Mousetraps

Mousetraps

My marketing tute last week was rather...interesting. Basically we learnt all about mousetraps and we were supposed to design a better mousetrap than all those currently out in the market. I don't suppose mousetraps are very common in Singapore are they? I don't recall seeing one in the supermarkets...

Anyway, it's rather cruel and gruesome really how people kill mice. Mostly the traps work to crush their skulls and it's all bloody and stuff. That's for the standard mousetrap anyway. Newer ones promise you don't see the dead mouse staring at you and you can remove it without touching it. I suppose if the mouse stares at you you'd feel guilty about killing it (and so horribly too!!). Mind you, I like mice. I think they're cute, but I guess not everyone would share the same sentiments...like my flatmate. She's terrified of mice.

The mousetraps I've seen are painful....especially if your finger springs the trap. I wouldn't know first-hand how that would feel but my pen cap flew across the room when I used my pen to poke at the trap. One of the interesting ablbeit most cruel ones (in my opinion) was this spider-looking thing which "strangled" the mice apparently and allows you to catch more than one in the trap. It operates on the rationale that when the mouse sticks its head in one of the holes and springs the trap (which doesn't kill it instantly, but rather strangles it slowly), other mice seeing it still alive and it's head in the hole for a long time would go check out what that mouse was looking at or eating and thus get trapped in the other holes. I dunno if it works but the mere idea of it is cruel.

As for designing a better mousetrap, well, I'd like to say that my design is more humanitarian....or 'mousitarian' ensuring the mouse dies instantly. Whether or not it really does work, I wouldn't have a clue nor would I like to try really. As I said before, I like mice.