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My parents asked me what this is today – I have no idea, do you?(r/technology)
Right, used for personal security. I have a model similar to this one. Whenever I stay in hotels (or new apartments for the first month or so), I put the tongs in between the door and doorframe, so I won’t sleep through an unexpected guest.
The pressure switch is modular because most of those personal alarm models also have a sound-grenade mode, where you can replace the pressure switch with a pin. The idea is, you can carry the personal alarm with you, and pull the pin in an emergency to get attention or confuse attackers.