Do you love cup ramen, but hate boring technology? Then this mercilessly strict steampunk ramen timer is just what you need!
FriskP, a Japanese Twitter and Niconico Douga user and one of our favorite steampunk designers/creators, is back with an amazing device to make preparing cup ramen both easier and way more fashionable! The timer, which consists of some electronics, two one-second sand timers, and a few mechanical parts, counts down the requisite three minutes until a cup of noodles is ready to be eaten.
However, that’s not all it does! Frisk_P also built in a “tsundere mode” where the timer has a 33 percent chance of snapping the lid shut just as you’re trying to get your food — though in the video, it looks like that percentage has been bumped up to a full, 100-percent “screw you, buddy” mode!
Here are some of the highlights from the video in case you can’t watch it.
First, he’s using one-second sand timers — the perfect complement to any steampunk time device. As you can see above, they’re pretty tiny!
▼ And if you flip one time 180 times, you’ll have 3 minutes!
As FriskP explained in the video, there is a slight problem — it takes 0.3 seconds to flip the sand timer. After 180 flips, that can add up! Fortunately, he came up with a clever work around — two synchronized timers.
▼ Now that’s problem-solving!
The finished device is pictured above. You just stick the tab on the cover into the clip, turn it on, and wait three minutes while your noodles bathe in their hot water bath…
…and once they’re nice and soft, the clip is pulled up, opening your noodles for nomming!
However, as we mentioned before, there’s a one-in-three chance the device will go into “tsundere mode,” and the lid will be snapped shut before you can get any of those delicious noodles in your stomach!
▼ We can almost hear it mocking the “stupid humans!”
Unfortunately, FriskP has said that he’s not selling the tsundere ramen timer, so if you want one, you’ll have to make it yourself. This looks like a job for an Arduino Nano!
And if you’d rather prefer to try your hand at making ramen “from scratch,” be sure to check out Uchide Ramen-ya!
Sources: ITMedia, Niconico Douga/FriskP
Featured image/images: Niconico Douga/FriskP