Roundup: Inventions!

Japan has a talent for coming up with inventions that you had no idea you didn't need. The harvest over the last few weeks has been varied, both in quality and unexpectedness, but therein lies the beauty.


Umbrella speakers!

Yes, umbrella speakers. Developed by Keio University and Toa Engineering, they look just like traditional umbrellas of bamboo and oiled paper. But when you plug your mp3 player into one, four motors on the edge of the umbrella will turn the canopy into a big speaker-cone. Like in this picture I've stolen:


The umbrellas are going on sale next year for just under £50.

NTT are Japan's biggest telecommunications company, and they've invented shoes that generate electricity when you walk. They haven't been named yet, but I'm already calling them "ThunderShoes".


The ThunderShoes generate enough electricity to power an iPod, but you need to keep walking because the Shoes don't store their Thunder. It works using some kind of liquid in the sole that powers a mini turbine generator. We're now one inch closer to an Iron-Man suit.

The last invention today is Bandai's new Curry Bath Powder. Do you have small children that don't like bathtime? Just use Curry Bath Powder, and you can properly scar them for life!


The four types are "sweet", "hot", "very hot", and "white stew", and not only do they smell like the real thing, they also turn your bathwater the corresponding colour just to really freak you the fuck out. It isn't nearly as good as Bandai's Bubble Money bath product, which has unfortunately sold out.