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The Inexplicably Fascinating Japanese Art of Being Useless
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- known 8y agoHelps to prevent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikikomori
- justtopost 8y agoIdk, I can see someone drawn to introvertism seeing these creations, seeing culture embrace what wast supposed to be ironic self-ridicule as just another commodity. I am not confident that would draw them from the warm embrace of the familiar and unthreatening self-controled domain they choose to occupy.
- Grue3 8y agoHikikomori are just human version of Chindogu.
- innocentoldguy 8y agoChindōgu is one of the joyful things I love about Japanese culture (along with purposefully odd Engrish on shirts, drunk karaoke, washlets, and walls and walls of vending machines).
- jpatokal 8y agoTrue factoid: one remarkably useless chindogu was a device that lets you hold a camera at arm's length so you can take a photo of yourself -- now known as the selfie stick. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selfie_stick#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selfie_stick#History
- village-idiot 8y agoI have a truly strange relationship with the selfie stick. On one hand, they are incredibly useful in some circumstances. On the other, I resent their existence and find anyone (else) using them obnoxious.
- jarfil 8y agoMy stance is simple: selfie sticks are evil, reachie sticks and monopods are fine.
- ardy42 8y ago> True factoid: one remarkably useless chindogu was a device that lets you hold a camera at arm's length so you can take a photo of yourself -- now known as the selfie stick. A selfie stick with a film camera would have truly been useless. You'd probably only get a photo of some random thing behind you, and only learn of your mistake a week later. It took the invention of digital cameras with front-facing screens to make them practical.
- SamReidHughes 8y agoThey could have some kind of alignment mechanism extending behind the camera mount.
- DenisM 8y agoAffix a small mirror to the camera and calibrate it such that if you see yourself in the middle of the camera you’re also in the middle of the frame.
- zoul 8y agoAs they really do with some Instax cameras: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/images2500x2500/fujifilm_16513920_instax_mini_70_instant_1263521.jpg https://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/images2500x2500/fujifilm...
- falcrist 8y ago
- sampl 8y agoReminds me of The Uncomfortable, a more recent project. I really enjoyed these! https://www.theuncomfortable.com https://www.theuncomfortable.com
- bch 8y agoReminds me of coffeepot for masochists (c. 1969) https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/impossible-objects https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/impossible-objects
- sampl 8y agoNice. Love stuff like this.
- shoo 8y agoAs featured on the cover of Don Norman's book "the design of everyday things", which I'd recommend to anyone involved in designing or building things to be used by people
- jaclaz 8y agoAnd strangely enough it gave the title to the book in some countries, in Italy it is "La caffettiera del masochista".
- Digit-Al 8y agoI think the "uncomfortable champagne glasses" would make a great party game :-)
- xevb3k 8y agoI’m pretty fed up of seeing the “noodle bib” image recycled constantly. It’s actually just a shower cap/hat to stop soap getting in kids eyes that’s quite common in Japan. Somebody just put it on their face... I guess as a joke in this instance.
- mc32 8y agoSurprisingly they didn't have the "breastfeeding"-device for dads to let infants suckle milk from dad's "breast". And, while one of the requirements for chindogu is to not be humorous, some made me chuckle, so maybe it's in the eye of the beholder.
- Digit-Al 8y agoI may be interpreting it wrong, but I don't think the requirement was "don't be humorous", I think it was don't do it just to be humorous. In other words, if the idea is humorous to some, that is fine, but you shouldn't try to create an idea just to fit a joke. Not sure if I've explained that clearly, but hopefully I've got my point across :-)
- dixie_land 8y agothe last one (the "coke pocket protector") has a very functional AMERICAN cousin: https://bevbuckle.com https://bevbuckle.com
- dixie_land 8y agoHuh apparently my autocorrect thinks AMERICAN should be all caps.
- fredsanford 8y agoI instantly thought of Ron Popeil (Ronco) when I saw this... 1 - Pocket Fisherman, around 1975 2 - Buttoneer, around 1977 I wonder how much effect Popeil had/has on Kawakami. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fh_YwAnv7w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fh_YwAnv7w [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN2ttNu3F_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN2ttNu3F_M
- tomcam 8y agoI was useless long before it was hip! Once again, I am a man ahead of his time.
- hn_throwaway_99 8y agoHmm somewhat scary that I thought "hey, those earrings with earplugs, and the funnel glasses for eye drops, those seem pretty useful!" And while I don't think they sell that "lipstick mask", an eyebrow stencil is an actual product that is basically the same thing for your eyebrows.
- eudora 8y agoI'm pretty interested in the real products that millions of people buy that are actually useless. Like all the cosmetics and supplements that don't actually improve anything.
- ggm 8y agohttp://www.laboiteverte.fr/les-objets-introuvables-de-jacques-carelman/ http://www.laboiteverte.fr/les-objets-introuvables-de-jacque... 1969. I cherish my copy
- partycoder 8y agoIn the west we have the pizza pouch.
- tboughen 8y agoI am of a generation of Brits that have known about chindogu since childhood in the mid 90s thanks to the excellent children’s TV program It’ll Never Work - a program about inventions. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27ll_Never_Work%3F https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27ll_Never_Work%3F
- wastholm 8y agoOne of the delightful things about taking the train in Japan is the mail order catalog you will sometimes find in the seat pocket. It's guaranteed to have several amazingly weird innovations for sale, in line with the toilet roll helmet or the floor mop baby onesie. I've often thought, "I get that this thing can on occasion be somewhat useful to someone somewhere, but how can it possibly be profitable to mass-produce?"
- mistersquid 8y agoPretty decent tribute (?) site: http://www.chindogu.com http://www.chindogu.com
- hammock 8y agoReminds me of the Masochist's Teapot https://goo.gl/images/Wq1Jr1 https://goo.gl/images/Wq1Jr1
- BadDebug 8y agoI recently found a very practical "thing strapped to shoe". While cleaning your hardwood or tile floor, strap a flashlight to your foot and allow it to cast oblique light across the surface. Dirt will immediately be evident on account of the shadows the dirt makes.