One of the things that makes this country interesting is that here you can see some crazy things you normally won’t see anywhere else on earth. Yes! Japan is the birthplace of some wacky stuff. And… even if you don’t personally see them, you won’t get surprised when you are told about their existence in this country because…hey! it’s Japan and you can expect things like dancing robots  or used- schoolgirl -panties’ vending machines (I have never seen them, but I have heard so many people talk about them, I got to check them out)

One crazy invention I came across with (sent via facebook by a friend) is … the cat ears that move according to your “mood”. These ears are actually “connected” to your brain! :

Check out the video : Necomimi

Another crazy invention that  I actually did see was the …..”Menstruation Machine”. Yep, wacky invention indeed! Now I was in a conference about art in Tokyo the day of the earthquake last march. Just after a couple of minutes the creator of this machine, a girl named Hiromi Ozaki, started to explain how this machine works, the eathquake started… in a conference room in an 11th floor in Ginza (but that is just another story). The machine makes men feel the pain and the whole thing about what we girls experience every month. Not very pretty to see, but yeap, it exists! And boys, you can try it on! ( I do remember her saying that it only fits Japanese man and that she had to create a larger size for American men)

And the video: Menstruation machine

Now what about high tech toilets in Japan? Let’s not go far and find complicated stuff. When you live here for a while, it becomes normal to sit on the sophisticated toilets with complicated array of buttons on the side, ranging from the temperature and force of the water that will clean your bottom to the “Sound princess” ( the button that we girls use to camouflage the ‘unladylike noises’ with flushing sounds). Admit it!!, how many of us Gaijin are baffled by a Japanese high tech toilet when we first see one? 🙂 Not to mention that there are some that are self cleaning!

I could write about a lot of  inventions the Japanese have done.. the list is not exhaustive, specially the wacky ones, but here are some that just failed to do the purpose or never really took off, you judge (I even dare you google them, it’s hilarious):

The baby mop (no, really!!! a baby mop?)

My favorite: The helmet that will keep your head from tilting while you sleep and displays a tag with your station name so people wake you up when you get there:

there is also this one, the tripod,because not getting a seat doesn’t mean not being able to sleep:

Anyway, I have never seen these last 3  inventions, like I said , they never took off, but they are funny!!!

and there are more and more…. check them out in the internet 🙂