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Skunklock

bicycle locking device that contains pressurized noxious fluid that gets released when the lock body is tampered with

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 21, 2025
Entity authorityQ28000261
Source-derived summary

The Skunklock is a brand of bicycle lock for securing a bicycle to a pole or other fixture. It is similar to a standard U-lock. Its cylindrical body contains a noxious chemical inside that is released if the body is cut. The chemical compound is meant to be a deterrent to someone attempting to cut the lock and steal the bicycle. The lock is being funded through crowdfunding, with an announced shipping date of June 2017.

Design

The Skunklock is constructed of medium-carbon steel like a typical U-Lock, but contains a pressurized gas that will spray out if the lock is cut.

The makers of Skunklock compare the effects to those of pepper spray, but note that the formula for the chemical inside is proprietary. They say it will temporarily disable a thief by inducing vomiting in 99 percent of people, while making it difficult to see and breathe. The chemicals used are food-grade and non-toxic, sharing chemical similarities to Swedish fermented herring.

Skunklock is being financed through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, which launched in October 2016 with a goal of $20,000 in pre-orders.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Skunklock” is bicycle locking device that contains pressurized noxious fluid that gets released when the lock body is tampered with. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Skunklock, bicycle and locking, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2017, 2016—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Skunklock, bicycle and locking is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “bicycle locking device that contains pressurized noxious fluid that gets released when the lock body is tampered with” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q28000261. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2017 and 2016.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Subject orientation
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Skunklock”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Skunklock primary sources, Skunklock archive and Skunklock research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Skunklock”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Skunklock” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.