With summers getting hotter every year, keeping your armpits dry is quite the challenge. While many of use still rely on deodorants, the quirky Japanese have come up with a high-tech alternative worthy of their reputation for crazy inventions – clip-on armpit fans.

Developed by Japanese gadget maker Thanko, the Waki no Shita Kura (Japanese for Under the Armpit Cooling Device) is a small fan that clips to your sleeve to deliver cooling blasts of air to your armpits. The device is powered by three AAA batteries and can keep your armpits nice and dry for five to nine hours, depending on which of the three speeds you use. If you want to stay cool for longer you can connect the fan to your PC or a separately purchased battery pack with the included micro USB cable. Thanko claims the armpit fans are very light (30g/1 oz) and silent enough to use even in a crowded, so you shouldn’t have to worry about attracting unwanted attention with your buzzing armpits. The fan is also very small (60 x 65 x 15mm)  and thanks to the clip-on design it can also cool your chest area: just clip it to the front of your shirt and it will keep your torso and neck dry.

Japan Trend Shop has the Thanko Under the Armpit Cooling Device priced at $24, but you’ll probably need to buy two of them, unless you’re planning on alternatively using it on your armpits. So 58$ on a device that probably works. I’d say deodorant is the safer and cheaper choice, but then again this thing is worth it just for the novelty of it.

When it comes to weird Japanese inventions, I’d say the armpit fan is pretty low on the list, at least compared to other wacky inventions we’ve featured throughout the years. Let’s remember this creepy hugging chair for the lonely,  the speech jammer that stops people from talking or this creepy facial exercising device that Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn’t even use, even though he was supposed to promote it. Oh, and I had almost forgot the Necomimi, wearable cat ears and tail controlled by brainwaves.

via RocketNews24