请输入您要查询的百科知识：

　

词条 Chindōgu
释义

  1. Background

  2. In the media

  3. See also

  4. References

  5. Further reading

  6. External links

{{italics title}}{{Multiple issues|{{refimprove|date=December 2009}}{{original research|date=December 2009}}
}}{{nihongo|Chindōgu|珍道具}} is a prank originating from Japan, which is done by a person seemingly inventing ingenious everyday gadgets that seem like an ideal solution to a particular problem, but are in fact nothing more than a useless gag.[1]

Background

Literally translated, chindōgu means {{nihongo|unusual|珍|chin}} {{nihongo|tool|道具|dōgu}}. The term was coined by Kenji Kawakami, a Japanese inventor and editor of the magazine "Mail Order Life." Kawakami himself said that a more appropriate translation is "weird tool". Dan Papia then introduced it to the English-speaking world and popularized it as a monthly feature in his magazine, Tokyo Journal, encouraging readers to send in ideas. Kawakami and Papia collaborated on the English language book 101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions: The Art of Chindōgu in 1995.

Examples from the books include:

  • A combined household duster and cocktail-shaker, for the housewife who wants to reward herself as she is going along.
  • The all-day tissue dispenser, which is basically a toilet roll fixed on top of a hat, for hay fever sufferers.
  • Duster slippers for cats, so they can help out with the housework.
  • The all-over plastic bathing suit, to enable people who suffer from aquaphobia to swim without coming into contact with water.
  • The baby mop, an outfit worn by babies, so that as they crawl around, the floor is cleaned.[2]
  • The selfie stick, which was featured in a 1995 book of "101 Un-Useless Japanese Inventions". While dismissed as a "useless invention" at the time, it later gained global popularity in the 21st century.[3]

In the media

Chindōgu and its creator Kenji Kawakami also became a regular feature on a children's television show produced by the BBC called It'll Never Work?, a show in a similar vein as the BBC's Tomorrow's World; however, It'll Never Work usually focused more on wacky and humorous gadgets than on serious scientific and technological advances.

See also

  • Absurdism
  • Heath Robinson
  • Jacques Carelman
  • Jugaad, a similar Indian concept
  • Kludge, a clever but inelegant solution to a problem
  • List of Japanese inventions
  • Rube Goldberg
  • Satire

References

1. ^{{cite book|title=99 More Unuseless Japanese Inventions: The Art of Chindogu|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glPlutxZ_ggC|date=January 1998|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-31743-5}}
2. ^{{cite book|last=Szpirglas|first=Jeff|others=Dave Whamond|title=They Did WHAT?!: Your Guide to Weird and Wacky Things People Do|year=2005|publisher=Maple Tree Press|location=Hong Kong|isbn=1-897066-23-6|page=60|chapter=Amazing Amusing Inventions}}
3. ^{{cite web|url=http://news.distractify.com/alex-scola/but-first/|title=Turns Out Japan Invented The 'Selfie-Stick' 20 Years Ago|author=Alex Scola|work=Distractify|deadurl=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109130439/http://news.distractify.com/alex-scola/but-first/|archivedate=2015-01-09|df=}}

Further reading

  • [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/20/world/asia/20japan.html Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place], Martin Fackler. The New York Times, October 20, 2007.
  • The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions, Kenji Kawakami, trans. Dan Papia, ed. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Norton: New York, 2005.

External links

  • Chindōgu Society Official Homepage {{jp icon}}
  • Interview with Kenji Kawakami
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chindogu}}

2 : Japanese culture|Japanese inventions
随便看

　

开放百科全书收录14589846条英语、德语、日语等多语种百科知识，基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识，是一部内容自由、开放的电子版国际百科全书。

　

Copyright © 2023 OENC.NET All Rights Reserved
京ICP备2021023879号 更新时间：2024/9/22 8:33:15