Teenagers with a patent pending?! Susana Cappello, Carolina Baigorri, and Victoria Roca are high school students from Miami, Florida. When Susana heard students at her sister’s college were being drugged, she and two friends wanted to create something to alert girls of a drug in their drinks. They created a straw that has two chemical strips, that turn blue, when they come into contact with substances, like rohypnol, gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), or ketamine, that are typically used in drug-facilitated sexual violence cases.
In 2010’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, nearly 1 in 5 women in the United States has been raped in her lifetime with 8% experiencing alcohol or drug facilitated forced rape. Susana, Carolina, and Victoria found that many women that are drugged are then forced into human trafficking. “My friends and I knew we needed to come up with a simple solution to test for drugs,” Susana told A Plus. “I remember my dad always says, ‘The best ideas are the ideas that help people,’ so we just thought of a simple, easy, inexpensive solution — Smart Straws”. These teenagers won the Miami Herald’s Business Plan Challenge with their invention that they made for class.
“We know it’s not a solution because it can’t end rape, but we were hoping to lower the amount of rape and dangerous situations you might be in through drugs,” Carolina said.
“Our impact is just to help people feel safe in their surroundings and be aware of what’s going on and just to make sure that where they are, and what they are drinking, is safe,” Susana added.
It’s pretty incredible to see these ladies make a change by creating something to help others and that it is pending a patent for the design!
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