The never ending attempt to save us from ourselves has now spread to our beloved pets. This device, the DogPause ($17) food bowl, slows down Fido so that he won't instantly gorge on his dinner. This, according to the website, saves Rover from "vomiting, gas, belching, gagging, experiencing life-threatening bloat" and other dangerous maladies to which the natural act of eating is apparently exposing him. Of course, feeding Fido smaller servings multiple times would work just fine, but on the merits of a time-saving device the Dogpause bowl may indeed have some merit and help our four footed friends.
I just hope such mechanical dining devices are not adopted for human use. Imagine a foam fast food package that dispenses morsels every few minutes. We would be forced to eat our meals in a "safe" manner. How about a pizza box that has a wedge opening in the top and turns 1/8 revolution every 5 minutes, allowing access to the next slice? This could be extended to evil desserts, with a time-delay cookie vault. Perhaps a collapsing straw that allows slow passage of sugary beverages?
Maybe robotics can help by creating a pie container on wheels that forces you to chase down the next slice, limiting intake and forcing you to get some exercise if you do decide to partake. Home Appliances can be engineered to protect us, such as the ever so popular refrigerator vault and the self-locking microwave.
All of this denial engineering would no doubt lead to a strong black market of "accessible foodstuffs". Candy bars, with their time release wrappings hacked, being sold in back alleys. Exchanges on the wharf of money for pirated cereal boxes with the auto seals removed. Smugglers crossing the border carrying a shipment of open coffee containers. It would be an underground free market driven by hunger and desire. And just maybe a hungry hacker's paradise.
Aloha from the Beach
