A Reason to Celebrate
A woman’s eyes roamed around the club as she was looking for her friends. Suddenly, a slight movement in the corner of her eye made her alert. The woman was Lily Powles, who was in Lincolnshire, UK, and was working her first evening shift at Gulliver’s Nite Club.
A Reason To Celebrate
Working Her Shift
Lily looked at her watch and saw that it would be twenty minutes before her friends arrived. This signaled that it was also only twenty minutes before her last evening shift was finished. She was excited to start celebrating once her friends arrived.
Working Her Shift
Long Hours
Working as a server means long hours, which often left Lily exhausted. However, she needed the money. After landing a position as a sales representative at a massive insurance firm, she was ready to resign as a server and celebrate finishing her last night shift.
Long Hours
Nothing Could Bring Her Down
Nothing was going to bring Lily down. She was so excited to finish her final shift and spend the rest of the night with her friends. This was until a handsome man made his way to the front of the bar and asked for a rum and coke.
Nothing Could Bring Her Down
Politely Declining
The man proceeded to ask for Lily’s phone number but she politely declined his request. As a server, she was used to men approaching her at the club and asking for her number. However, she had a rule to never mix business with pleasure.
Politely Declining
A Persistent Man
Lily gave the man his order, but she was surprised to see that he didn’t walk away from the bar. Instead, he remained in the same position and tried to get her attention. She never would have expected how persistent this man really was.
A Persistent Man
His Charming Smile
The man wore a charming smile and remained at the bar. He asked her when her shift finished and she replied stating that it would be over in a few minutes and that it would be her last shift at the club.
His Charming Smile
Asking Again
By this time, Lily’s shift was over and her friends were with her in the club. The man was afraid that this would be his last chance, so he made his way to Lily and asked if he could buy her a drink.
Asking Again
No Harm
Since it wasn’t likely that she would see this man again, she agreed to have a drink with her. Lily’s former colleague, Carlo, was at the bar when she sat beside the man to have a drink with him. Everything seemed perfectly fine.
No Harm
A Perfect Excuse
The man asked Lily what she would like to drink. She said that she would like to be surprised. She then proceeded to send her friends a message updating her on what was going on. At this time, the man disappeared with the drinks but quickly returned.
A Perfect Excuse
A Bold Move
What Lily didn’t know is that this man had a clever trick that was up his sleeve. She didn’t think anything of it when the man accidentally grabbed her drink instead of his. However, she started to get a little weary once it happened again.
A Bold Move
Odd Behavior
Lily was getting warier and warier of the man. She couldn’t understand why he offered to buy her a drink if he was just going to drink it. She decided to message her friends once again. The night was only starting at this time.
Odd Behavior
Getting Nervous
Instant relief washed over Lily’s body when she saw her friends come through the door. She quickly stood up from the bar and headed to see them. As she did this, she quickly saw the man move her drink once again.
Getting Nervous
Growing More Suspicious
After witnessing this, Lily’s suspicion grew rapidly, but she now had the perfect excuse to get her away from this situation. The man decided to excuse himself once her friends came over and greeted her. Lily was grateful to be away from this man.
Growing More Suspicious
Finding an Opportunity
As the man did this, Lily saw her opportunity. She felt her intuition was warning her, which led to her swapping drinks with the man. She then moved to a bigger table with her friends at the back of the club.
Finding An Opportunity
Going Viral
Lily would soon find out if her intuition was correct. Throughout the night, she was sure to keep an eye on the man. He seemed quite surprised to see that Lily and her friends had let to another table, but he didn’t approach her again. She didn’t know this story was soon going to turn viral.
Going Viral
A Watchful Eye
Although the man didn’t approach Lily again, she could still feel the man’s eyes following her. Nonetheless, she was determined not to let the situation get to her and ruin her celebration with her friends. Nothing the man did could get to her.
A Watchful Eye
Similar Stories
Lily continued dancing in the club and tried to avoid the man’s gaze at all costs. He was soon lost behind the crowds of people on the dance floor. However, she couldn’t avoid him forever even if he was out of sight.
Similar Stories
Feeling Relaxed
After not seeing the man for a while, Lily finally felt like she could relax a little without a strange gaze. The group celebrated into the small hours of the night. It was a memorable evening, but it needed to come to an end.
Feeling Relaxed
Walking out of the Club
Lily and her friends walked out of the club as the sun was rising. Everyone couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw a man on the pavement. He was passed out in a paddle. It was the man who had offered Lily a drink in the club.
Walking Out Of The Club
Trusting Her Intuition
Lily and her friends were thankful that she had listened to her gut and swapped the drinks. She could have easily been placed in a terrible situation. After seeing the man on the pavement, she quickly took to Twitter to share her experience.
Trusting Her Intuition
Not the First Time
After sharing her experience online, Lily was met with similar stories from other girls. One victim said that the same guy did this to her and she also swapped the drinks. Like with Lily, this girl found him passed outside of the club.
