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From: jeff@rtech.UUCP (Jeff Lichtman)
Newsgroups: net.consumers,net.women
Subject: Re: Skunk oil
Message-ID: <845@rtech.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 25-Jan-86 06:32:12 EST
Article-I.D.: rtech.845
Posted: Sat Jan 25 06:32:12 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 26-Jan-86 05:59:14 EST
References: <698@decwrl.DEC.COM>
Organization: Relational Technology, Alameda CA
Lines: 33
Xref: watmath net.consumers:4024 net.women:8494

> 
> > Recently I heard about for an anti-rape device consisting
> > of a breakable vial of skunk oil.  The idea is this:....
> > The odor would stay with the attacker for several days, making it
> > easier for police identification....
> 
> I am under the impression that tomato juice neutralizes skunk odor, so
> it's not clear how useful this would be for identification purposes.  A
> few years ago in Oakland there was a serial rapist ("Stinky"?) who
> according to the news media was reported to have a really noticable foul
> smell, and I don't recall that he was ever identified.  A false sense
> of security is dangerous.

It was Berkeley, and one of the main reasons that Stinky was never caught
was that the Berkeley city council was a band of jackasses.  Here was a
rapist who could best be identified through smell, but the city council
wouldn't let the police department use dogs to track him down.  It seems
that the use of dogs reminded them too much of Selma, Alabama.  Never mind
that the dogs would be used to track down a smelly rapist instead of maul
protestors; it's appearances that count.  This same city council also
wouldn't let the police go from door to door to educate the public about
Stinky in the neighborhoods where he operated; this would somehow lead to
Berkeley becoming a "police state".

As for skunk oil, I know from experience that tomato juice doesn't remove
the odor very well.  Baking powder works better, but the odor still stays
around for days.  And no, it wasn't me who got skunked, it was my dog.
-- 
Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.)
"Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent..."

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