"What Is That Strange Beeping Sound?"

Our nursing facility uses a device called a "tabs alarm" which has an electronic box about the size of a pack of cigarettes, with a small tab inserted into it. The tab is attached to a string, attached to a resident's clothing. When the resident moves as if to arise from their bed or wheelchair, the tab is removed from the box and a loud alarm goes off. That is, until the resident learns to remove the alarm. People who can't tie their own shoes can unpin an alarm from between their shoulder blades in thirty seconds. I can't do that.

The story I heard today goes that there was a resident a few years ago who flushed the alarm down the toilet where it continued beeping until the toilet was disassembled . . .