Chindogu
Dear Reader(s),
I know it's been a very long time (3 months to be exact) since I last updated the blog. This is due to the simple fact that I recently became a graduate student. For those of your considering graduate school, a word of warning: it requires a lot of work. Like more than you've ever done it your life. Sleeping...eating...bathing...buying toilet paper...All of these things become luxuries that you will do in you "free" time. What I'm trying to say is that blogging, at least for me, gets pushed way down on the list of priorities, thus explaining my 3-month hiatus.
Why am I choosing now to break my silence, you ask? It's simple. I saw an article on nytimes.com today that I could not pass up commenting on. The article, entitled "Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place," is about the recent invention of a couple of fashions designed to prevent crime. How can fashion be used to prevent crime? Well, when your skirt unfolds into an uncanny representation of a vending machine behind which you can hide from would-be attackers it's simple.
All in all a pretty good disguise, if you ask me, though a little impractical since you'd have to wear your vending machine convertible skirt at all times to ensure safety. One tip I would like to offer any prospective buyers of this product: if you do find yourself hiding from attackers behind this false vending machine, be sure to do a better job of hiding your feet than this model has done. It would be a shame to be given away by a pair of bright white sneakers.
I was a little less convinced by this design:
This convertible backpack is supposed to make a small child look like a fire hydrant. I'm not convinced. I see a lot more child than fire hydrant. And standing next to an actual fire hydrant doesn't really help the matter either.
It really only highlights a few key giveaways: (1) real fire hydrants don't wear jeans; and (2) real fire hydrants don't have small boys attached to them.
So while I applaud Japan's never-ending pursuit of innovation, I think this invention could use a few more days in the laboratory.
I know it's been a very long time (3 months to be exact) since I last updated the blog. This is due to the simple fact that I recently became a graduate student. For those of your considering graduate school, a word of warning: it requires a lot of work. Like more than you've ever done it your life. Sleeping...eating...bathing...buying toilet paper...All of these things become luxuries that you will do in you "free" time. What I'm trying to say is that blogging, at least for me, gets pushed way down on the list of priorities, thus explaining my 3-month hiatus.
Why am I choosing now to break my silence, you ask? It's simple. I saw an article on nytimes.com today that I could not pass up commenting on. The article, entitled "Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place," is about the recent invention of a couple of fashions designed to prevent crime. How can fashion be used to prevent crime? Well, when your skirt unfolds into an uncanny representation of a vending machine behind which you can hide from would-be attackers it's simple.
All in all a pretty good disguise, if you ask me, though a little impractical since you'd have to wear your vending machine convertible skirt at all times to ensure safety. One tip I would like to offer any prospective buyers of this product: if you do find yourself hiding from attackers behind this false vending machine, be sure to do a better job of hiding your feet than this model has done. It would be a shame to be given away by a pair of bright white sneakers.
I was a little less convinced by this design:
This convertible backpack is supposed to make a small child look like a fire hydrant. I'm not convinced. I see a lot more child than fire hydrant. And standing next to an actual fire hydrant doesn't really help the matter either.
It really only highlights a few key giveaways: (1) real fire hydrants don't wear jeans; and (2) real fire hydrants don't have small boys attached to them.
So while I applaud Japan's never-ending pursuit of innovation, I think this invention could use a few more days in the laboratory.
posted by MatchaMonkey at
10/25/2007 01:33:00 PM
1 Comments
