I love that the maker of the No-Contact Jacket inserts this ominous little statistic on its product page before it even gets around to telling you what the jacket does:

According to the Senate Judiciary Committee, three out of four women in the United States will be victims of one violent crime during their lifetime.

Scare the hell out of women, and then sell them the solution. Admirable business model, No-Contact LLC!

Anyway, the jacket falls into the category of wearable defense (a.k.a. exo-electric armor) and, as the site says, it can "aid women in their struggle for protection from violence." Emitting a full 80,000 volts of low-amperage electric current, this garment is certainly one way of preventing unauthorized groping. According to No Contact, anyone who grabs hold of the jacket wearer will be on the receiving end of a sizable jolt, one that will interrupt his or her neurological impulses, causing the muscular system to, well, short circuit.

My question: Why market this only to women? As a prodigious BART rider and a person who hates unpermitted touching, I could certainly find uses for such a product. It would be fun to wear at parties, too.

[Thanks to Molly for this one!]

Post by Bryan Gardiner