So I work in a library that is currently suffering from a laptop theft problem. Students leave their things in their cubicle or desk to go to the bathroom, and when they return they find their laptop is no longer there.

Seating can be a premium in the library, especially during mid-terms and exam time, and so students are loathe to take all their things into the bathroom with them because if they do, it's likely that they will lose their prime study space.

A mundane problem and yet not.

I asked my kids (7 and 4) at the dinner table what we could do to help these students and they were so excited at the opportunity to help that they would gave me possible solutions for the next two days. Here were some of their suggestions:

- students should bring their laptop AND their chair to the bathroom with them
- they should bring a big bag and a big lock and then put everything in the bag and then lock it to the desk and chair
- they should have a "study buddy" to watch their stuff
- they should bring a "decoy" laptop that they should leave at the desk and bring their real one into the bathroom with them
- they should tape their stuff to the desk

And their answers brought me to my own suggestion to resolve this mundane problem.

One of the reasons why laptop thefts happen so frequently is that they can happen so quietly and quickly. So the goal is to make theft, not so much impossible, but just enough of a bother so that it will take more time and more likely to attract attention. "Tape stuff" would achieve this goal, but tape is sticky and nasty to take off.

Better to use saran wrap! It's quiet and with enough of it, it should be enough of detraction to allow to you to get to the bathroom and back to your studying: