Strange, Odd, Weird or Wacky

Giant Godzilla Christmas Tree Spruces Up Tokyo Mall

by Steve Levenstein

Pining for those classic Japanese monster movies that had you sitting on pins and needles? Well fir not, er, fear not! The giant Godzilla Christmas Tree from the Aqua City Odaiba shopping mall in Tokyo is the original nightmare before Christmas!

7 comments

Homemade 'Hummer' Lets Chinese Chef Show Some Swagger

by China.new

By night, Qu Zhibo is a chef and restaurant owner from Zigong City in China's Sichuan Province. By day, however, he's “Qu Zhibo, Hummer Driver!”... or something vaguely resembling a Hummer. Qu designed and constructed his 1-of-a-kind, 4-wheeled, 8-tired tribute to American rolling stock with GM's mighty military machine in mind.

1 comment

Japanese Scientists Listen to Oysters, Pick Up Pearls of Wisdom

by Steve Levenstein

Put a shell to your ear and you can hear the ocean. Japanese scientists have taken that concept to a higher level, inventing a device called the “kai-lingual” that can “hear” oysters commenting on their environment. Well shucks!

Colored Car Tires from China Look Wheel Strange

by China.new

Black tires too dull & gloomy for you? Double Star Tires is hoping their colorful new line of Rainbow Tires will replace basic boring black rubber road rollers wheel, er, real soon.

Nissin's Big Cheese Meat Cup Noodle Gives Cheeseburgers Stiff Competition

by Steve Levenstein

Cup Noodle can really hit the spot when you're studying, gaming or satisfying the between-meal munchies but it's not really a “meal”, is it? If you believe that, you haven't seen Big Cheese Meat Cup Noodle! Japan's newest flavor sensation is the closest thing yet to a cheeseburger in a cup.

2 comments

Innovative 'Shoe Socks' Show Off Japan's Sole

by Steve Levenstein

Like the look of wearing shoes but prefer to leave those dirty soles in the vestibule? Try Kutsu Kutsushita “Shoe Socks”, snazzy socks from Japan designed to look like your usual socks & sneakers combo!

10 Bizarre Christmas Party Costumes from Japan

by Steve Levenstein

If you haven't been asked to join in any reindeer games, get your antlers to Japan where the Christmas costumes are unlike any those found anywhere else. Check out ten of Japan's oddest seasonal costumes and accessories, offered by the fine folks at Village Vanguard in the spirit of “St. Christmas”... whoever or whatever that is.

5 comments

Is Cleanliness Next To Godliness? Not According To Your Average Medical Student

by T Goodman

Some med students might think they are gods, but a new study conducted by the Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hospital Epidemiology at Hannover Medical School suggests that they may never have heard the old proverb cleanliness is next to godliness.

DIY Theremin Kit from Japan Makes Sounds Only Lenin Could Love

by Steve Levenstein

The Gakken Theremin Mini DIY Kit is the ideal holiday gift for your niece or nephew provided you can't stand their parents. They say Lenin loved the theremin's eerie sound the first time he heard it, so full Marx to him.

1 comment

China's Buses Include DIY Emergency Exits Disguised as Bricks

by China.new

In case of emergency, brick glass? Goodbye, yellow brick, road? Have brick, will travel? The puns come fast & furious when attempting to explain a low-tech safety measure found on Chinese passenger buses: yellow-painted, window-breaking bricks.

Katy Perry's AMA Dress: Wearable Propaganda or Fashion Foible?

by China.new

Is Katy Perry moonlighting for China's government or merely modeling a dress from designer Vivienne Westwood's Spring/Summer 2012 Gold Label collection? Maybe both: the Chinese calligraphy on her form-fitting AMA frock spells out “Green Economy”, a popular catchphrase oft-spouted by China's official media.

3 comments

The Space Raincoat Keeps You Dry, Makes You Look Fat

by China.new

Marlon Brando may have been The Wild One but who says you can't be The Weird One? Certainly not Taiwan's Feng Yu Development Co., designers and manufacturers of the one and only Space Raincoat.

VW's People's Car Project Ad Campaign Really Gets a Round

by China.new

Volkswagen gets back to their roots with “The People's Car Project”, an innovative multimedia ad campaign that's turning heads and winning praise in – where else – the People's Republic of China.

2 comments

Washable Toilet Seat Liner Warms Hearts, Saves Power

by Steve Levenstein

If your pet peeve is a cold toilet seat and you're dreading the onset of winter weather, Japan's got something that'll warm your heart (and more): fluffy, furry, reusable and washable toilet seat liners. Next time nature calls, don't let American Standard give you the cold shoulder - plop your posterior on a poodle instead!

Japan's Top Pop Singing Group Invites Fans to Make Babies With Them

by Steve Levenstein

AKB48, Japan's wildly popular all-girl idol group, wants to make babies with their fans! Introducing "AKBaby", a curiously creepy app that lets fans - for a low monthly subscription fee to their new ISP service - merge a photo of their face with that of a favorite AKB48 member, thus creating the face of "their" baby.

1 comment

Faux Apple iShampo for 'Original, Revolutionary, Surprising and Elegant' Hair

by China.new

Introducing “iShampo”, yet another Apple tribute (copy, knockoff, ripoff) that seeks to parlay the promotional power of the iconic tech colossus. Why change the world again today when you can change your hair care regimen tomorrow?

2 comments

Burger King Japan Goes Wide with the Pizza-Size Burger

by Steve Levenstein

What makes a Whopper look wimpy? Burger King Japan's new Pizza-Size Burger, that's what! This 8.8 inch (22cm) wide mega-meal is massive for short but not for long: it's only available from December 8th through 25th... and, sorry to say, only in Japan.

3 comments

10 Overly Cute Japanese School Buses That Go the Extra Smile

by Steve Levenstein

Too cute for school? Not in Japan, where settling at mere cuteness means you're not trying hard enough. That high-pitched sound you're hearing isn't a school bus in need of a brake job, just its pint-sized passengers squealing "KAWAII!" in unison.

6 comments

USB Big Mouse Makes Other Computer Mice Seem Inadequate

by China.new

If you're unsatisfied with your mouse, supersize it! That's what the tech tyros at Brando Workshop have done, and the result is the USB Big Mouse, a glowing blue optical mouse that's bigger, bolder, and better than before... well, bigger at least.

Are Men Funnier Than Women, Or Do We Just Think They Are?

by T Goodman

... The public is largely biased toward males in the who's funnier gender debate, and rationales have ranged from the male role in biological attraction, likening male humor to a peacock's tail, to the male's willingness to be more risque with sexual language and innuendo.

1 comment