Category:
Asia
Asia
The Treadmill Challenge
Weirdness from the world of Japanese game shows:
Posted By: Alex - Sat Apr 11, 2009 -
Comments (4)
Category: Exercise and Fitness, Games, Television, Asia
Buruma
For a galley of buruma images, most definitely NSFW, visit this site. You will probably have to click on the button labeled TOGGLE VISIBILITY OF MATURE CONTENT.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 07, 2009 -
Comments (2)
Category: Fashion, Underwear, Sexuality, Asia
Temple Explodes the Chicken Cube
One menu listing "temple explodes the chicken cube" I would dismiss as random Engrish. But two menus? Maybe this is a popular dish.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Apr 02, 2009 -
Comments (9)
Category: Food, Asia
Detergent Suicide
I posted last week about how Aokigahara Forest in Japan was a popular destination for those wishing to commit suicide. Another suicide fad in Japan is "Detergent Suicide," which involves gassing yourself by mixing common household chemicals:At least 500 Japanese men, women and children took their lives in the first half of 2008 by following instructions posted on Japanese websites, which describe how to mix bath sulfur with toilet bowl cleaner to create a poisonous gas. One site includes an application to calculate the correct portions of each ingredient based on room volume, along with a PDF download of a ready-made warning sign to alert neighbors and emergency workers to the deadly hazard.
A few cases of Detergent Suicide in the US have experts concerned that the fad may be catching on over here.
An interesting article by sociologist Kayoko Ueno argues that suicide is actually one of the defining features of Japanese society (think of hara-kiri and kamikaze) and one of its major cultural exports:
We, Japanese, are living in an affluent society geographically far away from the Middle East and Russian turmoil, and many of us view the suicide bombing news as an alien event, or something out of a computer game VR (virtual reality). On the other hand, there are some Japanese, especially from the wartime generation, who see the news differently, tracing the suicide bombers’ prototype to Japan’s “Kamikaze”, the suicide air attack squad at the end of World War II. In fact, one of my senior colleagues the other day came to me, pointed at one more such item in the news, and whispered melancholically, “that’s Japan’s invention.”
Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 24, 2009 -
Comments (16)
Category: Death, Suicide, Asia
Coco Zhao
HEADLINE: Jazz Goes to China, Comes Back Weird.Courtesy of Coco Zhao.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Feb 11, 2009 -
Comments (4)
Category: Music, Asia
Sister Mayo
Does the world need the hybrid music of Sister Mayo, blending a squeaky anime voice with Latin American rhythms?Decide for yourself.
Love Tropicana - Sister MAYO
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 27, 2009 -
Comments (5)
Category: Music, Asia, South America
Japanese Food Fair
How many of these foods can you identify?For the answer key, go here.
Japanese Food Fair from timtak on Vimeo.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 25, 2009 -
Comments (7)
Category: Food, Foreign Customs, Asia
Giant Synaptic Sea Cucumber
Apparently, the Cyrene Reef of Singapore features some crazy wildlife.giant synaptic sea cucumber ! ....from outaspace from BeachBum on Vimeo.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 21, 2009 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Asia, Natural Wonders
Super-sized Elephant Ear Plant
Posted By: Paul - Mon Jan 19, 2009 -
Comments (7)
Category: Agriculture, Asia, Natural Wonders
The Tattoo Connection
Feast your eyes upon what one commenter at YouTube has deemed "the worst martial arts movie ever made."The first clip is the trailer for The Tattoo Connection--NSFW, by the way, with a naked woman visible in spots--while the second is part one of ten for the whole film.
Don't be confused by the abrupt opener on part one: that's how the DVD begins, with credits several minutes into the film.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Jan 15, 2009 -
Comments (4)
Category: Stupid Criminals, Martial Arts, Foreign Customs, 1970s, Asia
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |