Dirty Fingers! 3 High-Tech Tools to Censor Online Typing

No matter what your age or level of computer experience, chances are you’ve caught yourself typing things online that you wouldn’t want an employer or loved one to read. Unfortunately for those of us who occasionally spout off online, nothing that we post publicly ever truly goes away – and it can be hard to determine what’s public and what’s private. These three inventions from the Ultra-Modern-Life Training Lab are meant to help keep us from making those long-lasting online mistakes that can haunt us for years.


Pepper Mouth from ozge kirimlioglu on Vimeo.

Pepper Mouth is a rather extreme way to keep online postings G-rated and free of obscenities. The USB gadget monitors your typing; when you enter a naughty word it gives you a warning with a red light. If you insist on the bad behavior, the device releases a long-lasting foul smell to punish you for being such a potty mouth.


Polight from ozge kirimlioglu on Vimeo.

The Polight is a similar concept, but without the terrible smell. A police-like light sits on top of your monitor and attaches via the USB port. When you type one of those words that your mother really wishes you would stop saying so much, the light flashes. Hopefully, this will alert you to the fact that you’re doing something that you should be ashamed of.


“What the Quack!” user test from ozge kirimlioglu on Vimeo.

If you need a bit more help breaking the bad language habit, the What the Quack can actually censor your typing, you foul-mouthed quack. Typing one of the forbidden words (which can actually be any words since you set the list yourself) will result in the gadget replacing the word with the word “quack.” The gadget itself looks like a rubber ducky with LED eyes that light up when an offending word crosses your fingers. Now those are some quacking useful inventions, quack it!

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See more in Home & Personal or under Gadgets. June, 2010.