Big in Japan: Origami planes to be launched into outer space

by Matthew Firestone on

Origami is awesome!

(If you agree with me, then you’ll love today’s posting!)

My obsession with all things Japanese started at a young when I started folding paper cranes out of notebook pages instead of paying attention in class.

Known as origami (????????, paper-folding), this ancient Japanese art seeks to transform a piece of paper into a 3-dimensional object, preferably without cutting or gluing.

So, while my teachers may have thought that I was goofing off, I was actually practicing a centuries’ old art form that dates back to the Japanese Edo period.

Anyway, according to The Times of London, origami is about to be taken into the final frontier, namely outer space.

Seriously.

In a bold attempt to bring increased global attention to this slowly dying art form (as well as the slowly dying Japanese conventional space program!), Japan plans to release a huge squadron of paper airplanes into the stratosphere.

Seriously – I’m not making this up!

These experimental origami space shuttles, which are estimated to number in the hundreds, will be launched into the heavens later this year.

Upon being released, they will be captured by the Earth’s gravitational pull, and glide down towards the surface like kamikaze bombers from the stars.

Keep reading…it gets even cooler!

The man behind the madness is Shinichi Suzuki, a professor at the extremely prestigious University of Tokyo (東京大学), which is something akin to the Harvard of Japan.

According to Professor Suzuki, astronomers will be given plenty of warning of the planes’ descents as he believes it will take several months for the space armada to glide from the upper atmosphere to the planet’s surface.

If successful, the planes would qualify for the longest ever flight by a paper plane!

If successful, each plane’s journey will have been around 250 miles or 400km!

So, how does one exactly fold origami planes capable of travelling hundreds of miles through the earth’s atmosphere without burning up into huge fire balls??

Good question!

First of all, the paper aircraft will be constructed from a special heat-proofed paper able to withstand the intense heat that stellar objects experience when they enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

And, the paper will also be chemically fortified to survive the enormous speeds that the planes will be travelling at during descent.

According to Professor Suzuki, the origami planes will each measure around 8 inches (20 cm), and weigh just one ounce (30 grams).

This compact size will enable them to be hurled into space by Japanese astronauts when they visit the International Space Station later this summer.

So, do we have to worry about being pelted from above by kamikaze origami? Most likely not.

Assuming the planes don’t disintegrate, they will probably splashdown in the deep ocean, much like the early Apollo space missions.

However, if one floats down to solid ground, the lucky finder can actually unfold the plane and discover the return address of the Japan Space Agency!

Just ask Professor Suzuki…

“It’s going to be the space version of a message in a bottle. It will be great if someone picks one up. We are thinking of writing messages on the planes saying ‘if found, please contact us’ in a couple of languages.”

Gotta’ love the Japanese!

** All of the photos in this article were taken by Kiyoshi Ota of the Asia division of Reuters News. They were originally published in The Times. **

China bans ghost stories

by Aaron Hotfelder on

There will be no spooky slumber-party tales for Chinese children anymore, at least if the government has its way. As China prepares for the 2008 Olympics, the government is attempting to rid the country of any evidence of vulgarity. Recently, China banned “vulgar” ads for items like brassieres and sex-enhancing drugs (even provocative sounds such as “ooh” and “ahh” were banned from airwaves). Last week, China went one step further and banned ghost stories.

That’s right. Ghost stories.

Any video or audio content containing ghosts or monsters needs to be reported to authorities in the next few weeks. Reuters quotes the administration in saying that offending content includes “wronged spirits and violent ghosts, monsters, demons, and other inhuman portrayals, strange and supernatural storytelling for the sole purpose of seeking terror and horror.”

Reuters suggests that China “is keen to step up its control of the cultural arena ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August, which are widely seen as a coming-out party for the rising political and economic power.”

Major League prank: “You’ve been traded to Japan”

by Aaron Hotfelder on

This, without a doubt, is one of the best pranks I’ve ever seen. The Philadelphia Phillies’ manager and assistant general manager tell one of their young players, Kyle Kendrick, that he’s been traded to Japan for a player named Kobayashi.

More here.

And be sure to check out Gadling’s guide to Spring Training baseball here.

The Maldives, where tourists and extremists mingle

by Iva Skoch on

As for anyone who likes to dive, the Maldives have been high on my list for years. I have heard that virtually all of the 1200 coral islands are magnificent and the diving incredible. I haven’t been able to swing a trip there yet, but I am thinking I should do so very soon.

This week’s The Economist article “Sea, Sun and Jihad” talks about the rising tendency of Islamic extremism in The Maldives, the richest country in South Asia in terms of GDP per capita. In January, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was rescued from a knife attack when visiting one of the islands. Last September, terrorists detonated a bomb in the capital Male, injuring 12 tourists. The Maldives government says that there is no evidence of international terrorism. Instead, it blames homegrown terrorists. Is that better, I wonder?

The attempts to impose a state-sponsored moderate Islam have no been successful. The Economist is saying that it is the political uncertainty of the Maldives that is providing a space in which Islamist extremism can grown. The country’s first multi-party election is due this year. Let’s hope things get better.

Photo of the Day (02/18/08)

by Iva Skoch on

I love the reflection in the wet pavement. Shanghai can look like so many different cities, depending on where in the city you take the photo. This one, taken by petetamproductions reminds me of Paris.

With that said, I think this lens has definitely been kind to Shanghai. I have stayed on that street and it wasn’t quite so sophisticated or so shiny.

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr site and post it.***