Thursday, June 03, 2010

An Innovative Bicycling Helmet

As a former bicycle racer, I strongly advocate helmet use. Having been in many frightening crashes, I can firmly state that I wouldn't be here if I hadn't worn one all those years ago, OR maybe I would still be here, but in a greatly reduced mental capacity. (I know, you're all saying how much lower can I go anyway!) I cracked many of them and banged plenty of others hard enough to be unsure of their future effectiveness. Rather than take a chance, I would just buy a new one.

That may no longer be necessary in the near future. Developers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials in Freiburg have added a layer of microencapsulated oils which stink when released. This could be quite effective as long as the oils don't smell anything like sweat. Heavily used helmets already have a "bouquet" from all the sweat absorbed in the helmet's cushioning pads. And maybe some of the energy drink that you poured over your head thinking that it was your water bottle.

No comments: