You have definitely seen a chindogu.
A 360-degree camera hat for taking panoramic pictures.
Chindogus are not exactly useful, but somehow not altogether useless either, says Kawakami.
He has another word for these silly little contraptionsunuseless.
The Eye Drop Funnel Glasses was one of the first product to feature in the magazine.
Kawakami claims that he actually uses this tool to hydrate his eyes without the medicine rolling down his cheek.
Another early chindogu was the Solar-powered Flashlight with a huge solar panel that Kawakami built himself.
Instead, it needed full sunshine to function, which renders the flashlight useless.
Over the years, he developed a set of rulesthe 10 tenetsfor proper chindogu creation.
These ten commandments of chindogu are as follows:
A baby romper that also functions as a mop.
According to a 2001 article on Japan Times, Kawakami has made over 600 chindogu since he began inventing.
I despise materialism and how everything is turned into a commodity, the 70-year-old inventoronce said.
Things that should belong to everyone are patented and turned into private property.
However, this has not stopped others from stealing his ideas.
One of his invention, a two-sided slippers can be bought at a well-known Japanese chain store.
Some people have no principles, he says in disgust.
Theyll do anything for money.
In Europe they treat me as an artist.
In Australia and Canada, Im called a scientist.
In China and Hong they wonder why I dont give a shot to make money from my inventions.
But in Japan and the US, they consider me a maker of party goods, Kawakami bemoans.
Noodles cooler
This back-scratch guide t-shirt makes scratching your friends back easier.
Butter-stick
Shoe broom and dustpan
Eye drop funnel glasses
Finger toothbrush
Flu headset
Lipstick guide.
This one is interesting.
This is a selfie stick published in one of Kawakamis books prompting the apparently useless unit as a chindogu.
The book was published in the mid-90s, years before selfie stick became popular.
Subway sleeper
Umbrella for camera
Umbrella for shoes
