A live-action game based on the popular anime series Detective Conan, also known as Case Closed, recently caused a bomb scare in Takamatsu, Japan. “Escape from the Skyscraper,” tasks participants with looking for clues that lead to an imaginary bomb, which was unfortunately found by real-life detectives after the event had come to an ended. The suspicious device was a whiteboard ... [Read More]

Air pollution in China is as much as 40 times over the limit set by the World Health Organization. It's so bad that last month a fire at a furniture factory went unnoticed among the already smoggy skies. Chen Guangbiao, a Chinese entrepreneur known for publicity stunts, is promoting environmentalism by selling cans filled with air similar to Perri-Air featured in the comedy Spaceballs. Chen ... [Read More]

The ancient art of ninjutsu may die with Jinichi Kawakami, who is known as Japan's "last ninja." "I think I'm called (the last ninja) as there is probably no other person who learned all the skills that were directly" handed down from ninja masters over the last five centuries, Kawakami told the AFP. The 63-year-old is the 21st head of the Ban family, one of 53 families that made up the ... [Read More]

Victora's Secret is removing clothes but not in a good way. The company's website has taken down its new "Go East" collection, which featured Eastern-inspired lingerie. The decision was made in response to complaints of racial stereotyping, specifically in regards to a Caucasian model (Candice Swanepoel) dressed as a "Sexy Little Geisha" which consists of floral pattern lingerie with obi belt ... [Read More]

Forget Red Bull. Xiaogang No.1 High School uses intravenous drips to help energize its students. “The state grants a 10-yuan subsidy for amino acids to each graduating senior that will participate in the gao kao (National College Entrance Exam). Any student that feels not well can go to the infirmary and take amino acids on the IV drip,” explained the Director of Office of Academic ... [Read More]

A controversial advertisement for Oreo has been leaked to the media. The ad features a busty woman breastfeeding a child holding an Oreo cookie. The tagline reads: “Milk’s favorite cookie.” Kraft Foods says the ad was created by the South Korean ad agency Cheil Worldwide for internal use. “Our understanding is that they created it for use at an isolated advertising awards forum in ... [Read More]

Students at the National University of Singapore got a 10 finger discount courtesy of Coca-Cola. The company modified their vending machines to dispense soda in exchange for hugs. Coke hopes the machine will spread more than just germs. “Happiness is contagious. The Coca-Cola Hug Machine is a simple idea to spread some happiness,” explained Leonardo O’Grady, ASEAN IMC Director for ... [Read More]

Cybernetic prostheses usually replace lost function but in Japan they're the latest fashion statement, known as Neurowear. It combines technology and fashion to created an “Augumented Human Body.” Necomimi are cybernetic cat ears that move in sync with your brainwaves to convey emotion. However, the movements are more accurate to the fictional cat girls that populate anime rather than ... [Read More]

Dutch designers MVRDV are being called "Al Qaeda lovers" for mocking 9/11 with what that looks like a freeze frame of the Twin Towers exploding. Dubbed "The Could," the towers are connected halfway up by a 10-floor-tall pixelated cloud that houses common areas such as gardens, fitness center, pool, and shops. MVRDV initially feigned ignorance to any similarities between the buildings. "It ... [Read More]

Nothing quite sets the season like Christmas cards of Santa, or as he's known in Japan "American Christmas Devil." Brad McGinty received this unique card from his grandfather. "These aren’t personal Christmas cards, but rather leftover cards from my grandfather’s failed attempt at starting a greeting card company a few years after WWII," claims McGinty. A few years after my Grandfather ... [Read More]

As part of its effort to become a world leader in robotics, South Korea will start using robot prison guards next spring. Unlike the deceptively cute Jailbot featured in Superjail!, these R2-D2s with smiley faces are genuinely benign. Creator Lee Baik-Chul programmed the robots to monitor inmates for abnormal behavior. “But the robots are not Terminators. Their job is not cracking down on ... [Read More]

Aimi Eguchi seemed to come out of nowhere. The 16-year-old went from "trainee" in the Japanese idol group AKB48 to spokesmodel for Glico candy. Too good to be true. Aimi is actually a computer-generated composite of 6 of the group's most attractive members. Glico released a video showing the face tracking software used to create Aimi, along with an online idol maker but the results are on ... [Read More]

In China, chain gangs are going high-tech. Liu Dali alleges that he and 300 other prisoners at Jixi labor camp in Heilongjiang province were forced to play online games in 12-hour shifts. They collected virtual money to trade with other players for real money, an illegal practice known as gold farming. The Prison reportedly made upwards of $900 a day, which was not shared with the prisoners, ... [Read More]

That a single person can change history is a very dangerous idea so it's not surprising that China is anti-time travel. The General Bureau of Radio, Film and Television is banning all time travel stories, calling them "disrespectful to history." Chinahush.com translated the original story: "The time-travel drama is becoming a hot theme for TV and films. But its content and the exaggerated ... [Read More]

Doctors from around China gathered at Jinan Chest Hospital to treat 53-year-old Guo Qingpo, who was suffering from a severe case of gynecomastia, more commonly known as man boobs, or moobs. "I had never seen anything like it in 40 years. There has never been such a case in China, or anywhere in the world," asserts Director Dr. Zhang Jianhua. It took two teams working side-by-side on ... [Read More]

Designed to looked like actual X-rays these bare bones calendars are actually a brilliant marketing campaign by EIZO, a Japanese company that manufactures medical displays for the examination and diagnosis of radiographs (i.e., X-rays). EIZO says their intention is to break the taboo that pin-up calendars are only for craftsmen. If the models seem similar, it's because they were pieced ... [Read More]