Inventors have been registering bright ideas with the some patent offices in the world for over150 years
How has technology changed the world? While the flush toilet, aspirin, the computer, the pill, the photo-copier and the mobile phone have proved invaluable, the same cannot be said of every innovation. But, huuu… , what makes a good invention?
Graph 1 - A ‘alarm fork’: you should care about calories when you eat too much.
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‘chindogu’ is the Japanese word coined for the art of the un-useless idea. Strangely practical and utterly eccentric inventions for a life of ease and hilarity have taken the land of the rising sun by storm. Meant to solve the niggling problems of modern life, these bizarre and logic defying gadgets and gizmos have a tendency to fail completely. Addicts of the un-useless all over the world- love this collection.
The art of chindogu was born in the late 1980s when amateur inventor Kenji Kawakami discovered that a not-quite-usable idea for a new gadget or product could nonetheless be enjoyable if one were to create a prototype and take delight in the way it misses its mark.
The term ‘chindogu’ entered the English vocabulary in 1991 when the senior society member Dan Papia ( the president of chindogu society America ) published an article on the subject in Japan’s leading English-language magazine –‘Tokyo journal’
The 10 tenets of chindogu
1. A chindogu cannot be for real use
It is fundamental to the spirit of chindogu that inventions claiming chindogu status must be, from a practical point of view, ( almost ) completely useless. If you invent something which turns out to be so handy that you use it all the time, then you have failed to make a chindogu
2. A chindogu must exist
you are not allowed to use a chindogu, but it must be made. You have to be able to hold it in your hand and think, “I can actually imagine someone using this. Almost! “
In order to be useless, it must first be.
3. Inherent in every chindogu is the spirit of anarchy
Chindogu are manmade objects that have broken free from the chains of usefulness. They represent freedom of thought and action: the freedom to challenge the suffocating historical dominance of conservative utility; the freedom to be (almost) useless.
4. Chindogu are tools for every day life
Chindogu are a form of nonverbal communication understandable to everyone, everywhere. Specialized or technical inventions, like a three-handled sprocket loosener for drainpipes centered between two under-the sink cabinet door (the useness of which will only be appreciated by plumbers) do not count.
5. Humor must not be the sole reason for creating a chindogu.
The creation of chindogu is fundamentally a problem-solving activity. Humor is simply the by-product of finding an elaborate or unconventional solution to a problem that may not have been that pressing to begin with.
6. Chindogu are not for sale
Chindogu are not tradable commodities. If you accept money for one, you surrender your purity. They must not even be sold as a joke
7. Chindogu cannot be patented
Chindogu are offerings to the rest of the world, they are not therefore ideas to be copyrighted, patented, collected and owned.
8. chindogu is not propaganda
Chindogu are innocent. they are made to be used
Even though they cannot be used, they should not be created as a perverse or ironic comment on the sorry state of mankind.
9. chindogu are never taboo
The international chindogu society has established certain standards of social decency. Cheap sexual innuendo humor of a vulgar nature, and sick or cruel jokes that debase the sanctity of living things are not allowed.
10 Chindogu are without prejudice
Chindogu must never favor one race or religion over another. Young and ol, male and female, rich and poor, all should have a free and equal chance to enjoy each and every chindogu
Kenji Kawakami was editor of a popular Japanese home shopping magazine, in which the concept of 'chindogu' was first born. He is the founder of the 10,000-strong international chindogu society - for the better understanding and appreciation of the tenets of chindogu. See the website for an interview with this chindogu champion Kawakami: http://www.japaninc.com/article.php?articleID=762
Some pictures of funny inventions are prepared, and each group will have different pictures from which other groups have. Some of the items shown are defined as chindogu, but some of them are real products. This meeting will be hold by following the instructions below:
SESSION I ：GUESSING
GUESSING：
1. First, find out what use each item is for (what the item is made for?). That is, what is the function of each item and how or when to use it.
2. Find out which ones are chindogu based on the 10 tenets of chindogu.
Name the items and explain why you think they should be chindogu. (In each group, two or three of these items are chindogu).
This discussion should contain the following points：
● What are chindogu?
● Does chindogu make sense under some conditions?
If the answer is yes, what do you think these conditions are?
3. The representative of each group should report which items your group think are chindogu and why you make such decisions.
SESSION II：PROMOTING (and VOTING)
PROMOTING：
1. Decide which two items are most likely to be hot products, and name them.
Tell us why you think the chosen items have a potential market?
This discussion should contain the following points：
● What are these items made for? When and how to use them?
● Who will be the potential customers for the chosen items?
● Well, a right store or spot bring great customers. Where should the chosen items be placed to attract potential customers? (Which kind of store or section in a supermarket, etc.)?
● What your price strategy for the chosen items? set up price for them.
2. In order to win in the voting for the hottest product, the representative of each group should report what the selling points of the two chosen items are, how or where to use it, what advantages we will have when using it, where we can get it, and so on.
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6:45 ~ 7:00pm Greetings and free talk among members and guests /taking individual orders/getting newcomers' information
7:00 ~ 7:10pm Opening remarks/ Brief self-introduction/ Grouping
(Session I)
7:10 ~ 7:50pm discussion session (40 mins)
7:50 ~ 8:15pm summarization (25 mins)
8:15 ~ 8:20pm Regrouping & instruction giving
(Session II)
8:20 ~ 8:25pm Taking a break (Intermission)
8:25 ~ 9:00pm discussion session (35 mins)
9:00 ~9:15pm summarization (15 mins)
9:15 ~ 9:20pm Concluding remarks/feedback from newcomers/ announcements
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聚會時間：2008/11/12˙ (星期三) 請準時 6:45 pm 到 ~ 約 9:20 pm 左右結束
聚會地點：日安。KAFFA 北市南京東路三段303巷24號 (02)2719-7895
捷運南京東路站（木柵線）
走法: 出捷運南京東路站後, 順著慶城街直走 5 分鐘到 "萊爾富便利超商" 時, 右轉直走 30 公尺即可看到 "日安。KAFFA"
給新朋友的話：
1. 請事先準備2~3分鐘的英語自我介紹；會議結束前可能會請你發表1~2分鐘的感想。
2. 請事先閱讀文章以及主持人所提的討論問題，並事先寫下自己所欲發表意見的英文。
3. 全程以英語進行，參加者應具備中等英語會話能力，對任一討論問題，能夠以5到10句英文表達個人見解。
4. 在正式加入之前（繳交可退還之保證金NT$1,000)，可以先來觀摩三次(觀摩者亦須參與討論)。
Wwaaa ha ha ha 
