I have recently had the unusual experience of watching people on foot in parking lots or side roads walking STRAIGHT TOWARD my (moving) vehicle whilst talking on their cell phones. Apparently the mental contortions involved in fumbling for their car keys, operating their PDA, talking on their mobile, and trying to look for their own vehicle cause them to either a) subconsciously seek to end it all or b)give in to some primitive tendency to flock to large metal objects or c) simply not watch where they're going.

Proximity/metal detection is nothing new. The cell phone is already spewing radiation within a cm of your cranium, why not add a microwave emitter?

The cell phone could emit a rude squawking noise in the earpiece when a large metal object gets too near.

Might be a little difficult to use a phone equipped with this feature while you were *in* a large metal object, such as a car, but hey, that's not *all* bad... :-)
-- resurgere, Feb 05 2003

Natural selection in action. Why interfere ? (-)
-- 8th of 7, Feb 06 2003


//why not add a microwave emitter?//

<Pfffffffft> <Pop!> There goes another pedestrian.

I have a sonic warning system fitted to my vehicle. It's similar, but safer and more reliable than your proposed microwave device. The actuator is located in the centre of the steering wheel. Surprisingly, it comes as a standard feature.
-- FloridaManatee, Feb 06 2003


Now there's an interesting idea - when the microphone of the cell phone picks up loud noises that sound like Florida Manatee's prototype sonic emitter device, it could trigger a circuit which relays an alarm to the earpiece...
-- resurgere, Feb 06 2003


I know a truly awful story in this context, so it gets my vote.
-- DrCurry, Feb 06 2003


Tell us! Tell us!
-- resurgere, Feb 12 2003


Wouldn't be fair.
-- DrCurry, Feb 12 2003



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