Gorgeous little needle-felted skull
From Japanese crafter ã†ã‚ã, who is also Flickr user urone317. [via CRAFT]
Made in Japan
Hydrogel is mostly water, but strong as silicone rubber
You’re looking at a piece of hydrogel. It is 98% water by weight. It’s moldable, transparent, environmentally friendly, easily synthesized and (get this) if it’s cut it will heal itself. Its creator, Takuzo Aida at the University of Tokyo, has compared it to silicone rubber in terms of strength. And to make it, all you have to do is stir three ingredients into a bunch of water at room temperature. These are sodium polyacrylate, clay, and a special dendritic macromolecule Aida and co-workers call “G3 binder.”
Japanese wooden humidifier has no moving parts
I have no idea how well it works, but I’m loving the minimalist zen-garden aesthetics of this Mast Humidifier from Masuza. The wood, supposedly, is naturally rot-resistant and imparts a lemony smell to the air. [via Gizmodo]
Paper airplane flight time record achieved
Yesterday, engineer Takuo Toda, president of the Japan origami aeroplane association, set a world flight record for a traditional-origami paper plane of 26.1 seconds. He’s had longer flights, but they involved the use of scissors, tape, or other non-traditional materials. [via Neatorama]
158-lens camera
Built by Associate Professor Yojiro Ishino of the Nagoya Institute of Technology, this giant camera took six months to build and has reportedly been certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the camera with the record-holding highest number of lenses. It’s about 3 inches high and 18.5 inches across, and was built to study flames by capturing them simultaneously from as many angles as possible. [via Neatorama]
Make: Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Made in Japan
The Maker Shed is the exclusive US distributor of Gakken products, allowing shoppers to get high-quality kits from Japan without paying out the nose for shipping costs. Gakken’s kits provide the perfect mix of DIY, science, and history as they entertain as well as educate. Gakken’s popularity is certainly not limited to Japan, as their […]
Mystery iPhone musical instrument – World’s most expensive ocarina
MAKE Japan is having a meet up, check out this iPhone instrument! It looks like 3 iPhones mounted to a laser cut body and the player “blows” to produce music!
