Culture
The 'Covert Cloak' Protects the Privacy of the Painfully Shy
This high-tech garment detects the stares of rude people and instantly deploys shields.
Nobody likes being gawked at. Unfortunately, if you're noticeable in any tiny way in the city – you have better-or-worse-than-average looks, say, or you got wasted the other night and woke up with a hilarious facial tattoo – you're likely to interest a few rubberneckers who don't know it's impolite to stare.
This coat is designed to find them and neutralize their beady eyes. The "Covert Collar" is an "automated protective device" that springs into action when "something threatening or invasive presents itself," according to its creator, Claire Mitchell at New York University's ITP program. Look for it this fall on the racks of Agoraphobe Outfitters.