Not The First Time
An Exploding Post
Spiking drinks is a horrible problem that’s common in many bars. However, this doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be taken seriously. Lily was determined to get her message out there. It wasn’t long before her post exploded all over Twitter.
An Exploding Post
Lily’s Post
Once she had posted to Twitter, Lily’s tweet quickly became viral. It received hundreds of replies, 11,000 retweets, and 175,000 likes. Most people were mortified that the man had tried to spike her drink and supported Lily for sharing her story.
Lily’s Post
The Naysayers
A surprising revelation was that the post had many naysayers. Some people accused Lily of making up the story for attention. However, those comments were quickly refuted by her female supporters. One person who worked security at a nightclub stated that this happened a lot.
The Naysayers
The Shocking Truth
Many people shared a similar story with Lily. While her post did get some negative comments, it also allowed those with similar stories to share what had happened. One wrote about a time when a man ‘accidentally’ knocked her glass over and offered to buy her a new drink.
The Shocking Truth
An Important Lesson
Although Lily’s story isn’t something unique, it does come with a lesson. It’s crucial to be extremely careful when you’re at parties, bars, and nightclubs. The truth is that not all people have good intentions. Due to this, you should always watch your drink.
An Important Lesson
Not Just Women
Women aren’t the only ones who get their drinks spiked, even though it’s more common. Many users on the social media platform were quick to shut down claims of these stories being untrue by stating that even males get roofied.
Not Just Women
The Facts
When looking at the statistics, it’s clear that spiking happens more frequently to women than men. One study has even shown that 71 percent of spiking victims are women. This is incredibly scary to think about, especially since this spiking is more common than most believe it to be.
The Facts
What to Do
Since spiking is more common than most individuals previously thought, it’s incredibly useful to understand what to do in cases like this. One of the first things is to never leave your drink unattended. This helps avoid your drink from getting spiked.
What To Do
Accepting Drinks
Another rule that you should follow is to never accept drinks from anyone that you don’t know. In addition to this, try to use drink stoppers for the top of your bottle if you can. You should also cover the top of your glass with your hand when walking through crowds.
Accepting Drinks
The Source of the Issue
It’s a scary world that we live in where we need to do all of this, and there’s one definitive source of such a problem. The problem is the culture. Rather than teaching young girls how to avoid getting spiked, young boys should be taught not to spike drinks.
The Source Of The Issue
The Consequences
When it comes down to it, how can an individual tell if they’ve been spiked before it’s too late? Well, some of the symptoms include nausea, confusion, visual problems, loss of balance, vomiting, and unconsciousness. These might seem like symptoms of being drunk, but it’s deeper.
The Consequences
A Deeper Issue
If you feel strange in any way or more drunk than you should be, you should get help immediately. You should be sure to call someone you trust if you’re alone. This could be a close friend, family member, or medical professional.
A Deeper Issue
Seeking Medical Attention
If you don’t feel right and think you might be spiked, you should ask to be taken to the nearest Emergency and Accident department. From here, professionals can perform the tests required to see what drugs are in your system.
Seeking Medical Attention
The 72-Hour Rule
A general rule to follow is that most of the drugs used to spike leave the body after 72 hours. That’s why it’s crucial to be tested as quickly as possible to gain information about what you’ve been spiked with to allow you to be treated accordingly.
The 72 Hour Rule
The Recovery
Individuals who have been spiked typically recover quite quickly if they are treated promptly. Nonetheless, this type of ordeal can take a severe mental and emotional toll on someone. The feelings people have after being spiked are difficult to express.
The Recovery
The Result
These kinds of experiences can leave victims feeling violated, afraid, guilty, and shameful. Although this is terrible and unfortunate, it’s very normal to feel this way after being spiked. Nonetheless, it’s vital to seek professional help. This could be in the form of a specialized organization, helpline, or counselor.
The Result
Having the Right Support
While talking to a counselor, organization, or helpline is undeniably important, you should also have a good support system of friends and family to help you through this time and the emotions you’re feeling. This helps victims feel heard and understood.
Having The Right Support
Normalize It
The truth is that spiking is still heavily disregarded. Instead of normalizing this, it’s seen as very rare. This can make it difficult for victims to come out and say that they have been spiked out of fear and embarrassment. Normalizing this can help more victims feel protected and understood.
Normalize It
How To Tell
It’s important to be able to identify if your drink has been spiked. Depending on what drug has been used, there could be a variety of symptoms to look out for. However, common symptoms include a sudden feeling of intoxication out of nowhere, dizziness, memory loss, drowsiness, disorientation, blurred vision, nausea, and difficult standing or walking.
How To Tell
Measures Put In Place
Since spiked drinks are a massive issues, there are a lot of projects aimed at combatting it. While teaching teenagers (and even adults) that this is a totally unacceptable thing to do, it’s important to also have measure in place to protect these kinds of attacks.
Measures Put In Place
Angie’s Invention
Angie Fogarty figured out a way to immediately identify the presence of diphenhydramine (DPH) in drinks. Using an ultraviolet flashlight in a dark room, she dropped a few drops of liquid on a red paper, then used the flashlight to shine UV light on it, and incredibly, it turned green.
Angie’s Invention
Entering The Contest
The high school student entered the 2023 Regeneron Science Talent Search competition with her discovery, which could be huge in helping prevent drink-spiking related attacks. She knew that she wanted her project to be focused on women’s health, but when she saw the non-stop headlines about spiked drinks, she knew this was the issue she wanted to tackle.
Entering The Contest
Why She Did It
She said: “It was so discouraging. Unfortunately, a lot of young women and young people in general aren’t guaranteed this degree of safety that should be a basic right.” Her sensor can help anyone, whether in college or not, to help identify any unwanted substances in their drinks. Her color-changing sensor detects antihistamines in liquids, helping identify if they contain DPH.
Why She Did It
Running Into Challenges
When describing the process of how she created her sensor, Fogarty shared: “Because the sensor is supposed to be used to prevent date rape, that involves a lot of alcoholic beverages, which means there could be additives, there could be colors,. There were a ton of other variables which were pretty difficult to navigate, especially because I’d spent so long just trying to get the sensor to work with just reacting to the drug. Then it was, ‘Oh, you did that, now does it work in orange juice?’”
Running Into Challenges
Her Solution
She realized that the acidity of varying drinks caused different reactions between the dyes, so she discovered that she could add a small amount of of sodium hydroxide to standardize the acidity of the drinks. She estimated that she tried out “at least, probably more” versions before finding the best one, which also only costs $1 to make.
Her Solution
The Reasoning
Angie wanted a color system for the test, explaining: “If you’re testing it in a dark room, which is most likely where you’d find yourself in these kinds of scenarios, it’s hard to be able to distinguish whether or not you have this faint line. That’s why I wanted to do the color system.”
The Reasoning
Another Idea
In 2018, nail technology company Undercover Colors shared that they were working on a nail polish that could detect drugs like ketamine and rohypnol that may have added to a drink. The idea would be that you could use a painted nail to test whether a drink has been spiked or not, making it easy and convenient to check.
Another Idea
How It Works
The way it works is that once the nail polish is applied to the nail, all that is needed to check the drink is to swirl the fingernail and check if the nail polish has changed its color. While the company’s intention is to “make potential perpetrators afraid to spike a woman’s drink because there’s now a risk that they can get caught,” the product is still being developed.
How It Works
More Products
In addition to color changing technologies, there are other products available out there that can help avoid these kinds of situations. While the onus shouldn’t be on people at parties, these products can just be an extra step taken to be safe.
More Products
NightCap Scrunchie
The NightCap Scrunchie is a cover that can be placed onto any drink, which allows for a small hole to fit a straw into. That way, the drink is completely covered, making it much more difficult for anyone to slip anything into it. When it’s not on the drink, it can be used as a scrunchie, making it convenient to carry around.
NightCap Scrunchie
StopTopps
StopTopps are drink protectors that can be used on bottles, cans, and glasses in a similar manner. These cover your drink but allow for a straw to be put through while still deterring drink spikers from messing with your drink.
StopTopps
Ideas For Staying Safe
It’s always important to have safety measures in place any time you go out. It’s a good idea even without taking spiked drinks into consideration, but when you do, it’s even more important to have a plan. Make sure you have a safe way to get home, whether it’s a taxi or with a trusted friend who is completely sober.
Ideas For Staying Safe
Check For Licensure
Make sure that the place you’re going out to is licensed. That way, you know that there are specific requirements that they must follow in order to ensure the safety of the clientele. This way you also know that there’s someone working there you can turn to if you need help.
Check For Licensure
Power In Numbers
Try to avoid going out to bars, clubs, and parties by yourself. That way, you can work with a buddy system and keep checking up on one another in order to make sure that everything is okay.
Power In Numbers
Stay Aware
While it’s important to have a good time, you should still make sure you keep an eye out for what’s going on around you so that you can suss out any situations that you’d prefer to avoid.
Stay Aware
Make Sure
Before you leave an establishment with someone you just met, make sure you feel completely safe in doing so. Do your best to let someone else know where you’re going and who you’re going with so that you don’t just disappear into the night without anyone being aware of where you’re going. Make sure you have a charged phone with you in case you need it.
Make Sure
Watch Your Drink
It’s important to watch your drink being poured and not to accept drinks brought to your by strangers. Don’t leave your cup or glass unattended, and if you do by mistake, don’t continue drinking it. Don’t try someone else’s drink, especially if you do not know them. If something tastes off, do not continue drinking it.
Watch Your Drink
Act Quickly
If you do start to feel strange after having a drink, immediately let a friend know, and if needed, let an employee of the venue know if you can’t find a friend. Make sure someone trustworthy is watching you in case you end up apassing out.
Act Quickly