Quiet, you guys! I’m carrying a Shut Up Gun!

That which doesn’t kill you, makes you stop talking? I guess. Weird gun news to report to you here. It’s not a gun for combat as much as it is for silence enforcement. Japanese scientists have come up with a system by which human speech is captured and played back to the person speaking with a delay of 0.2 seconds. It disorients the speaker to the point where they stop talking, at which point, well, problem solved.

The researchers intend it to be used in social situations where someone will just not stop talking.

Here’s what they say:

“We have to establish and obey rules for proper turn-taking when speaking. However, some people tend to lengthen their turns or deliberately interrupt other people when it is their turn in order to establish their presence rather than achieve more fruitful discussions. Furthermore, some people tend to jeer at speakers to invalidate their speech.”

Kazutaka Kurihara and Koji Tsukada, did you ever know that you’re my heroes? You are the blabbermouth-silencing wind beneath my wings.