Community Corner
DC Student Invents Napkin That Detects Drugged Drinks
KnoNap detects if a drink is drugged and changes color.
The next time someone tries to slip a drug into a person's drink, a fascinating new napkin might be able to prevent a sexual assault from ever taking place. And it's all thanks to one super-smart college student in D.C.
WTOP reports that Danya Sherman, a junior at George Washington University, has been developing the "KnoNap," which acts like a regular napkin but reacts to liquid contaminated by common date-rape drugs by changing color, alerting the person that the drink has been drugged.
It's a personal mission for Sherman, who was drugged and assaulted by her friend while studying abroad in Spain in 2016, she told WTOP.
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The napkin tests for benzodiazepines, a class of drugs that includes Xanax, Valium, and other drugs commonly used by date-rapists.
She has received seed funding from the university, as well as from the Halcyon Incubator.
Find out what's happening in Washington DCfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
More information is available on KnoNap's website.
Image of Danya Sherman via KnoNap.com
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