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Japanese Gadget Has Plants Talking Back
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 27, 2006 Japanese romantics will have the chance to hear some truly flowery language with the help of a playful gadget purported to express the feelings of plants. Through the voice of a small doll, the device will share what the plant is supposedly 'thinking' when a person strokes it. The "Hanakotoba", or "Communication Flower", consists of a small rod topped with a fairy figurine that can be put inside a potted plant or vase of water. When the owner touches the stem or leaves, a small electric current passes from the rod through a wire to a small doll. "What a beautiful day!" the doll, wearing a green vest and cone hat, will say once the flower is touched, or "Let's stay friends forever!" Hanakotoba has up to 200 different phrases, some as potentially uncomfortable as "Do you have a boyfriend?" The gadget, made by Japanese toymaker E-revolution, is the latest creation of Masahiko Kajita, who scored a smash hit in 2002 with "Bowlingual" -- a dog collar said to interpret canine barking. He said the Hanakotoba was meant to tap a female market. "I created translators for cats and dogs, which were a big success among men, so I was searching for a similar success among females, and since women love flowers, I decided to work on them," he said. "This toy doesn't use a single dirty or aggressive word, unlike Bowlingual," he said. But the plant can still become angry. If the device senses there is insufficient water, the doll says in a shrill voice: "Come on, what are you looking at? Give me more water!" The toy was released this month at 4,179 yen (35 dollars) each and, if successful in Japan, will make its way abroad, the company said.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links The language of Flowers - Hanakotoba Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com
Borneo Shrimp Problem Worries Oil Giant Total
Mahakam Delta (AFP) Dec 25, 2006French oil giant Total dominates the immense Mahakam delta on the island of Borneo, but concern over the humble shrimp has led the company to highlight an ecological catastrophe it fears it will be wrongly blamed for. Overexploitation of the crustaceans has caused the disaster in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on Borneo, research funded by Total and local officials say. |
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