Screenprint the faces of missing kids and wanted criminals on t-shirts. Who drinks milk anymore what with 70% of the population being lactose intolerant.
Once the child is recovered / the perp is apprehended, return the shirt to its maker for "reassignment."-- tharsaile, Jun 13 2002 I'm sure t-shirts with criminals on the front would rapidly become fashionable with the young people.-- pottedstu, Jun 14 2002 [tharsaile] "...with 70% of the population being lactose intolerant." [mcscotland] "...and is already baked."
Links?
And could someone tell me how a shirt is 'reassigned'?-- phoenix, Jun 14 2002 [phoenix] - I'll have a look for one - I am however thinking about a market stall in Soho that sells t-shirts with faces like John Gotti, Carlos the Jackel, Charles Manson, Usama Bin Laden etc. on them. Fair enough mostly already caught/dead but close enough to be baked?-- mcscotland, Jun 14 2002 [mcscotland] More infamous than anything else.-- phoenix, Jun 14 2002 To phoenix: By 'reassignment', I just mean that the shirt should be recycled or, if it's practical, the screenprint can be removed before another print is applied (instead of recycling the entire shirt material). I must confess, I'm ignorant of t-shirt printing technology.-- tharsaile, Jun 17 2002 Print the shirt with some of the "smart inks" that are being developed at Cambridge (UK). These behave very similarly to LCDs in that they change colour depending on the incident electric field. They're transflective and work better the brighter the light. But they are slow as yet, so no good for TV's or laptops. Weave a mesh of electrodes into the material. Connect the shirt to your cellphone so it could receive updates automatically. Then rent out your torso as advertising space. And hope it doesn't rain. (although the system is pretty low voltage).
Deep cycnicism moment: I suspect that ladies considered particuarly well-proportioned would be able to command premium rates. Sad but true. No-one ever went broke by underestimating public taste.-- 8th of 7, Jun 17 2002 I think I deleted [mcscotland]'s "and is already baked" note, thinking it was there twice, when it fact it was quoted. Shoot me, I'm new.-- tharsaile, Jun 19 2002 This is a great idea, though some of the t-shirts may be kept after the criminal had been caught/person had been found for their 'vintage' value and would be worn after they were relevant. This may lead to people ignoring the t-shirts and/or the police being informed over and over about the re-appearance of a missing person.
I'm still voting for it, though. If nothing else, it'd give all the Che Guevara t-shirt-wearing students at my University something to change into.-- nimchimpsky, May 29 2005 lovely. Especially handy when your missing kid is also a wanted criminal.-- neilp, Feb 27 2006 <slightly OT> Given that glorifying terrorism is possibly to become a criminal offence in the UK, where does that put all those who wear (wore?) Che Guevara t-shirts? </sot>-- coprocephalous, Feb 27 2006 As Primal Scream (among others) once said "One man's freedom fighter Is another's terrorist"-- Minimal, Feb 28 2006 "Reasssigned" would make more sense if this were a scheme for pants.-- bungston, Feb 28 2006 random, halfbakery