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. **

Big in Japan: Cell phones don’t give you brain cancer

by Matthew Firestone on

In this day and age of modern convenience, it seems that just about everything can kill you…

Not surprisingly, we live in a culture of fear where everything from artificial sweeteners and egg yolks to acid wash jeans and hair dye can give you cancer.

And of course, there is no greater culprit out there than the cellular phone, which beams high energy waves directly into your brain causing irrevocable damage.

(Or, at least that’s what the media would have you believe.)

Although several studies in the past have suggested that extended cell phone use may lead to brain cancer, a new study out of Japan suggests otherwise.

According to a recent study at Tokyo Women’s Medical University, researchers found no increased risk of the three main types of brain cancer among regular cellular phone users.

In other words, extended cell phone use most likely does not raise the risk of developing brain tumors.

Shocked?
Skeptical?
Doubtful?
Intrigued?

Before moving to Japan, I used to be an epidemiologist in a former life (seriously!), so let me do my best to explain why you shouldn’t feel guilty about your ‘free nights and weekends’ cell plan.

In a study published in the British Journal of Cancer, Japanese researchers compared 322 brain cancer patients and 683 healthy people in a trial to determine the long-term effects of using cell phones.

The researchers rated each test subject to determine two important variables: how many years they had been using a cell phone, and how many minutes they spent talking on it each day.

In what is being described as a breakthrough research method, the researchers also studied the radiation emitted from various types of cell phones, and categorized them based on radiation strength.

(In layman’s terms, we’re talking about how zap to the brain each phone lets out.)

Are you with me so far? Hope so!

According to lead researcher Professor Naohito Yamaguchi, “Using our newly developed and more accurate techniques, we found no association between mobile phone use and cancer, providing more evidence to suggest they don’t cause brain cancer.”

So there it is.

(Well, sort of…)

You see, the problem with medical science is that you can never fully prove or disapprove an association.

But, you can provide evidence to suggest the likelihood of one way or the other, which is why popular opinion on whether or not something is good for you can quickly swing.

However, most studies to date have suggested that cell phone usage is not association with an increased risk of cancer. The largest study to date, which followed 420,000 people for ten years, failed to find any evidence of a cancer trend.

So do cell phones give you brain cancer?

Most likely not, though it is impossible to rule out the long-term effects as cell phones haven’t been around long enough to analyze the effects of lifetime usage.

So, hopefully we should all have an answer to this question sometime in the next few decades…

Isn’t science fun?

** Brain image sourced from the Wikimedia Commons Project. Keitai images were shot by me on Takeshita-dori in Harajuku**

Big in Japan: Drinking breast milk and other bizarre fetishes

by Matthew Firestone on

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which means that a lot of people out there are searching for Mr. and Mrs. Right…

But, in this bustling modern day age of midnight deadlines and overtime-laden schedules, who has the time to put themselves out there and find true love?

Then again, for anyone keen on avoiding the trials and tribulations of the dating game, you can always take out a classified advertisement.

Although it may not be romantic, classified ads are certainly quick, easy and functional.

And, if you happen to be looking for something a bit more – how shall we say this – kinky, they’re also a great way of maintaining your anonymity.

In Tokyo, the much-loved Metropolis magazine runs what is perhaps the most famous classified ads section in Japan, especially for anyone out there with an unusual fetish.

In a special list compiled this week, Metropolis gave us all an insight into just how bizarre Tokyoites and resident foreigners can be.

Don’t believe me? Check this one out:

Breast milk wanted. British guy, 33, looking for a kind woman of any nationality, ideally under 40, who can feed a hungry boy. 100% confidential. My first time.

It gets weirder…keep on reading if you don’t believe me!

This Valentine’s Day, it seems that infidelity is in the air, especially since breaking the sacred bonds of marriage seems to be about as popular here in Tokyo as the new line of Luis Vuiton handbags.

Looking to put a bit of spice back into your married life?

Try having an affair!

Not sure where to start?

Here are some lonely people who can help you rekindle that old flame:

– Unhappily married man. Love humor, fun, relaxing, playing, thinking, sex, reading, learning, honesty, trust, really bad jokes, singing off-key. Hate vegetables, Bush, unhappiness.

– JM, married but tall, fit and very handsome, seeks woman for discreet meetings. I’m tired of marital days. Good-looking Caucasian or Asian girl preferred.

– Bored.in.my.marriage.com. Are you stuck at this address? If your husband doesn’t love, physically excite or listen to you, I’ll do it for him. For both of us. Lovers first.

– Fun sex friend. Seeking discreet sex friend for rendezvous in Shibuya. Ideally looking for a sex-starved married woman. I’ll bring the Viagra, you just have to bring yourself. Handsome, kind and fit American seeks married Japanese lady for nothing but good times! Remember, you only live once. So come on.

Of course, for those of us not into extra-marital affairs, there’s no shortage of strange fetishists out there looking for a special kind of love/lust this V-day season.

How strange is the dating scene in Tokyo you ask?

Let’s just say that the following classified ads certainly speak for themselves!

Kinky lady. Open-minded, uninhibited, wild, curious, humorous, good-looking, SJM, 30s, seeks female for kinky fun. Just licking and cleaning all her holes, and drinking and wearing her golden water!

Italian man, new in Kawasaki, wants chubby or quasi-fat lady to be with. Should enjoy eating. Any nationality.

(Here’s the kicker…)

A little different. 55-year-old Western businessman, into wearing diapers. Who wants to email me?

Wow – you know what? I think this Valentine’s Day, I’ll just settle for a cold beer and dinner for one at my favorite ramen noodle shop…

From all of us here at Gadling to all of you out there in cyberspace, hope you’ve found love this V-day season that doesn’t involve drinking breast milk, golden water (gross) and wearing diapers!

** All images sourced from the Wikimedia Commons Project **

Photo of the day (02/11/08)

by Iva Skoch on

Granted, this photo doesn’t exactly scream “travel”, but who knows, the bride could have traveled from anywhere to get married at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. Plus, Valentine’s day is coming up, which gives us a little creative “travel/love” license.

It is an amazing moment the photographer, LeeLeFever, has captured here. The snow. The stunning bride, radiating happiness, surrounded by two people who clearly take the situation very seriously. The detail of their clothes. Did I mention the snow?

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

Big in Japan: Iaidō is the world’s most bad-ass martial art!

by Matthew Firestone on

From Afro-Brazilian capoeira to Muay Thai kickboxing, there is no shortage of bad-ass martial arts out there…

However, although I can guarantee that you’ve never heard of Iaid? (??????), it’s probably the most bad-ass martial art ever!

Literally translated into English as the “the way of mental presence and immediate reaction,” Iaid? is a Japanese martial art entirely dedicated to the katana (???) or samurai sword.

Of course, unlike the slash ’em up antics of 1970s Kung Fu action flicks, Iaid? emphasizes controlled movements, quick unsheathes, deadly strikes, blood removal and quick sheathes.

So, to put things into better context, Iaid? essentially boils down to killing your opponent and cleaning his blood off of your sword in the minimal number of steps.

According to a friend of mine who studies the art, “Iaid? is a perfect martial art for honing your reaction time. It also teaches you how to eliminate three opponents in only seven moves, which can be executed with flawless precision in between sips of macha green tea.”

Awesome.

Intrigued about this deadly yet efficient martial art? Keep reading to learn why Iaid? clearly holds the title for the world’s most bad-ass martial art!

According to martial arts historians, a legendary samurai known as Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu is credited with establishing Iaidō sometime in the early 16th century.

However, the fine art of drawing the katana in battle, which is known in Japanese as battōjutsu (抜刀術), has its origins in the 15th century.

Literally translated into English as the “the technique of drawing the sword,” battōjutsu is a technical art form dedicated to slicing an opponent to death in battle.

In keeping with the tradition of restraint and control emphasized by Bushidō (武士道) or the samurai code, the ultimate goal of battōjutsu was to strike down your opponent in the minimum number of moves.

Of course, the term battōjutsu eventually gave way to Iaidō, a word that incorporates the suffix -dō, which implies philosophy and spirituality.

Thanks to this linguistic construction, the deadly art of honed, precision killing was elevated to a religious level.

As with all Japanese marital arts, Iaidō is a refined discipline that can take several lifetimes to perfect.

Students of this art must first learn to control their psychological state of being present. After they have mastered this, they must learn to respond to a sudden attack in a calm and collected manner. Following the vanquish of their opponent(s), they must return to their resting state as quickly as possible.

Beginners often practice these three pathways in combative postures or standing positions. However, advanced students expand on these forms by learning how to react from difficult starting positions, such as sitting with your legs crossed and drinking tea.

After all, a true samurai never knows when their tea time might be interrupted by hell-bent ninjas emerging from the shadows.

(I told you this martial art was bad-ass!)

** All images were courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons Project **