International

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.

2 comments

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.

2 comments

Do You Have Enough Klout To Fly The Friendly Skies Or Land The Perfect Job?

by Ron Callari

Klout is to 'personal influence' what Google is to 'page ranking.' While the Big G's algorithms determine the relevance of the Internet's every web page, Klout supposedly ranks the influence of every person online. As a 3-year old start-up, it's raison d'être is to measure influence based on the digerati's ability to drive action.

28 comments

How Many "Dumb F*cks" Rocked Facebook's IPO Like It's 1999?

How Many Dumb F*cks Will Rock Facebook's IPO Like It's 1999?

by Ron Callari

The term "Dumb F*cks" has hung over Mark Zuckerberg like a dark cloud during the course of the last 8 years. Not because his nickname "Zuck" rhymes with the expletive, but because the CEO of today's largest social network derided his early FB users as such. In 2004, when first percolating the idea of FB in a Harvard dorm room and asked how he attracted so many followers so quickly, he off-handedly responded they were following him blindly, like "Dumb F*cks."

Time to Read? Amazon Japan Limited Edition Analog Alarm Clock

by Steve Levenstein

Amazon Japan is offering a simple yet stylish analog alarm clock for a limited time only. The clock comes in black or orange, sports the Amazon Japan website URL on its face, and wakes up loyal Amazon customers with an electronic beeping chime and complementary flashing lights.

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?

Saddle Leather Computer Mouse for Skin to Skin Luxury

by Steve Levenstein

Desktop computer users tired of caressing a bland, boring, cold plastic mouse all day can click up to some luxury thanks to Japanese specialty retailer Atelier Wazakura. The so-called Kawanezumi (Leather Mouse) features our favorite handy peripheral swathed in soft, supple Saddle Leather. Giddyup!

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.

2 comments

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.

1 comment

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.

2 comments

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.

1 comment

Helen Keller Sunglasses: Insensitive Insult or Respectful Tribute?

by China.new

When you wear Helen Keller sunglasses, “You see the world, the world sees you.” One wonders what the real Helen Keller, blinded by illness at an early age, would think of the Chinese company who came up with that jarringly inappropriate motto.

2 comments

Burger King Japan's Bakin' Up a Big Bacon Bargain

by Steve Levenstein

Got a yen for bacon? Got a hundred yen? Then get your appetite to Burger King Japan! For a limited time only, the popular fast food chain is offering customers a whopper of a deal: 15 strips of bacon on almost any Burger King Whopper for just 100 yen.

1 comment

Bioengineered Stem Cells Produce Hair On Bald Mice

by T Goodman

A recent experiment by the department of organ technologies at the Tokyo University of Science was successful at bioengineering hair follicle growth in bald mice. Though these images may look small in the scheme of bioengineering organs, the development is very important, both for those who would like to replace their 'rugs' with something more credible, and for the future of other bioengineered organ replacements.

2 comments

Dice Dumpling Soup Gives Good Luck to Hungry Chinese Gamers

by China.new

Eat a bowl of dice? You bet! Chinese gamers are said to enjoy this lucky snack served at an unnamed casino. From the looks of it, though, I'd say it tastes like craps.

1 comment

Social Media's Dark Side "Is Anyone Up" Is No Longer Up!

Social Media Exposes Its Dark Side With IsAnyOneUp.com

by Ron Callari

The number of followers who had joined "Is Anyone Up" might not have been in the hundreds of millions like some of the more popular social networks, but it sure was capitalizing on the profiles that were registered on Facebook and Twitter, nonetheless. Entrepreneur Hunter Moore had taken Chatroulette to a whole 'nother level to what some were defining as "revenge" or "identity" porn.

5 comments

Nerdy Keyboard Sandals Show Off Your Geek Sole

by China.new

Nerdy “types” out there will want to step into these keyboard sandals, artfully imprinted to soothe the geek sole... er, soul. Even the skinniest 98-pound weakling will get a kick out of these cheap flip-flops as they're ideal for a trip to the beach - sand kicking by bullies optional but likely inevitable.

2 comments

Japanese Robot Rings Redefine the Face Palm

by Steve Levenstein

A bizarre set of robotic rings developed by Japanese researchers puts the concept of wearable robots in – actually, “on” – the palm of your hand. Consisting of spherical, movable, electrically-powered eyes and mouth, the rings could someday enhance communication through non-verbal means.

Android Espresso Cup Jump-Starts Your Personal Operating System

by China.new

Google's Android is a Linux-based operating system run by mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers. Espresso is a concentrated, caffeinated beverage prized for its effect on sluggish organic digestive and cognitive systems. The limited edition "Robopresso" delivers the latter in a cup inspired by the former.

2 comments

Social Media's Court Of Public Opinion: Zimmerman vs Martin Blurs Vigilantism & Censorship

Social Media's Court Of Public Opinion: Zimmerman vs Martin Blur Vigilantism & Censorship

by Ron Callari

When a neighborhood watch group escalates from its watchdog origins to outright vigilantism, is nothing to be done to protect the lives innocent citizens? So is the question asked by the Trayvon Martin camp. However, in their fervor to prove their point, they have assumed the same extreme behavior online as that which they are condemning on the streets.

1 comment