If it ain’t broke, fix it anyway.

A line of adhesive bandages released under the Matsukiyo store brand of drug store chain Matsumoto Kiyoshi has been going viral around Japanese social media. Although band-aids aren’t often known to make waves on social media, the Matsukiyo Easy-Wrap Finger Plaster has a very unique backstory.

We tend to take these sticky strips for granted as the epitome of the design, but one elementary student in Ibaraki Prefecture by the name of Kotone Ugamochi dared to stand up and say “No more!”

While adhesive bandages tend to do the job most of the time, we’ve all likely had issues with applying them to fingers even as adults. And with fingers being on the front lines of work involving knives, scissors, and other sharp objects, they tend to be most in need of them.

▼ Sure, they work perfectly on shins, but how often do we cut those in our post-tag lives?

However, conventional band-aid design doesn’t lend itself well to the shape of the average human finger. Wrapping around can sometimes result in the two sides sticking together the wrong way or not wrapping tightly enough with one hand being partially incapacitated.

Ugamochi’s design solves all this simply by moving the padded part over to one side.

▼ Top: “Normal” (“通常”) finger plaster, Bottom: “Genius” (“天才”) finger plaster

This modest yet revolutionary design earned the fourth-grader the bronze medal at the 2022 World Youth Invention Exhibition.

▼ Ugamochi’s submission video with English subtitles

From there it got picked up by Matsumoto Kiyoshi and is now turning heads across the country. Our writer Ahiruneko decided to pick up a box too and see if they live up to the hype.

They’re a little pricey at 327 yen (US$2.18) for a box of 20, considering a box of 50 conventional First Aid Bandages from the same brand is only 217 yen ($1.44).

In addition to the pad being shifted over a bit, the separated white backing paper is also oriented off to the side.

In this way, it’s much easier to position the pad over the affected area.

And then he could easily wrap the rest of it securely just by holding the paper with one hand.

Just drag that sucker around…

And Ahiruneko’s finger was plastered with ease.

The higher price might have also had to do with the slightly different material of these bandages. It was more stretchy and suitable for constantly bending fingers.

After that, Ahiruneko decided to try a regular adhesive bandage as well to get a sense of the difference.

Ugamochi’s design solved a number of minor nuisances, but Ahiruneko felt the best advantage was that it was easier to see where the pad was being applied.

The only drawback for him was the price, but it was at least worth keeping a box around the house for more problematic finger wounds.

Moreover, he was very impressed by the ingenuity of this person 30 years younger than him and considers her to be among Japan’s greatest inventors. Every time he cuts his finger he’ll be sure to salute the brilliance of Kotone Ugamochi after he’s finished spewing a stream of obscenities from the initial injury.

Related: Matsumoto Kiyoshi
Photos ©SoraNews24
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