Kubota Glass, an allegedly revolutionary pair of glasses capable of curing people of myopia, aka nearsightedness, has recently gone on sale in Japan for a whopping $5,700.

We originally wrote about Kubota Glass in January of 2021, when Kubota Pharmaceutical first announced that it had come up with a non-invasive way of reversing the effects of an ophthalmological condition expected to affect half of the world’s population by 2050. Myopia, or nearsightedness, is an eye disorder where light focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina, making objects in the distance appear blurry, while close ones appear normal. Apart from genetic factors, myopia has been associated with environmental causes, such as the lack of exposure to normal visual stimuli normally found outdoors, in daylight conditions. With so many of us spending more and more time indoors in front of our TVs, monitors and computer screens, it’s no wonder that myopia cases are increasing at an alarming rate.

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A Japanese robotics company has been getting a lot of attention for its unique heavy machinery – a humanoid industrial robot that can be remote controlled by a human.

With so much focus on artificial intelligence and concepts like ‘the singularity’, we sometimes forget that robots have been around for a long time and that they can be pretty valuable tools even without advanced machine learning or even the possibility to move around on their own. Think about the industrial robots in modern automated car factories, or those mine-clearing robots that help human lives, just to name a couple of examples. Now, one Japanese company is trying to bring attention back to these humble creations with an ingenious humanoid heavy-duty robot capable of performing all kinds of useful chores while also appealing to fans of mecha manga and anime.

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Dutch beer company Heineken recently teamed up with sneaker designer and customizer Dominic Ciambone, aka The Shoe Surgeon, to create a special sneaker with beer-filled soles.

To celebrate the launch of Heineken’s newest product, Heineken Silver, the Dutch brewer commissioned The Shoe Surgeon to create a sneaker that embodied the identity of their smooth, easy-to-drink new beer, and he delivered. The so-called “Heinekicks” feature the company’s iconic color scheme – green, white and red – as well as the Heineken logo, and handy bottle openers built into the tongues. But what really sets them apart from any other sneakers is the liquid floating in their transparent soles – actual Heineken Silver beer.

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If you love karaoke, but can never hit the right notes of your favorite songs, don’t despair! Apparently, all you need to do is use a weird karaoke training device for just three minutes per day, and you’re all set.

Karaoke is really big in Japan. Few people know that the pastime enjoyed internationally by millions originated in the Asian country, so it’s really no surprise that so many people of all ages still love it here. But just because you love singing your favorite songs doesn’t mean you’re good at it, and that can be an issue, especially if you prefer doing it in public karaoke establishments, of which there are many in Japan. Sure, you can take singing lessons, but that requires time and money that most karaoke enthusiasts don’t have. Luckily, there is apparently a simple, albeit more bizarre alternative…

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Shiseido, a Japanese company specializing in beauty products has reportedly developed a type of hair dye for human eyelashes as an alternative to mascara.

When it comes to making their natural eyelashes stand out, women usually turn to mascara, a thick mixture of water, wax, oils and pigments that adheres to the lashes making each one thicker and thus more noticeable. It’s been around for a long time, and it’s a tried and true beauty product, but Japanese company Shiseido recently unveiled an unlikely alternative – a unique kind of hair dye designed specifically for human eyelashes.

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Researchers have reportedly developed an experimental chewing gum that can trap SARS-CoV-2 particles in saliva, thus curbing transmission of the virus.

Researchers at the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have been working on a special type of chewing gum that should minimize transmission and infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. According to a recent paper published in the Biomaterials Journal, the experimental gum contains copies of the ACE2 protein found on cell surfaces, which the coronavirus uses to break into cells and infect them. In test tube experiments, researchers found that virus particles of the Delta or Omicron variants attached themselves to the ACE2 “receptors” in the chewing gum, causing the viral load in the saliva to fall to undetectable levels.

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Two Japanese companies are teaming up to produce upright ‘nap boxes’ that they claim will help solve the Asian country’s notorious overwork problem.

Tokyo-based furniture specialist Itoki Corporation and Koyoju Gohan, a plywood supplier from Hokkaido, recently signed a license agreement to start production of a bizarre-looking contraption that they claim will tackle the overwork phenomenon in Japan’s offices. It basically consists of an upright wooden pod that will allow users to enter and use as a private space to sleep standing up…

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A New England distillery specializing in bourbon whisky has joined the fight against an invasive crab species by using the crustaceans to create a surprisingly tasty crab-infused spirit.

