101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions

by Kawakami and Kenji Kawakami

Book Overview

A collection of the author's most imaginative Chindohgu, otherwise known as unuseless ideas, includes the bath body suit and the walk 'n' wash ankle-attachable laundry tank.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393313697
• ISBN13: 9780393313697
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Funniest Book I Have

This book is the funniest one on our shelves. The pictures and text are hilarious. It is great to get it out every now and again and laugh yourself silly.My descriptions will not do the book justice [you will need to see the pictures to appreciate what I am saying], but here are a few of my favourite unuseless inventions featured in the book:Duster Slippers for Cats [socks for your cat, with little mops attached, so that the cat dusts the floor as it moves around]The Backscratcher's T Shirt [which has a grid on it so that you can tell people exactly where to scratch]The Hydrophobe's Bath Body Suit [so that you can have a bath without getting wet]The Heavy Smoker's Mask [so that you can smoke 14 cigarettes at once]Highly recommended

Brilliantly, absurdly funny

I like the Chindogu concept as much as I like the inventions themselves! Before reading, please read the 10 Tenets of Chindogu! From time to time, it's good to see people who are willing to make a huge effort for absurdity's sake. Even the text is painstakingly worded to maximize the humor of each invention--I ate up the words like they were sushi. If you are the kind of person who is into prop conversation pieces, this is a good addition if you don't already have it. Perfect for rescuing yourself from awkward moments, as well as delighting others with many hysterical laughs. And I wonder how many true "useful" inventions have been born out of contemplating these "unuseless" ones? (Probably not TOO many!)

Don't send flowers to the hospital; send this book.

Some say that laughter has curative properties. I highly recommend this book as a gift for sick people. I enjoyed it so much myself that I gave a copy to a friend in the hospital for major surgery, warning her not to read it until her stitches could bear the strain of laughing, and it was a tremendous hit. I am ordering more now for other ill friends. None of the inventions are commercially viable; the book says that if any should come on the market, they will be removed from the "chindogu" list. Nevertheless, there is a certain silly logic to them that makes most of them hilarious.

HYSTERICAL!

This book is so hillarious. I love it! It can really cheer you up

THIS BOOK KICKS!!!!

I love this book, if your interested in the japanese or like inventions of many things this book is for you! some of the coolest things out there are in this book, you should check it out yourself. its really worth it