First, The Whizzinator, Now This...

HOW MUCH FOR A...YOU KNOW?

For every mousetrap, there evolves a smarter mouse. As the level of sophistication is ratcheted up, the level of intelligence rises in those looking to avoid a trap. I'm certain Darwin would be aware of the phenomenon, but I'm not sure how he would feel about the latest "invention" designed to fool the unsuspecting.
Onterrio Smith, late of the Minnesota Vikings, can tell you all about trying to escape detection of drug use with the help of the Whizzinator. Stopped in an airport in April of 2005 for something suspicious in his bags (turned out to be toothpaste), Smith was then detained for possession of vials of white powder which he claimed to be dried urine (ick) and the aforementioned Whizzinator, a prosthetic penis designed to be used to thwart would-be drug testers (no need to explain how it works). Needless to say, his level of sophistication was not yet developed to the point where he could elude ALL of the authorities. In a story similar to this (though really scary in some aspects), we have the "female virginity-faking device." Seriously. I'm not kidding.
It has come to light recently as Abdul Mouti Bayouni, an Islamic scholar at al-Azhar University in Egypt, has decried users and suppliers of this device as people who "spread vice in society," and, as such, should be put to death as indicated by the Islamic Sharia law. Really. Here's the backstory, provided by our unbiased friends at the BBC:
Virginity is seen as an absolute in Muslim society...at least for women. Marrying a woman who is not virginal is unheard of by any righteous Muslim in certain parts of the world. The trouble is...young women (and young men) are probably the same all over the world, and sexual experimentation, well, happens. For Muslim women, however, this is a really, really bad thing. Again, for women.
To this point, some young women were paying for something called "hymen repair surgery" done in secret in some parts (and, perhaps alleys) of the Arab world. I don't even want to know what that's all about! Now, however, through the marvels of Chinese technology, they can avoid that procedure.
For a mere $15 in Syria (and probably black markets throughout the Arab world), a woman can buy a device which (I think) fits inside and releases a blood-like liquid on her wedding night (like a guy is going to check? He's already asleep!).
Bayouni has called for an outright ban on such a device, saying that it "undermines the moral deterrent to fornication"...again, punishable by death...for women. It could be for men, too, for all I know. I will admit to ignorance about the finer points of Muslim religious law, but it seems like women who have to go to such a radical extreme are getting shafted...so to speak.
This controversy has even reached the parliament which called for the total ban on imports of this item. This, of course, will make every single woman want one and elevate the price. It will also return women to the medical procedure mentioned earlier.
And you thought the internet was a major advancement!
China will own us all in no time.