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Foone's profile
foone
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foone
@Foone

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foone

@Foone

Hardware / software necromancer, collector of Weird Stuff, maker of Death Generators. (they/them) Patreon: http://patreon.com/foone  ko-fi: http://ko-fi.com/fooneturing 

San Leandro, CA
floppy.foone.org
Joined February 2008

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    1. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      it has been [0] days since I stuck a metal tool into a device to trick it into thinking I peed on itpic.twitter.com/NNuOeGWFGD

      3 replies 84 retweets 1,817 likes
      Show this thread
    2. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      Yeah, I can't get it to read anything but MANUAL. (which I don't have: I already tossed it) Maybe just using water means it didn't light up enough places on the indicator paper? or maybe I damaged it while opening it...pic.twitter.com/8RfsnDhBTC

      8 replies 4 retweets 597 likes
      Show this thread
    3. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      and yes, it's surprisingly hard to read. You'd think if they were sticking LEDs in the thing, they could have stuck one near the screen and given it a backlight. That'd at least help you read it.

      3 replies 7 retweets 822 likes
      Show this thread
    4. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      in any case, the final tl;dr: don't waste your time and money on the digital readers. Just get the cheap analog ones, specifically the kind that are just a box of test strips. For the price of this device you can get like 25 test strips, and it'll create less e-waste.

      12 replies 235 retweets 1,979 likes
      Show this thread
    5. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhpic.twitter.com/IusLsR45U2

      13 replies 27 retweets 947 likes
      Show this thread
    6. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      Easy to use! Find out if your glass of water is pregnant in only 20 seconds!pic.twitter.com/N8zFNFe3PH

      4 replies 63 retweets 1,325 likes
      Show this thread
    7. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      walmart also sells this box, which has two tests (one analog and one digital) in the same box, and they suggest you confirm with the digital one. That's kinda insultingly pointless if it's the same test strips in both of them...pic.twitter.com/rBRUUFVCYu

      7 replies 39 retweets 1,356 likes
      Show this thread
    8. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      Anyway, if you want to support me buying stupid things like pregnancy tests just to take them apart, feel free to send me a dollar or two on ko-fi!https://ko-fi.com/fooneturing 

      4 replies 36 retweets 639 likes
      Show this thread
    9. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      or set up a monthly donation on patreon. Thanks!https://www.patreon.com/foone 

      1 reply 24 retweets 448 likes
      Show this thread
    10. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      I don't have a full list yet, but you can see a bunch of my previous teardown threads here: https://floppy.foone.org/w/Reverse_Engineering_documentation#Teardown_Threads …

      1 reply 17 retweets 396 likes
      Show this thread
      foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

      BTW, one thing that should be said about the argument that this is actually easier to read: You could totally design this in a reusable way to use the cheap test strips. You'd just use them and insert them into the device to have it read them.

      9:40 PM - 3 Sep 2020
      • 48 Retweets
      • 1,209 Likes
      • Jessica 🌙 taylor Cassidy James Blaede 💉 1/2 Studi-Nugget🏳️‍🌈 Bernij Noctuara Sea Monster Fay Charlie Martin #BeMoreCharlie she/her #NSFW Brandon Rhodes
      15 replies 48 retweets 1,209 likes
        1. New conversation
        2. foone‏ @Foone 3 Sep 2020

          that'd give you all the advantages and none of the disadvantages. It just wouldn't make Walmart as much money.

