Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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I am NOT/W Dead

 "I am NOT dead" signs for sleeping old people
  (+7)
(+7) 		  [vote for,
against]

I saw an old man at the airport a while ago, asleep on a bench.

I wondered how long it would take for people to notice if he died there.

Here's the idea (this could really be applied to anyone - not just old people. I don't want to be ageist):

The sign is attached to a wire that is secured around your neck (secured so that you don't ironically strangle yourself), with a contact point at your jugular. The sign reads "I am NOT dead." in electronic ink. The contact point monitors your pulse (there'd have to be a battery in the wire) and if your pulse stops, the electronic ink alters such that the T in NOT changes to a W, alerting passersby.

—Matty, Sep 17 2003

(?) Try this kit http://www.ramseyel...f/hmanuals/ecg1.pdf
[kbecker, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Even if you have an "I'm NOT Dead" sign, someone may work to prove that you in fact ARE dead: http://uberkinder.5u.com/paul/
[Amos Kito, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

When flashing, still alive http://www.halfbake...a/Heartbeat_20Shirt
[AO, Oct 04 2004]

Granny Weatherwax http://www.collecto....asp?product=DWC139
Terry Pratchett got there first. [English Bob, Oct 04 2004]

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       Why not a more generally useful and less obtrusive monitor that monitors the life signs of someone at risk, and automatially summons medical help if things look bad, as well as alerting people in the vicinity that the subject needs attention?
—DrCurry, Sep 17 2003
   

       //an old man at the airport a while ago, asleep//
Was it Paul McCartney? He's had a tough time proving he's not dead [link].		   

       Be sure there's a backup sign in case of battery failure: "If there's no power to my sign, I may or may not be dead."
—Amos Kito, Sep 17 2003
   

       I am NOT/W Paul McCartney
—Worldgineer, Sep 17 2003
   

       [DrCurry] Good on you. But my concern with this idea is more for the hapless onlooker who wonders whether it might be in poor taste to go shake a sleeping person or hold a mirror up to his or her mouth to see if the person is still alive. I think your idea is GREAT for the sleeper, but doesn't really help the unsure gawker in the airport, does it?
—Matty, Sep 17 2003
   

       What if I'm not dead when I go to sleep, but I die while I'm sleeping. I'll be dead AND a liar.
—phoenix, Sep 17 2003
   

       Well the device would detect that and change the 'T' to a 'W'
—DeathNinja, Sep 17 2003
   

       What if I died because as a result of a decaying particle and there was no one around to see.   

       What would my sign say then?
—grip, Sep 18 2003
   

       “Litter Box”
—Shz, Sep 18 2003
   

       I had a sign on my door at college that said "I'm [NOT] here. Go Away."   

       The [NOT] was removable.
—phundug, Sep 18 2003
   

       [DeathNinja] thanks for understanding.   

       I suppose eventually, given the potential of electronic ink, the sign could simply read out the person's health status, and perhaps appease DrCurry a bit: "I am NOT dead." ===> "I am suffering CORONARY distress." ===> "I am NOW dead."
—Matty, Sep 18 2003
   

       //I had a sign on my door at college that said "I'm [NOT] here. Go Away."   

       The [NOT] was removable. //   

       Handy for housebreakers, I'll bet.
—snarfyguy, Sep 18 2003
   

       [snarfyguy] Handy in what way? It SAYS "Go Away" doesn't it?
—Matty, Sep 18 2003
   

       Personally, i'd prefer a blinking/buzzing neon sign, such as seen in most David Lynch movies. When I die on the bench, the sign should just sputter and go out as well.
—Brummo, Sep 21 2003
   

       In the Robin Williams movie "Toys" his father had a beanie-with-a-spinner-on-top hat hooked to his pace-maker so that if it stopped spinning he, and others around him, would know that he was in trouble. That's pretty cool too.
—Matty, Sep 22 2003
   

       "I had a sign on my door at college that said "I'm [NOT] here. Go Away." The [NOT] was removable."   

       Yeah, but I laughed when I thought of an old man on a park bench with a sign reading "I'm now dead". "I'm dead" Isn't as funny for some reason.   

       I've got to stop owning up to this type of thing.
—RoboBust, Sep 23 2003
   

       Isn't this just giving a readout on battery status rather than occupant's health?
—egbert, Sep 23 2003
   

       [egbert] - yeah, but at least the person wouldn't REALLY be dead. In my mind, that's better than a dead person that everyone thinks is just sleeping. I guess we could add in a solar recharger and post signs in the airports: "Please sleep in the sun".
—Matty, Sep 23 2003
   

       There are simply concentrations in certain geographic locations.
—PeterSilly, Sep 25 2003
   

       Marvelous I think, Heat sensitive lettering, to say I am Now dead, to notify hospital personnel in waiting room. But if you forget your sign, then you are just sleeping until they put the paddles to your ass.
—prodigalaunt, Sep 28 2006
   

       If I was pedantic, I might take issue with the sign reading "I am now dead" - if you die, the "I" who is apparantly asserting your state of deadness would no longer exist and so the sign is meaningless. I'd be happier if the sign rewrote itself to say "Dead body" but this doesn't have the elegance of the "t/w" switch.
—hippo, Sep 29 2006
   


 

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