New Mexico Government Orders 500 Talking Urinal Cakes

[matcom]

<snip>

RIO RANCHO, N.M. --New Mexico is hoping to keep drunks off the road by lecturing them at the last place they usually stop before getting behind the wheel: the urinal.

The state recently paid $21 each for about 500 talking urinal-deodorizer cakes and has put them in men's rooms in bars and restaurants across the state.

When a man steps up, the motion-sensitive plastic device says, in a woman's voice that is flirty, then stern: "Hey, big guy. Having a few drinks? Think you had one too many? Then it's time to call a cab or call a sober friend for a ride home."

The recorded message ends: "Remember, your future is in your hand." :rofl:

The talking urinal represents just the latest effort to fight drunken driving in New Mexico, which has long had one of the highest rates of alcohol-related traffic deaths in the nation. (The new tactic is aimed only at men, since they account for 78 percent of all driving-under-the-influence-related convictions in New Mexico.)

"It startled me the first time I heard it, but it sure got my attention," said Ben Miller, a patron at the Turtle Mountain Brewing Co. bar and restaurant. "It's a fantastic idea."

Jim Swatek, who was drinking a beer nearby, said: "You think, `Maybe I should call the wife to come get me.'"

Turtle Mountain Brewing owner Niko Ortiz commended the New Mexico Transportation Department for "thinking way outside the box."

http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2007/02/17/nm_orders_500_talking_urinal_cakes/

[AllegroRondo]

1. Who gets the fun job of changing the batteries?

not me!

[Strawman]

2. Any evidence they actually work?

$21 urinal cakes? That's an anti-Richardson talking point waiting to happen if there isn't strong evidence that they do. Talk about "pissing away" your tax dollars.