Strange, Odd, Weird or Wacky

Japanese Face Slimmer Smooths Skin, Shrinks Face, Scares Everyone

by Steve Levenstein

Lose that Duckface and put on a Blow-up Doll face! The "Face Slimmer" may make you look silly (or worse) while you wear it but the promised reward of a bonafide “beautiful woman smile” make three minutes a day of shame more than worthwhile.

Tornado Beer Dispenser Puts a New Twist on Draft Beer

by Steve Levenstein

The Tornado Beer Dispenser from Japan's Asahi Beer invites toasting tipplers to go “Bottom's Up!”... literally. The dispenser injects draft beer into the base of a specially designed plastic mug, in the process creating a short-lived alcoholic vortex of epic proportions.

Real Geek Fragrances Will Up Your Mana & Health

by Jill Harness

If there ever was a scent that told the world what a geek you are, this is it! ThinkGeek's RPG scented oils let you choose to smell like your favorite fantasy game class: Fighter, Rogue, Mage, Claric, Paladin or Ranger. It's perfect for any RPG-lover, whether you like to play Dungeons & Dragons, WOW or go out LARPing.

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Pepsi Salty Watermelon is Pepsi Japan's New Sweet Seasonal Treat

by Steve Levenstein

Another season, another new & exciting Pepsi flavor! This time around the drink designers at Pepsi Japan have reached back to a traditional Japanese summertime treat, salted watermelon.

Lettuce-like Vegetabrella Turns Rainy Days to Salad Days

by Steve Levenstein

The Vegetabrella from Japan's Tokyo Noble is as green and wrinkly as a fresh head of lettuce, and the resemblance grows even stronger when it's rolled up. Just be sure you leave the lettuce in the fridge and take the Vegetabrella along on stormy days or you'll end up as soggy as an un-spun salad.

Dog Ramen Puts Some Growl In Your Bowl

by China.new

Dog Ramen, an ethnic Korean specialty made in China's northeastern Jilin province, contains real dehydrated dog meat along with instant noodles, seasonings and spices. Hungover Chinese college students thirsty for some “hair of the dog” can now shake off the DTs like a bad case of fleas.

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Chinese RoboCop Keeps An Electric Eye On Crime

by China.new

A robot policeman equipped with a CCTV cyclops eye and a navel-mounted panic button is the new face of crimefighting in China. Though fixed to the pavement and unable to chase feeling suspects, the ersatz RoboCop nonetheless has brought peace to the mean streets of Kunming.

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Japan's First Police Cat Rats Out Criminals

by Steve Levenstein

Beware the long paw of the law! Potential lawbreakers in Kyoto, Japan had better think twice before engaging in criminal acts because Iemon, Japan's first police cat, is on patrol... when he's not curled up asleep at the station, that is.

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iPhone 'Mug Case' Helps You Get A Grip On Your Calls

by China.new

Tired of being put on hold? Get a handle on your mobile conversations and hold ALL your calls, all the time, with the self-standing silicone Mug Case for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

Google's Autonomous Car Gets Its License To Drive In Nevada

by Myra Per-Lee

You can talk on your cell phone, even text, check your email, eat your lunch, tun-in your radio, change a CD.... You can even take in all of the distractions along the Strip in Las Vegas... if you hop a cab. Or, you can take the Google autonomous car, currently a Toyota Prius, without a driver.

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Remote Control USB Cockroach Will Infest Your Desktop

by Steve Levenstein

Just in time for Mother's Day, it's the Remote Control USB Cockroach from Japan's JTT Online Shop! You won't want to stomp this robotic pest into insect oblivion, however: they're 3 inches long and cost $20 each.

Coffee Jitters Keeping You Awake At Night? Take A Chill Pill

by Toby

The folks at Think Geek know about caffeine, believe me. How do you think they're able to test the hundreds of weird products they receive every day and then write-up all the clever things to say about them? CAFFEINE! There had been a fast turnover of employees at Think Geek just because of caffeine - the employees, you see, couldn't sleep - at night, at least....

Panda on a Plane Eats Shoots and Leaves

by China.new

Did a Giant Panda and his carer recently enjoy their flight to the United States comfortably seated side by side on a China Airlines jet, or are we just being (ahem) bamboozled?

Heat Conducting Designer Ice Cream Spoon Softens the Hardest Häagen-Dazs

by Steve Levenstein

So your ice cream's too hard but waiting for it to soften at room temperature can be agonizing. “If you wait, you might wait too long and it turns into liquid,” explains Japanese architect and designer Naoki Terada. “All this frustration, all this calculating. It had to stop somewhere!” Now thanks to Terada, our long national nightmare is over.

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Ramos Alarm Clock: Get Up Or Get Up!

by Must Love Gadgets

Alarm clocks are a pain in the butt. No one wants to get up in the morning, or they wouldn't need an alarm clock, would they? That's why we all have snooze buttons on our alarm clocks, because we need one more chance to be late. Ineffective as snooze alarms are for many, engineer Paul Sammut has created a new version of the alarm clock, one that never shuts up!

KDDI's Concept IIDA Smartphone Features a Manual Analog Clock

by Steve Levenstein

Look Ma, hands! Japan's KDDI is showcasing a curiously retro smartphone that's a real blast from the past. The phone's bezel features a manually-wound analog clock, thus creating a fusion of elegance and technology.

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KFC Japan Serves Beer & Booze Beside the Bucket

by Steve Levenstein

Forget that Happy Meal, at KFC Japan it's Happy Hour! Want a double with that Double Down? Perhaps a cocktail with your cock-a-doodle-doo? Tokyo's newly opened KFC Route 25 restaurant has begun serving beer & booze by (or at least, beside) the bucket.

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China's Taobao Internet Mall Offers Beautiful Girl Delivery Service

by China.new

Special delivery indeed: China's Taobao internet mall is boosting their business with the aid of “beautiful girls” who personally deliver customers' orders for a small extra fee.

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Singapore Coke Machines Give Out Cold Drinks for Warm Hugs

by China.new

If you think machines have no compassion, you've either been watching too many Terminator movies or you haven't visited Singapore lately. The Southeast Asian city-state is where you'll find The Coca-Cola Hug Machine: you supply the hugs, it provides the Coke.

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Tsunami Soccer Ball and Volleyball Kicked 3,100 Miles to Alaska

by Steve Levenstein

Now ain't that a kick: signed soccer and volleyballs found washed up on an island off Alaska several weeks apart are to be returned to their surprised but grateful owners. The balls may be the first identifiable pieces of debris from Japan's devastating March 11th, 2011 earthquake and tsunami to reach North American shores.