It can wipe out grime as easily as Hedorah wipes out people.
The year was 1971. Rock band Led Zeppelin debuted a little ditty they put together called “Stairway to Heaven” and the Mr. Men children’s book series made its debut with the first installment featuring the insouciant Mr. Tickle.
This was also the year that Japan’s King of the Monsters, Godzilla, faced off against one of his toughest foes ever, the pollution monster Hedorah.
▼ Trailer for Godzilla vs. Hedorah, released in the U.S. under the title Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster
Modern environmentalism was still young then, with the first Earth Day having been observed the year before, and Hedorah was meant to be a monstrous embodiment of humanity’s folly when it came to controlling pollution.
An alien organism that arrived on Earth from a meteorite, Hedorah fed on water and air pollution to become larger and stronger and also develop various super powers such as flight. Its flexible form and ability to withstand Godzilla’s powerful atomic breath made their fight one of the closest matches in the film series’ history, and echoed humanity’s own monumental struggle against pollution.
And now, you can have a piece of this tokusatsu history with the Hedorah Desktop Mop for 3,520 yen (US$32). Preorders for this dust mop can be made now through the Premium Bandai online shop, , and deliveries are expected to be made in December. Spill coffee on your laptop? No worries, because Hedora will absorb it all and become stronger each time!
The mop takes the shape of Hedora’s Flying form and will wipe out unwanted dust bunnies with extreme prejudice using its polyester tendrils. However, much like the real Hedorah, this desktop mop is weakened by prolonged exposure to direct sunlight, so be sure to keep it in a safe place.
This is one of many commemorative items released this year to honor the 50th anniversary of Godzilla vs. Hedorah. Japan Post is selling a 5,000-yen collection of items including a framed set of 10 Godzilla vs. Hedorah stamps, foldable stamp mount, pin, poster, and 10 post cards.
It also comes with a pretty groovy looking face mask case.
And of course, you can wear your respect for the the Smog Monster wherever you go with the Hedorah T-shirt from Amnibus for 3,800 yen ($35).
Yes, there certainly is a whole lot of Hedorah to be had this year, and who knows? We seemed to have done very little to rectify the environmental problems Hedorah tried to warn us about 50 years ago, so he may very well be poised for a comeback to the silver screen in one of the current Godzilla reboots going around.
…I guess that’s a good thing.
Source: @Press, PR Times 1, 2
Top image: @Press
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