The art of chindogu

'Chindogu' is the japanese word coined for the art of the unuseless idea.
Meant to solve the niggling problems of modern life, these gadgets and gizmos have a tendency to fail completely.

The art of chindogu was born in the late 1980's when Kenji Kawakami discovered that a goofy idea for a gadget or product could be enjoyable if one were to create a prototype and take delight in the way it misses its mark.

Not any invention can claim the right to be a chindogu, a series of tenents have to be respected.
(pictures of Japanese useless inventions)

The above 'butter stick' was invented in 1995, but not patented.

However, Ted van Cleave launched a web site starring 'totally absurd inventions'. And some of them have been patented. Among them, the wearable dog house, the Motorized Ice Cream Cone or the Marilyn Manson Exercise Suit.

Designboom < Burp < Montage.