think it’s time for something on the lighter side, some comic relief as it were. with that in mind i give you chindogu: the not-so-ancient Japanese art of inventing ingenious everyday gadgets that, on the face of it, seem like an ideal solution to a particular problem. However, Chindogu has a distinctive feature: anyone actually attempting to use one of these inventions, would find that it causes so many new problems, or such significant social embarrassment, that effectively it has no utility whatsoever. Thus, Chindogu are sometimes described as ‘unuseless’ - that is, they cannot be regarded as ‘useless’ in an absolute sense, since they do actually solve a problem; however, in practical terms, they cannot positively be called ‘useful’. the following are 12 examples culled from the pages of the book 101 unuseless inventions.

personal rain saver

ten-in-one gardening tool



umbrella head band



vertigo soothing glasses



portable office tie



360 degree panoramic camera



cockroach swatting slippers



detachable tooth covers



hay fever hat



solar powered lighter



fresh air mask



the noodle eater’s hair guard

hee hee.

for a little more on the subject see here and here. also check out design boom’s history of useless inventions. g’night.