“When life gives lemons, make lemonade,” the old saying goes, and the folks at New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distillery adapted it to their region-specific problem. New England’s fishermen have been complaining about green crabs devouring their shellfisheries for a while now, but with no natural predators to worry about and increasing sea temperatures working in their favor, there is little anyone can do to stop them. But little isn’t nothing, and Tamworth Distillery has come up with a way to fight the invasive species while expanding its business. They created a crab-infused bourbon aptly-named Crab Trapper.

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The Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari is the new world’s thinnest mechanical wristwatch, at just 1.75 millimeters thick. But whilst its frame may be diminutive, its price tag is anything but, at a whopping $1.88 million.

Unless you’re a wristwatch enthusiast, you’re probably not aware that there’s an exciting competition between watchmakers to create the world’s thinnest mechanical wristwatch.  In 2018, the world record was set by the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept, with a thickness of 2 millimeters. Earlier this year, Bulgari unveiled the Octo Finissimo Ultra, a mechanical wonder with a thickness of just 1.8 mm. But its reign was shortlived as well, because Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille decided to celebrate its partnership with Ferrari by creating an even thinner mechanical wristwatch, the RM UP-01 Ferrari, at only 1.75 millimeters.

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A company in Russia’s Leningrad region recently laid a small section of strawberry-scented asphalt as an experiment to help solve the problem of unpleasant odors.

I don’t know if you’ve ever smelled hot asphalt when road sections are being laid or fixed, but it’s not the most appealing odor in the world. Luckily, we may not have to put up with it for much longer, as companies are beginning to come up with solutions to this issue. Just a few months after a Polish company came up with floral-scented asphalt to improve working conditions for the people working with it on a daily basis, a Russian company has successfully laid a 700-meter-long stretch of road using strawberry-scented asphalt.

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You may think that wheels are essential when it comes to bicycles, but one resourceful engineer’s recent invention demonstrates that two half wheels are just as good as one full wheel.

Sergii Gordieiev, engineer and YouTuber extraordinaire, is known for his ingenious inventions – including a chainless bike and a drill-powered ice bike – but his latest creation undoubtedly takes the cake as the most unusual. This bizarre contraption basically has two half rear wheels instead of a complete one, and they work in tandem to do the job of a regular one. As weird as it sounds, this crazy bike shows that two half wheels, when used correctly, are just as good as one full wheel.

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A Japanese company is selling hyper-realistic dragonfly-shaped pendants that it claims can keep mosquitoes and other pesky insects away without any chemicals.

Did you know dragonflies are among the most successful predators in the animal kingdoms? It’s true, they have a predation success rate of about 95%, and insects apparently fear them so much that the mere sight of a dragonfly causes them to run or fly for their lives. At least that’s what the makers of this popular dragonfly-shaped pendant want their clients to believe. That’s because they are not selling it as a cool accessory for insect enthusiasts, but as a mosquito and bug repellent. Just put the pendant around your neck or somewhere where it’s very visible, and you won’t have to worry about pests anymore.

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Kokenawa Inc., a startup based in Nagoya, Japan, produces the Pocketoilet, the world’s smallest portable toilet and a real life-saver when nature calls.

When you gotta go, you gotta go, but what if there’s nowhere to go? We hardly ever give the humble toilet a second thought in our day-to-day lives, but most of us could hardly imagine our lives without it. In war-torn regions and areas affected by natural disasters toilets are among the most sought-after amenities, but apart from insufficient portable toilets and unhygienic latrines, there aren’t too many options. Actually, there is also the Pocketoilet, a packet measuring 7 centimeters tall and 6.5 cm wide that can fit in virtually any pocket or purse.

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A Japanese IT engineer has created a creepy nigh lamp that crawls on robotic spider legs and leads you to the toilet in the middle of the night.

Don’t you hate when you have to answer nature’s call in the middle of the night? It’s pitch dark, you don’t know where you’re going and you don’t want to disturb the whole family by turning on the lights. Wouldn’t it be nice if a smart night lamp could light up the way from your bed to the toilet? Well, be careful what you wish for, because some night lamps can be downright disturbing. Case in point, this robotic spider lamp created by a Japanese IT engineer as a side project that has been freaking out Twitter for the past couple of days.

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Ever wish you could turn rock-hard ice cream from the freezer into soft-serve ice cream without having to wait for it to melt? Well, now you can, thanks to this bizarre-looking utensil from Japan.

Is it a fork? Is it a spoon? Is it a mixer whisking attachment? Well, it’s a little bit of all of those things. This is the アイホイスプーン (Aihoi Spoon), a special tool designed by a soft-serve ice cream lover for the sole purpose of turning hard tub ice cream into velvety-smooth soft-serve as quickly as possible. And while it may look like just a modified fork, after reading the inventor’s description, you’ll be surprised how much thought went into making the Aihoi Spoon.

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