Is this really a good idea?

I was more than a little taken aback to read this report.

Michigan hopes to keep drunks off the road with the help from a special message in men's bathrooms featuring an attention-getting woman's voice.

Talking urinal-deodorizer cakes have been distributed to Michigan Licensed Beverage Association members in Wayne County, including Detroit, state officials announced. A recorded message will play reminding men who step up to the urinals to call a cab or a friend, if needed, to get home safely.

"Not only do we want to turn some heads and get people talking, we hope everyone takes the message to heart," Michael L. Prince, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, said in a statement.

There's more at the link.

Dear Mr. Prince, kindly note the following:

1. If I'm peeing into a receptacle that suddenly starts talking back, it might just be the urination of me!
2. If I'm tired or distracted, and suddenly hear a strange voice emanating that close to my family jewels, gunfire might well result as I attempt to ward off what will probably appear to be the imminent threat of a bite.  (Is there such a thing as 'urinal dentata'?)
3. Any suggestion from a talking urinal that I might need a courtesy driver is unlikely to be well received unless the damn thing can back it up with a urinalysis printout.

Sheesh!  Now Big Brother's even getting in our face (or, I should say, other portions of anatomy) in the boy's room!  Isn't this a classic example of the need to cut back on government overreach?





Peter