          22 replies 14 retweets 945 likes
          Show this thread
        3. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          foone Retweeted Naomi Wu 机械妖姬

          ok this was definitely not the thread to post and then go to sleep on. Some updates: Naomi Wu makes the very good point that the accuracy of tests in the lab is way higher than in the field, due to misreading tests:https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/1301786032136835072 …

          foone added,

          Naomi Wu 机械妖姬Verified account @RealSexyCyborg
          Pregnancy tests are 99% accurate in the lab, 75% accurate in the wild due to misreads- mistakes which are highly dependant on education and socioeconomic status. No, it is not stupid or wasteful to use a hardware interface to help women with this. https://archive.is/20081206110632/http://archfami.ama-assn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=9755740 … https://twitter.com/Foone/status/1301707401024827392 …
          Show this thread
          9 replies 107 retweets 1,084 likes
          Show this thread
        4. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          So while this type of digital test may be exactly as sensitive as the non-digital kind (because they're the same test strips), by having the computer do the reading, you can take out a lot of that user error, as well as eliminating issues like different lighting conditions

          1 reply 23 retweets 630 likes
          Show this thread
        5. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          So calling it "exactly as sensitive" was a bad way for me to phrase it: it's technically "as sensitive" because it's the same strips... but it implies the whole system is just as accurate, which is not true. It's going to be far easier to misread a analog test than a digital one.

          3 replies 13 retweets 560 likes
          Show this thread
        6. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          I also didn't really mention the accessibility issues: A digital test is likely to be easier to read if you have limited vision. This particular one is hard to read because of the design, but would still be easier to read if you're color blind, for example.

          2 replies 24 retweets 592 likes
          Show this thread
        7. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          I definitely didn't intend to say NO ONE NEEDS THIS, but I think I went overboard in my annoyance and made it sound like I discounted the idea that anyone would find this more useful.

          2 replies 10 retweets 629 likes
          Show this thread
        8. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          Accessibility is important and I didn't mean to support that anti-accessibility-for-environmental-reasons narrative that gets spread around a lot of places. That's bullshit.

          6 replies 34 retweets 854 likes
          Show this thread
        9. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          Anyway, one other thing that was pointed out in a reply: The test strips probably have to go through a length FDA certification process, so it probably made sense to build the device around a standard test strip, as it'd be prohibitively expensive to certify a separate device

          1 reply 8 retweets 385 likes
          Show this thread
        10. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          And as wasteful as this device seems (I still really don't like the battery being integrated!), there's definitely a purpose for it existing, even if it's just an aid to reading a standard test strip.

          4 replies 8 retweets 335 likes
          Show this thread
        11. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          Not everyone reading the strip is going to be an adult in a sensible frame of mind, with perfect vision. You could easily be a panicked teenager in a public restroom, and having some of the uncertainty and possible user error taken out is quite helpful.

          9 replies 16 retweets 438 likes
          Show this thread
        12. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          But yeah. The way I wrote this came off as misogynist to a lot of people... I'm sorry about that. It definitely wasn't my intent but I can certainly see where I overlooked aspects and phrased things badly.

          13 replies 10 retweets 525 likes
          Show this thread
        13. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          foone Retweeted Sebastian Worms - Aerate and Vaccinate  😷

          Oh and one neat thing in the Naomi Wu thread that was interesting: How the indicator paper works, and why they can't just make it say "YES" when you pee on it:https://twitter.com/sfsworms/status/1301807559402287104 …

          foone added,

          Sebastian Worms - Aerate and Vaccinate  😷 @sfsworms
          Replying to @AlGlazyrin @RealSexyCyborg
          The lines are actually antibodies attached to small gold particles. They fix to hormones in the piss, and are carried until an area where another line of antibody capture the hormones, and the gold-antibody conjugate.
          3 replies 34 retweets 424 likes
          Show this thread
        14. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          Another thing I wanted to mention but was too tired: There's actually precedent for environmental damage from pregnancy tests! Back in the 30s through the 60s, the go-to pregnancy test was African clawed frogs.

          2 replies 35 retweets 340 likes
          Show this thread
        15. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          You could inject urine into them (into their leg, weirdly) and within 24 hours they'd lay eggs if there was hCG in the urine. This was a cheaper test than earlier tests based on mice or rabbits, because those required killing the animal.

          1 reply 15 retweets 285 likes
          Show this thread
        16. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          This one didn't, and the frogs could live quite a long while in captivity, allowing them to be used over and over. The direct hCG-based tests were developed in the 60s, and these replaced the frogs.

