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This nifty device scares thieves from stealing packages ... 'Home Alone' style
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According to a new survey from Xfinity Home, 30 percent of Americans say theyve experienced package theft at their home. - photo by Herb Scribner
Jaireme Barrow was fed up with thieves stealing his packages from his front porch during the holiday season, so he invented a device that would scare the pants off those robbers. Its called TheBlankBox.

Born from his idea to scare people away with a shotgun, Barrows new device is a dummy box that plays the sound of a 12-gauge shotgun firing into the air. No bullets or shells or gunfire.

I was thinking, how could I scare them and make them drop my package and then never come to my front porch again, Barrow told The Washington Post. And I thought, Getting shot at is scary. Thatll make them think twice.

TheBlankBox is a package that appears to be a normal Christmas gift, but when people touch it, the gunshot sound rings out, scaring customers from your porch.

Dont believe it? Barrow shared videos of the thieves running away on YouTube.





If this at all looks familiar, its probably because of a little Christmas movie called Home Alone, where the main character Kevin McCallister scares away two robbers using the sounds of a violent scene in an in-film movie.

Heres that scene.



People can buy TheBlankBox for $60. It takes 14 to 21 days to arrive, so it may not be the right gifts for this Christmas season.

According to a new survey from Xfinity Home, 30 percent of Americans say theyve experienced package theft at their homes. More than half of Americans say they know someone else who experienced the problem, too.

A pair of suspected package thieves made headlines in Utah earlier in December. The pair of thieves allegedly fired a semi-automatic handgun at a witness who saw the couple stealing the package, according to the Deseret News.

As the holiday count-down begins, consumers face a tradeoff between convenience and the risk of letting expensive goods sit out in the open for anyone to snatch, according to USA Today. That's prompted some unusual work-arounds from consumers and increased the incentive for delivery services, home-security providers and some police departments to find ways to crack down on package thefts.

Home security systems have become one major way people are staying safe from theft during the holiday season, USA Today reported. Police departments have been coy about whether the devices actually help.

For example, Det. Linda Longo of the Philadelphia Police Department told USA Today security devices take video that can be shared with other people, which allows them to identify the thieves.

But Capt. Gary Berg with the Campbell police department in California said he has only seen theft security devices work once.

People who are relying on the camera to protect their packages are probably kidding themselves, he said.

If your package is stolen, the USPS allows you to file a claim for insured mail and some packages. You can review more about when you can file a claim on the USPS website.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.