Gadget-laden robot cat from the future Doraemon is something a national treasure here in Japan. Since the appearance of the original manga of the same name back in 1969, the subsequent TV series has been watched by multiple generations and is still on the air today. As well as remaining popular with adults and kids alike, the Japanese Foreign Ministry once declared the mechanical time-traveller the country’s official “animé ambassador”, meaning that the earless mechanical cat is sure to be around for a long time to come yet.
Perhaps the thing that people love most about Doraemon, though, is his seemingly bottomless pocket, from which the character produces all manner of gadgets and inventions in order to assist his human pal Nobita. Although the “dokodemo doa” (lit. “anywhere door”) is often given as the answer to the age-old conundrum “Which of Doraemon’s gadgets would you most like to have?”, it doesn’t stop people imagining what else could buried deep down in there.
In that vein, Yahoo! Japan recently announced the winner of its 2012-2013 Adults Only Doraemon Contest, in which contestants were asked to come up with an invention that they’d like to pull out of Doraemon’s pocket and use in real life, with the top prize being awarded to 50-year-old Rieko Honjou for her “Pee Baton”.
We’ve probably all experienced the agony of being miles from a public restroom but desperate to pee. For this writer, it was during the long train ride back from last Year’s Tokyo Game Show after making the mistake of having a few beers with friends before getting onboard. It’s at times like these that we’d give anything for a toilet, hole in the ground or strategically placed bush, but more often than not we simply have to hold it in and try to look normal.
But no longer! Thanks to Ms. Honjou’s incredible new invention, simply by passing the star-spangled oshikko baton to another person, we also pass over the need to pee. That’s right, through the technological power packed into this small gadget, we can simply unload the burden onto someone else, be they friend or foe.
▼It’s too late to enter this year’s contest, but there’s always next time!
In an interview with the event’s organisers, Ms. Honjou jokes that the baton could cause mayhem at track and field events, admittedly giving participants a helpful burst of speed but most likely sending them in the direction of the nearest bathroom rather than the finish line.
As well as having the honour of being chosen as Yahoo! Japan’s grand prize winner, Ms. Honjou’s bladder-saving device will also be featured along with the other top-ranking inventions in an actual episode of the animated series in March this year, which is a pretty cool prize for any Doraemon fan to receive if you ask us.
We almost hesitate to ask, but we have a feeling that some of our readers could come up with some pretty interesting creations of their own. Is there any particular gadget from Doraemon’s pocket that you wish you had? Let us know in the comments section below!
Source: IT Media