          1 reply 10 retweets 231 likes
          Show this thread
        17. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          But the issue is that these are an african frog species, and they were being used all over europe and the americas. Even if they're supposed to be contained in labs, there's going to be escapes and accidentally contact with native species

          1 reply 11 retweets 230 likes
          Show this thread
        18. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          and apparently some labs just released their testing frogs into the wild. This was a bad idea for two reasons: 1. You now have a invasive species introduced into the areas they were being used in tests 2. They spread diseases to the local frogs

          1 reply 11 retweets 270 likes
          Show this thread
        19. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          One example of the latter is the disease chytridiomycosis, spread by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. It was only found in africa, and then spread to north america through the pregnancy test frogs.https://www.nature.com/news/pregnancy-test-helped-to-bring-frog-killing-fungus-to-the-us-1.13013 …

          2 replies 34 retweets 244 likes
          Show this thread
        20. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          And other than the disease, they're an invasive predator that are now competing with native species. So there's been a bunch of ecological damage from pregnancy-test-frogs. So this digital test isn't exactly unprecedented!

          1 reply 9 retweets 229 likes
          Show this thread
        21. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          but yeah. The final summation is probably: Get this digital version of the test if you need it, it's fine. If you're worried you won't read it correctly, if you have vision problems, if you're just scared... go ahead! Just please recycle the battery.

          3 replies 30 retweets 332 likes
          Show this thread
        22. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          but if you don't need the accessibility features and you're going to be doing a bunch of tests (like if you're trying to get pregnant), you'll save money and generate less waste by getting the test strips. They're like 15$ for 50 of them.

          2 replies 15 retweets 298 likes
          Show this thread
        23. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          And you can always get a digital one (or go to a doctor for a professional test) if you need confirmation of an uncertain result.

          1 reply 3 retweets 191 likes
          Show this thread
        24. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          BTW, one thing I didn't mention because I didn't know about it: There's a tiktok meme going around that the "pill" I mentioned is a morning-after pill. Since this got big, lemme just confirm: NO IT IS NOT, PLEASE DON'T EAT IT

          1 reply 12 retweets 285 likes
          Show this thread
        25. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          not only will it not WORK, it's a moisture-absorbing material to keep the test from being thrown off by too much liquid. So it's basically the same as those desiccant packets you get in a lot of electronics, the ones that are covered in "DO NOT EAT".pic.twitter.com/m9cTYKvURv

          1 reply 7 retweets 244 likes
          Show this thread
        26. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          when I called it a "pill" I mean "pill-shaped", but that was some bad phrasing given that hoax meme.

          1 reply 4 retweets 206 likes
          Show this thread
        27. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          Anyway there's an alternate universe where I tear down one of these and find, instead of a test strip, a tiny frog in a little self-contained aquarium, and I think that's the image we should all take away from this.

          8 replies 45 retweets 914 likes
          Show this thread
        28. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          I'm seeing a lot of people replying to this without reading to the corrections later on, so this is probably not worth explaining (if you're mad at me after 25 posts you're not gonna change your mind when you get to post 57). I'm sorry about the thread's tone.

          4 replies 8 retweets 229 likes
          Show this thread
        29. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          It seemed dismissive and flippant to a lot of people, which wasn't intentional. I do a lot of tech teardowns here, but usually I'm doing it to less important stuff, like computer mice or telephones and the like.

          2 replies 1 retweet 182 likes
          Show this thread
        30. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          The tone I take with them is usually like "let's see what silly stuff they jammed into this thing, and what weird ways they made it work!" I'm doing it because I find it interesting to see how things are built and how they work.

          2 replies 3 retweets 234 likes
          Show this thread
        31. foone‏ @Foone 4 Sep 2020

          the thing I didn't consider with this thread is that while doing it that way is fine for something like a keyboard, doing it for a medical device like this, especially one that's sex-specific? It sounded like I didn't care about the issues related to the device.

          3 replies 10 retweets 214 likes
          Show this thread
        32. Show replies

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