Miscellaneous

Lobster Motorcycle? I Can Harley Believe It!

by China.new

A Chinese seminar on cooking art took an unusual turn – some might say, popped a wheelie – when Taiwanese artist Huang Mingbo unveiled his carefully crafted lobster shell motorcycles.

3 comments

Pink Panther Strikes Again as Cherry-Coated Cats Cavort

by China.new

Blame industrial pollution in China for creating a cat of a different color. At least one cherry-coated kitten has been seen in Lanzhou, western China, and odds are it isn't there to audition for the role of a real-life Hello Kitty.

1 comment

Turning (Pages) Japanese: The USA's Top Ten Best-Selling Manga

by Steve Levenstein

One Piece? Yu-Gi-Oh!? Oh no, those and other manga titles may be loved in Japan, but they're not among the top ten in ICv2's ranking of American manga sales for the first half of 2011.

5 comments

Social Media Makes Strange Bedfellows As MSN & Renren Begin An Affair

by Ron Callari

While China is the country everyone wants to get a piece of these days - the two major Internet giants in the world - namely, Google and Facebook - face major hurdles with the government's insidious "firewall" and its strict censorship regulations.

3 comments

Call it Creepy: Human Hand iPhone 4 Case

by Steve Levenstein

The Hand iPhone 4 Case holds your smartphone while you hold the anatomically correct human hand affixed to its back. It's ideal for conducting long distance love affairs or creeping people out – actually, both.

1 comment

Graffiti Umbrella by Liu Hsiang-Ling is Write as Rain

by China.new

The Rain Brush Umbrella designed by Liu Hsiang-Ling points the way to sustainable, renewable, temporary urban graffiti: write what you like but come rain or shine, your message will vanish.

Japanese Restaurant Serves Super Sumo-Sized Sushi

by Steve Levenstein

A Japanese restaurant whose patrons' eyes must be WAY bigger than their stomachs is making a name for itself by serving up huge futomaki rolls and super-sized sushi sets. Of course, the prices are enormously inflated as well.

Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine Could Be 'Poor Man's Tamiflu'

by China.new

Flu med face-off: A study comparing Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and the traditional Chinese medicinal decoction Maxingshigan–Yinqiaosan has shown both medicines are equally effective in treating H1N1 influenza.

Grilled Fish Pencil Case is Quite a Catch

by Steve Levenstein

Angling for an offbeat gift? OK, or rather, Hokke! This slim zippered case from Japan apes the delicious broiled “Hokke” (Atka Mackerel) served hot off the grill at Japanese izakaya pubs. The fishy fakery even extends to the inside of this funny, finny case.

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China's 'Most Awesome Wall of Air Conditioners' Building

by China.new

The "coolest" building in China stands in the city of Fuzhou, though not for much longer if the force of gravity has anything to say about it. Tenants frustrated by the lack of central AC in the modern office tower have festooned the 25-story building's exterior with over 500 window AC units.

2 comments

Make Your Smartphone an Art Phone with Famous Paintings iPhone 4 Covers

by Steve Levenstein

There's an art to protecting your expensive Apple iPhone 4, and Japan's Strapya World are old masters at the game. You'd better believe Da Vinci, Picasso, Klimt, and Van Gogh would want to press one of these miniature masterpieces to their ear... oops, sorry Vincent.

1 comment

Angry Birds Carnival Booth Game Features Real Slingshot, Plush Birds & Pigs

by China.new

Want to play 'Angry Birds' live? Then get your apps to China! A carnival booth in the Chinese city of Guangzhou is offering fair-goers a shot at some really pretty plush pigs... with a really big real slingshot.

Does Today's Income Tax Coddle An Endangered Species?

by Ron Callari

The idea of a personal income tax is a modern invention. Throughout most of history, the record keeping of tracking individual income would been a logistical nightmare. During the Civil War, however, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1861 which instituted an income tax for the first time. Today class warfare is more of a concern to American citizens versus whether or not you hail from the North or South. . .

2 comments

China's Bucks Boost Bolivia into the Space Age

by China.new

Bolivia's first orbiting communications satellite will be designed with the help of Chinese technicians and launched into space atop a Chinese rocket booster in late 2013.

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Hot Dog? Chill Your Collie with a Cool Pet Pad!

by Steve Levenstein

Summer heat and humidity is an uncomfortable for pets as it is for people, but thanks to this Fido- (or Fluffy) sized gel-filled cooling pad, chilling out the dog days of summer is the cat's pyjamas.

1 comment

Graphic Covered Mug Lets You Sip with the Fishes

by Steve Levenstein

Oh, the Piranha Tea! This anxiety-ridden graphic covered mug from the Humania series is the perfect gift for those who hate fishing, fish, or you.

Ghost Of Guy Fawkes Evoked To Destroy Facebook?

Ghost of Guy Fawkes Resurrected To Destroy Facebook?

by Ron Callari

While the blogoshere is cyberventilating once again about the imminent demise of Facebook (anybody remember the "We're Quitting Facebook Day" scheduled for May 31, 2010?), the ghost of Guy Fawkes has been evoked to stir the conspiracy pot. Five hundred years to the day, the Hacker activist group known as Anonymous is claiming they will coincide their destruction of Facebook with Fawkes attempt to blow up the House of Parliament on November 5, 1605.

4 comments

China's One-Child Policy Blamed for Widening Gender Imbalance

by China.new

China's controversial One-Child Policy may have put the brakes on the country's unsustainable rate of population growth but that silver lining hides a dark cloud: a widening gender imbalance that makes it increasingly hard for a guy to find the right girl... or ANY girl, for that matter.

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Japanese Nostalgic Mosquito Coil Charms Gives a Scents of Summer

by Steve Levenstein

Mosquitoes are an unwelcome feature of Japanese summers but for over a century people have sought to banish the biting bugs by burning green spiral pyrethrum coils inside open-ended “Katori-Buta” ceramic pigs. Now you can recall summer's lazy, hazy, buzzy days in miniature with officially authorized Kincho charms from Tokyo's Strapya World!

China Releases 600 Million Bees to Battle Invasive American White Moths

by China.new

It's China vs the USA, and the Chinese have resorted to biological warfare in an all-out effort to eradicate the foreign pests! Calm down, we're not at war, it's just China's annual parasitic wasp offensive against invasive moths.

1 comment