Don’t Get Sextorted, Send a Naked Mole Rat 

Online Sextortion and teen boys

FUNNY CHARACTER PROVIDES “WAY IN” TO TOUGH CONVERSATION; “WAY OUT” OF SEXTORTION

The new www.dontgetsextorted.ca website offers resources for boys, educators and parents to facilitate open conversations about the issue and a link to confidential online help. Downloadable, teen-friendly sharable communication tools and the #dontgetsextorted hashtag encourage sharing of the prevention message among boys.

“Awareness is critical because you can’t avoid a threat you don’t know about,” says Lianna McDonald, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

The Don’t Get Sextorted, Send a Naked Mole Rat campaign breaks down communication barriers with a character that uses humour and innuendo to appeal to teenage boys; capture their attention; and make it easier to talk about sextortion. The naked mole rat character is also portrayed in memes that can be sent as a prankster-style alternative to those asking for nudes online. It gives boys an easy “way out” of a potential sextortion situation.

The naked mole rat – a little-known African rodent; pink, hairless, and three to four inches in size – is the ideal character for giving boys something to talk about and an alternative to sending a nude. The rodent is cold-blooded; feels no pain; and can be deprived of oxygen for up to 18 minutes. With its feature role in Canada’s first sextortion awareness campaign targeted at boys, it may be able to add protecting Canadian teens to its list of capabilities.

Rat spotted at White House? Be Careful Kellyanne Conway!

Kellyanne Conway is surprised by a passing rodent during an interview. Expressing hope that it’s a squirrel and not a rat, she has good reason to fear rats: during World War II it was hoped rats could be weaponized. Read the plans from Britain’s Special Operations Executive (SOE) below.

 

Courtesy National Archives, United Kingdom

From 1939 to late 1942 Germany and its allies had the upper hand in the war. During this period it was difficult for Britain and its allies to take any direct action against German forces. To tackle this problem British Prime Minister Winston Churchill set up the Special Operations Executive (SOE). SOE’s job was to go into occupied countries and spread propaganda, collect information and attack important targets.

From the Descriptive Catalogue of Special Devices and Supplies used by the SOE, compiled and issued by the War Office:

Transcript Instructions for creating an exploding rat Catalogue ref: HS 7/49

RATS, EXPLOSIVE WESTERN EUROPE 1939-1945: RESISTANCE & SOE

A rat is skinned, the skin being sewn up and filled with P.E. [plastic explosive] to assume the shape of a dead rat. A Standard No. 6 Primer [this sets off the explosion] is set in the P.E. Initiation is by means of a short length of safety fuse with a No. 27 detonator crimped on one end and a copper tube igniter on the other end, or as in the case of the illustration above, a PTF with a No27 detonator attached. The rat is then left amongst the coal beside a boiler and the flames initiate the safety fuse when the rat is thrown on to the fire, or as in the case of the PTF a Time Delay is used.

Sadly, the project was ultimately abandoned.