Chindogu: The Japanese art of creating useless gadgets just because

Although a praiseworthy place, Japan is recognized mainly for its eccentric culture and, say, unconventional customs. As an example, we can cite chindogu, the art of creating useless (usually but not necessarily technological) inventions. Such a term, which to us most resembles a curse, can be translated as a "strange tool."

Initiating this trend was Kenji Kawakami, who for 30 years was editor-in-chief of a mail order magazine. Just for the lulz, Kenji started to use the last pages of the publication with some bizarre prototypes that he himself invented that had not even been made for purchase. Believe it or not, people became interested in the madness of the Asian - and that's when the term was born.

“Basically, the Hindogu c is the same as the British Industrial Revolution. The difference is that while most inventions focus on making life more convenient, chindogu has more disadvantages than precursor products, so people can't sell them, ”explains the madman. "Chindogus aren't exactly useful, but they're not completely useless either, " he adds.

Not so useful, not so useless - just unnecessary

Kenji's first crazy invention was a pair of glasses with a funnel to make it easy to use eye drops without dripping down his cheeks. He also developed a flashlight equipped with sunlight plates - but without rechargeable batteries, which means it only runs on direct power and is useless at night (when a flashlight is actually used).

Want more examples of chindogus? How about chopsticks (those wooden cutlery) equipped with a fan to cool that noodle that's too hot? And a plunger for you to stick to the walls of trains and use as a support not to fall during travel? There are also baby clothes fitted with mops - so little ones crawl and clean the floor at the same time.

Chindogu culture has become so serious that there is already a website of the "International Chindogu Society", with news about the theme and agenda with public displays of useless inventions. By the way, seeing that his art has gained adherents not only in Japan but also around the world, Kenji has laid down a series of rules for an invention to be considered a legitimate chindogu.

According to these boundaries, the items may not be truly useful, but they must really exist (that is, be palpable), respect the spirit of anarchy (representing freedom of thought and creativity) and never be sold. Also, chindogus cannot be patented or licensed.

An industrial counterculture

In the end, this tradition has nothing to do with commerce or entrepreneurship. It is, in fact, an art form or even a hobby - and, of course, a critique of the “millennial inventions” that became feverish after the popularization of crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo. . Let's face it now… A mini camera umbrella to take pictures on rainy days until it's really useful…

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