has to be used to drop anything inside it. The nozzle, which can be attached to any optic used to pour nips of spiri t measures, sits on top of the drinking glass, filtering liquid into the walls of the vessel. Once the optic is removed, it is extremely difficult to pour anything int o the sides because the center is hollow and bottomless. "If you were to drop anything into the glass, it would go straight throug h the middle. If any drug did land inside the walls of the glass, it wou ld be such a low percentage that it wouldn't have an effect," Martin sai d "It's such a simple idea but it works. It could dramatically reduce the n umber of drinks that are spiked." Initially, Martin wanted to create a device that would fit on tops of bot tles, but he was beaten to the idea by another company, which created a rubber stopper called "Spikey" last year. Lots of women drink wine and they are the main targets of having their drinks spiked," Martin said. The Hollow sits on a mat, which changes color according to how long the d rink has been left unattended. If the glass is not touched for 10 minute s, the color changes to blue, alerting the drinker that there may be a h igher risk that it has been tampered with. Martin hopes to turn his prototype into a commercial reality. Brunel University School of Engineering and Design director Paul Turnock said the idea was simple but effective. "With further development, this could be a stylish, new and safer glass b eing used in pubs and restaurants." A spokeswoman for London Metropolitan Police would not comment specifical ly on Hollow. However, she told CNN the key to preventing drug-assisted assaults was for people drinking in public places to be aware of their d rinks at all times. "If they get up to dance, they should make sure someone in the group stay s with and watches the drinks at all times." There were 785 reported cas es of drug-assisted rape in London last year.
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