Fun Stuff

Patent #4,764,111 is a device for reminding kids to wear their braces, which involves implanting an alarm in their mouths with a timer. Perhaps well intentioned, this absurd patent is a subtle reminder of how individual rights can be taken away a little bit at a time, especially for kids. Read on, no matter how you may feel about a free society.

If beauty fades but stupid is forever, what can anyone say about US patent # 4202456? Toy building blocks made from bottle caps might seem thrifty and practical, but how could they be so when it cost thousands of dollars to patent such an idea? A bit contradictory, no? Read on for some details and a bit more ambivalence.

Show us your moobs! Well, at least show them off with the new Men's Premium Bra from Wishroom. It's no joke either, Men's Bras are the number one ranked seller at Japan's Rakuten online store.

Okay, so maybe you don't have any dumb friends. Maybe the only dumb people you know are relatives or people at work. Either way, dumb is dumb, and sometimes you just can't believe you are giving them gifts at all. But it's a family Christmas party or one of those office parties where you pick a name and the one you got is the biggest jerk in the whole place.... You can probably find just the right gift for her or him pretty cheaply right here.

Social Networking - is there anything it can't do? Mixi, Japan's largest social networking site, and cup noodle maker Acecook have combined for a tasty collaboration that is cranking out new instant ramen flavors and cool slogans to advertising them.

Who out there does not remember those old light-bulb jokes? You, know, the ones that went, ‘how many whatevers does it take to change a light bulb?’ Answers were precursors to Polish and other bad ethnic jokes, but the patent for the light bulb changer, (#6826983 to be exact) is neither. It is, however, quite ridiculous, and as such, belongs here now. Read on and realize you simply haven’t seen it all.

Cold Hands? Warm Heart! This reusable, environmentally friendly, heart-shaped portable heating pad from Japan puts out heat to the beat, again and again!

A league of their own? Not in Japan at least, where 16-year-old female knuckleballer Eri Yoshida has just been drafted by a Japanese pro baseball team. The boys of summer - plus one girl - will take the field in April 2009.

If you're tired of the old teddy bear and even stuffed hippos aren't raising your pulse any more, you may not be over plushes, you might just need a change of speed. These five furry options might be just what what you, or a picky child in your life, might be looking for.

Bernard Katz is an artist specializing in glass blowing and sculpture. He creates gorgeous sculptures from glass that will brighten up even the dreariest of rooms.