In an earthquake-, typhoon- and Godzilla-prone country like Japan, you’ve got to think about disaster preparedness. Most people here have an emergency kit ready by the door and most offices conduct drills on responding to a disaster. The big problem is storage space. You need a lot of room when you are trying to provide food, water, first aid and physical protection to a number of people.
One company has come up with a new solution for the protection part of the equation: a simple chair that doubles as a hard hat with the simple twist of a dial.
The Mamoris, a play on mamoru or “protect”, and isu meaning “chair” in Japanese, was unveiled recently as part of Designers’ Week 2013.
When a dial in the seat of the chair is turned 90 degrees, the back detaches from the rest of the chair and is able to be used as a helmet to protect from falling glass and other items in the event of an earthquake. It has the added advantage of covering not just the head but the neck and shoulder area as well. In addition, the helmet will be easily accessible to anyone and doesn’t need special storage space.
At 1,400 grams (about 3 pounds), it has some weight to it, but the designers say with improvements to the prototype they should be able to halve that. They would also like to add a chin strap to keep the helmet fixed more firmly in place.
If you are hoping to get your hands on one of these babies for your own disaster prevention or style statement, I’m afraid it’s not yet available for sale. Designers POPLIFE and znug design are in the processes of patenting their invention, though, so you may find it in a store near you soon. Hopefully before the next big one…
▼ Toilet…
▼ Toilet… 
▼ Upside-down toilet… 
▼ HARD HAT! 
▼ …uh, nun? 
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