It’s still a prototype, but it’s garnered enough interest that it might become a full product!
One of the most fascinating parts about the world of Harry Potter is the many unique, creatures. Nifflers, boggarts, bowtruckles…the endless list makes you wish you could explore them all!
One creature that made a brief but memorable appearance in the books and the films–or was it more a plant?–was the mandrake plant. The roots of these plants, which look like ugly little people, would come out of the ground screaming in the world of Harry Potter, and if you didn’t protect yourself, a fully grown one could kill you.
Mandrakes, or “mandragoras”, first appeared in the above scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, when Harry and his friends learned about the baby forms in their Herbology lesson. Luckily, baby mandrakes can’t kill you, with only enough power in their voice to knock you out, but the scene when Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to repot the baby mandrakes is probably one that sits in many fans’ memories.
If you liked that scene, or are a Harry Potter fan in general, then you’ll like what two-person design company 2ji (“Niji”) has created: a baby mandrake-shaped crime prevention alarm!
Similar to the kinds of alarms you might see attached to the school bags of young children in Japan, this baby mandrake alarm would attach to your bag or belt with a carabiner. When encountering danger, all you have to do is rip it out from its pot–maintaining a firm grip on the base of the leaves, of course–and it will release its piercing cry and let everyone know that you need help.
The sound comes from a personal alarm that hides inside the mandrake’s body. When the mandrake is removed from the pot, a pin pulls out that causes the alarm to go off. When it’s returned to the pot, the pin is replaced, turning off the alarm.
The design is obviously much cuter than the plant that appears in Harry Potter, but the concept is so much fun, we can’t help but want one. Just look at its little surprised, screaming face!
Unfortunately, the baby mandrake crime alarm is just a prototype and isn’t available for sale. However, when the company shared the design on their official Twitter account (@niji_2oclock), the tweet went viral, receiving over 212,000 likes. Many parents said they’d be happy to have their children carry these around, especially teenagers who no longer want to have the obvious kind hanging from their bags.
Since so many Twitter users asked where they can buy the mandrake root alarm, 2ji is now considering moving into full production if the demand is high enough. If you want one, you’ll definitely want to go to their Twitter and add your voice to the support!
2ji has made a lot of other really adorable products, including the adorable hamster monaka we introduced last week. Both of 2ji’s designers have worked with Felissimo You+More!, which as you may know has produced lots of cute and zany products with an astounding amount of detail, including jellyfish umbrellas and natto train pass cases. Check out their website for all of 2ji’s products, and feel free to follow their Twitter if you want to keep updated!
Source: Twitter/@niji_2oclock, Note/Niji_Inc
Images: Twitter/@niji_2oclock (1, 2)
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