From Wikipedia:Chindōgu (珍道具) is the not-so-ancient Japanese art of inventing ingenious everyday gadgets that, on the face of it, seem like an ideal solution to a particular problem. However, Chindōgu has a distinctive feature: anyone actually attempting to use one of these inventions, would find that it causes so many new problems, or such significant social embarrassment, that effectively it has no utility whatsoever. Thus, Chindōgu are sometimes described as 'unuseless' - that is, they cannot be regarded as 'useless' in an absolute sense, since they do actually solve a problem; however, in practical terms, they cannot positively be called 'useful'.
the noodle eater’s hair guard
hay fever hat
umbrella head band
portable office tie
360 degree panoramic camera
ten-in-one gardening tool
personal rain saver
Via, with a couple more examples and further links.
2 comments:
i TOTALLY bought and used the noodle hair guard when I was kid...except it was advertised as a way to prevent shampoo from getting into kids' eyes. It was pretty damn useful.
hum... does that mean it's not a Chindogu anymore?
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