The Ig Nobel Japan Tour — September 20-28

Please join us for any or all of the Ig Nobel events in Japan: Ig Nobel Japan Tour September 20, Thursday—Nerd Nite Tokyo, Nagatacho GRID, Tokyo, Japan.— A very jet-lagged Marc Abrahams will discuss the Ig Nobel Prizes. September 21, Friday— Special Pre-Show Press Opening of the Ig Nobel Exhibition—AaMo Gallery at the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan. —Marc Abrahams and several Ig Nobel Prize […]

Cuteness Engineering (2017 book)

Are you looking for a “state of the art monograph which presents a unique introduction to thinking about cuteness and its incorporation into modern, especially computer-based, products and services” ? If so, you could consult Cuteness Engineering : Designing Adorable Products and Services (Springer International Publishing, Hardback £61.99 or e-Book £48.99). Here is an example chapter […]

“Japanese toilet industry agrees to standardize complex bidet controls”

User interface issues are not glamorous — but they do matter. Many irksome problems linger for years or decades. Sam Byford reports, in The Verge, on a cleansing case: Japanese toilet industry agrees to standardize complex bidet controls The Japan Sanitary Equipment Industry Association, a consortium of companies producing plumbing products including Toto, Panasonic, and […]

Report of the scientific investigation: Can farts be lit on fire by a laser?

There was indeed a scientific investigation after the (widely reported) fire that ignited during a patient’s cervical conization procedure at the University of Tokyo Hospital, causing “a wide range of burns [to the] thighs [and] rear” to the patient. That scientific report is lavishly illustrated with photographs. To determine whether the accident could have been caused by an […]