Virtually everyone has written and sent an e-mail at some point in time that they later regretted. For some people, it’s happened after being out with friends and maybe having one too many.

In prehistoric days, you’d pick up the phone and start calling old friends. Why weren’t they happy to hear from you at 2 in the morning? That still didn’t stop folks from doing it.

But now, through the wonders of modern technology, you can share your random thoughts with your friends without waking them up — thanks to e-mail.

But like buyer’s remorse, that e-mail that sounded great at 2 a.m. takes on a different meaning in the light of day. In retrospect, folks realize, it probably would’ve been more prudent to refrain from hitting the send key.

That’s the motivation behind “Mail Goggles.”

G-Mail users can police themselves by building barriers — checkpoints — before shipping that questionable e-mail.

You choose your own “witching hour(s)” and Mail Goggles will make it more difficult for you to send messages during that time.

The program stops and asks a series of math questions before it’ll unleash your e-mail. You can adjust the degree of math difficulty, too.

If you flunk the math quiz, the program tells you, “Water and bed for you. Or try again.”

If you want to give it a spin, you’ll need to sign up for (free) Gmail. Then, go to the Labs tab under Settings, and you’ll be able to turn it on.

Tags: e-mail, Mail Goggles