A barnacle is an arthropod. It's referred to as an encruster, as it an animal that seeks to permanently adhere itself to a hard material. There's a new type of barnacle out there, and this one seeks to adhere itself to your windshield but fortunately not on a permanent basis. Say hello to the Barnacle parking enforcement device.

I said that it sucks, and I mean it. That's actually how it sticks to your windshield. Under that yellow skin sits a few suction cups that enable the Barnacle to grab ahold of your windshield with 750 pounds of pressurized grip. It allows a parking enforcement officer to deploy the Barnacle from the safety of the sidewalk, as opposed to a boot-type device that requires an officer bending down in the street.

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According to the LA Times, it's a fairly simple process to get this Barnacle free from your windshield. The parking offender calls a toll-free number that is posted on the device. You pay your fine over the phone and then you get a code to unlock the Barnacle. You now have 24 hours to return the Barnacle to a drop-off location.

Doesn't that sound fun? On the bright side, it's something you can remove yourself instead of waiting for the police to come and take off a wheel boot. Silver lining? Kind of. 

If you were to walk out and see this on your windshield, you may think you can simply fire up your car and hang your head out your side window to drive away. That's not going to be a good move, because the Barnacle has an alarm system and will begin letting everyone know that you're both a parking offender and you look rather stupid with this giant yellow window cover and your head out the window.

The Barnacle is currently in a trial period with a number of departments in the United States. The product's inventor is looking to slim it down from its current 20 pound weight to around 15 pounds, but the product is already lighter and appears easier to use then a boot.

We wonder if the owner of this Bugatti Veyron would've preferred the yellow window "sticker" to the metal clamps on his very expensive wheels?