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The Life-Saving Reason Women Are Ordering ‘Angel Shots’

“Do you feel unsafe or even just a tad bit weird?”

 Andre Grant
01.06.17

In St. Petersburg, Florida, in the bathroom at the Iberian Rooster, there is a sign as discreet as it is lifesaving. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the sign reads: “Is your Tinder or Plenty of Fish date not who they said they were on their profile? Do you feel unsafe, or even just a tad bit weird?" Then order an “angel shot,” it continues.

You might be wondering what kind of concoction a bartender could dream up to discreetly whisk you out of real danger, but it isn’t alcohol at all. In fact, it’s a code that comes with a few different options. It allows the staff at the bar or restaurant to judge how they should respond.

This code is one dreamed up by owner Russell Andrade, with a little inspiration from a sign in the United Kingdom that went viral on social media last year. That sign was cooked up by the Lincolnshire Rape Crisis, a U.K. organization that urges women who are feeling unsafe on a date to approach waitstaff with a code word. The code? “Ask for Angela.”

Andrade’s iteration of the code has three levels. Ask for an angel shot neat, and the bartender or another member of the staff will walk you to your car. Ask for one with ice, and the staff will call an Uber or taxi for you. Order one with lime, and the staff will alert the police. It’s a discreet way of letting the staff at the Iberian Rooster know that something is off.

It’s also a necessary safeguard against a significant rise in the number of reports of rape and assault on women who met their attacker via dating apps. Britain’s National Crime Agency found that in 2014 there was more than a 400 percent increase in reports of these crimes since 2009. Yes, the alarming trend has something to do with the amount of people who are now dating online, but according to the NCA there’s more to it. Some attackers are now specifically using dating apps to find their victims.

Add to this the constant threat of date-rape drugs, and the “angel shot” becomes a necessary step to help keep women on dates safe.

While the owner hopes no one ever has to order the shot, at least the option is there if things get hairy.

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Food

A Kenyan inventor's niece was born deaf so he made a glove that turns sign language into speech

via Honor Africans / Twitter

The problem with American Sign Language (ASL) is that over 500,000 people in the U.S. use it, but the country has over 330 million people.

So for those with hearing loss, the chances of coming into contact with someone who uses the language are rare. Especially outside of the deaf community.

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Bill Gates explaining the internet to a smug David Letterman in 1995 is hilarious in hindsight

Looking back, the year 1995 seems like such an innocent time. America was in the midst of its longest streak of peace and prosperity. September 11, 2001 was six years away, and the internet didn't seem like much more than a passing fad.

Twenty-four years ago, 18 million U.S. homes had modem-equipped computers, 7 million more than the year before. Most logged in through America Online where they got their email or communicated with random strangers in chat rooms.

According to a Pew Research study that year, only 32% of those who go online say they would miss it "a lot" if no longer available.

Imagine what those poll numbers would look like if the question was asked today.

RELATED: Bill and Melinda Gates had a surprising answer when asked about a 70 percent tax on the wealthiest Americans

"Few see online activities as essential to them, and no single online feature, with the exception of E-Mail, is used with any regularity," the Pew article said. "Consumers have yet to begin purchasing goods and services online, and there is little indication that online news features are changing traditional news consumption patterns."

"Late Night" host David Letterman had Microsoft founder and, at that time the richest man in the world, on his show for an interview in '95 to discuss the "the big new thing."

During the interview Letterman chided Gates about the usefulness of the new technology, comparing it to radio and tape recorders.

Gates seems excited by the internet because it will soon allow people to listen to a baseball game on their computer. To which Letterman smugly replies, "Does radio ring a bell?" to laughter from the crowd.

But Gates presses Letterman saying that the new technology allows you to listen to the game "whenever you want," to which Letterman responds, "Do tape recorders ring a bell?"

Gates then tells Letterman he can keep up with the latest in his favorite hobbies such as cigar smoking or race cars through the internet. Letterman shuts him down saying that he reads about his interests in magazines.

RELATED: Bill Gates has five books he thinks you should read this summer.

The discussion ends with the two laughing over meeting like-minded people in "troubled loner chat room on the internet."

The clip brings to mind a 1994 segment on "The Today Show" where host Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric have a similar discussion.

"What is internet anyway?" an exasperated Gumball asks. "What do you write to it like mail?"

"It's a computer billboard but it's nationwide and it's several universities all joined together and it's getting bigger and bigger all the time," a producer explains from off-stage.





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Culture

We're finally starting to take climate change seriously, survey finds

Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash

The future generations will have to live on this Earth for years to come, and, not surprisingly, they're very concerned about the fate of our planet. We've seen a rise in youth activists, such as Greta Thunberg, who are raising awareness for climate change. A recent survey indicates that those efforts are working, as more and more Americans (especially young Americans) feel concerned about climate change.

A new CBS News poll found that 70% of Americans between 18 and 29 feel climate change is a crisis or a serious problem, while 58% of Americans over the age of 65 share those beliefs. Additionally, younger generations are more likely to feel like it's their personal responsibility to address climate change, as well as think that transitioning to 100% renewable energy is viable. Overall, 25% of Americans feel that climate change is a "crisis," and 35% feel it is a "serious problem." 10% of Americans said they think climate change is a minor problem, and 16% of Americans feel it is not a problem that worries them.

The poll found that concern for the environment isn't a partisan issue – or at least when it comes to younger generations. Two-thirds of Republicans under the age of 45 feel that addressing climate change is their duty, sentiments shared by only 38% of Republicans over the age of 45.

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