Students develop way to protect against date rape

RALEIGH, N.C. — (AP) Four North Carolina State University students are getting national media attention after announcing they have developed fingernail polish that changes colors when a date rape drug is present.

Their startup company, Undercover Colors, says when a woman puts her fingertip in a drink, her nail polish changes colors in the presence of common date rape drugs like Rohypnol.

There have been accounts of the development in the Daily Mail in Great Britain and the Washington Post and USA Today in this country.

The News and Observer of Raleigh reports the students who developed the idea aren't giving interviews.

But the paper reports there have been other date-rape detectors proposed including drinking straws, coasters, and lip gloss. It reports while those also made media splashes, few have reached the market.

WSOC