Bento, or I think Kawamari, is the Japanese art of creating a product that is very useful and useless at the same time. To say more will detain you from the pleasures of this book. A strange classic? (

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stipe168 | Jan 10, 2007 |

How can I rate this book? It contains inventions that are incredibly silly, wacky and clever. It is a very quick read, it can be done as a flip, yet it will be guanrenteed to make you smile at least once, and probably laugh out loud. This is a great coffee table book and a great gift as well! (

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WittyreaderLI | Oct 17, 2006 |

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Amazon.com Book Description (ISBN 0393326764, Paperback)

From the land of the rising sun, strangely practical and utterly eccentric inventions for a life of ease—and hilarity.

In Japan Kenji Kawakami is famous for his tireless promotion of Chindogu: the art of the unuseless idea. Meant to solve problems of modern life, these bizarre and logic-defying gadgets and gizmos are actually entirely impractical.

Addicts of the unuseless will love this collection of 200 Chindogu, including the Drymobile (your laundry dries as you drive), the Solar-Powered Torch (never runs low on batteries), Duster Slippers for Cats (now the most boring job around the house becomes hours of fun...for your cat!), Walk 'n' Wash Ankle-attachable Laundry Tanks (a perfect solution for the problems of inadequate exercise and hygiene), and many, many more...

These hilarious inventions have taken Japan by storm. Every one of the 200 items in The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions has actually been manufactured to the highest standards, fully tested by pioneering members of the Japanese public, and documented in their unuselessness with 442 color photographs.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:52 -0400)

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