Spy Voice Trap

One afternoon last week I was assigned to collect six-year-old L. from first grade. I hadn't brought any presents with me (bad Grandmommy!!!) so I proposed a brief toy store expedition. He could pick out something (within reason) for himself and something for his sister, who was at her robotics meeting. (These are a select group of 9-year olds who, with the guidance of a Boston University engineering professor, are learning to write computer programs that enable robots made of legos to perform a variety of tasks, and to compete with other such groups. Imagine! )

Anyhow, he made a beeline for this. I can't vouch for what happened after I left, but it certainly got a good workout while I was there. It's a combination voice recorder/motion detector. Essentially you record a six-second message (easy to do and redo), then leave it hidden somewhere. When anyone comes along and creates "motion" in the path of the "beam", the trap is activated and the recording is played. Just think of the possibilities! Of course it wasn't long before there had to be a rule about not using when people were sleeping. Last heard there were plans afoot to hide it somewhere outside on Halloween to startle unsuspecting trick-or-treaters.