Hasta La Gadget!

Jul 10

Give the Clap-Off Bra a big hand

Peek-a-boo! The bow hides the electromagnet in the front of the bra.

(Credit: Randy Sarafan/Instructables)

The old “Clap on, clap off” jingle from the ’80s has a new product to attach itself to, and that product sits right on your chest, ladies.

While you can’t snag a Clap-Off Bra at Macy’s, Instructables has a step-by-step tutorial that only requires two circuit boards, an Arduino, a 28-pin socket, two 22pF capacitors, a 10uF capacitor, a 1K resistor, a 10K resistor, a 100K resistor, a 7805 voltage regulator, and a few other items you’re sure to have in your soldering kit.

Basically, the battery-operated bra uses an electromagnet that controls a switch to make the undergarment pop off when someone claps nearby (video mildy NSFW). Creator Randy Sarafan, a hacker and new-media artist, says the bra was inspired by the creative electronic lingerie (like remote-controlled and glow-in-the-dark unmentionables) one finds in Syrian bazaars.