To rid a park of hooligans in a Sydney suburb, the town council began playing Barry Manilow and Doris Day music at high volume from 9-midnight every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening. The tactic worked, but now the people who live near the park can't sleep at night and are unhappy about it.
Maybe they should use Woody Norris' LRAD to beam the sound into the center of the park, which would break the eardrums of the miscreants, yet allow the law-abiding citizens to slumber without having to resort to uncomfortable ear-plugs or stupor-inducing barbiturates.
From the San Diego Union-Tribune:
LRAD, or Long-Range Acoustic Device, [was designed] for military use as a hailing and warning device, Putnam said.
The disk-shaped transmitter can emit an ear-splitting warning noise akin to a fire alarm as well as jackhammer-like pulses that can travel nearly two-thirds of a mile. At the limit of its range, the sound produced by the LRAD, is roughly 95 decibels – equivalent to standing a few feet away from a speeding subway train or chain saw.
Link | (via Freakonomics) | (Xeni posted a bunch of items about LRAD when she was doing a series of reports for NPR on its use in Iraq and New Orleans.)
