Music fends off pirates

Add this to your cadre of anti-piracy tools: pop music played really loud.

Media reports have noted that security officers stationed off the coast of Somalia have played the music of pop sensation Britney Spears through the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) to chase pirates away, presumably because of their disdain for Western culture and music.

Similar tactics have long been employed as a way to soften up terror suspects being detained, according to a story in Maritime Executive. A U.S. prison in Kabul looped Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady” for 20 days and officials at Guantanamo Bay used Bruce Springsteen songs to help with interrogations.

LRADs normally blast sharp, pain-inducing sounds that are so startling, they can bring people to their knees. Apparently, Spears does that really well.