Featured

Global (Page 50)

The question of what happens after we die has troubled humankind for millennia, with the main problem being that anyone who knows the answer is, well, no longer with us. However,  the “after-death” experiences of people who have technically died and then been brought back to life via resuscitation may hold at least some part of the puzzle. Read More

Famicom Creator Masayuki Uemura Had No Faith in the Game System’s Success, Colored it After His Boss’ Scarf

This year Nintendo and fans celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Family Computer (Famicom) game system originally released in 1983.  It was the machine that revitalized home gaming worldwide with its later incarnation, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In a story of shocking success, no one was more shocked perhaps than the system’s head developer, Masayuki Uemura who revealed the details of the Famicom’s rocky beginnings in an interview with Shupure News.

Read More

The TED (Technology Education and Design) website is easily one of my most favourite places in the entire digital world. With talks from industry experts, innovative thinkers and creative individuals with something valuable to say, I’ve lost hundreds of hours on the site watching presentations and listening to talks, absorbing knowledge and expanding my view of the world, galaxy, universe.

Filmed in February this year at a TED conference in Long Beach, California, the following video sees a young man by the name of Black take to the stage dressed like a cross between a ninja and a rock star. After telling the story of how he first picked up a yo-yo and struggled to perform even the simplest of tricks, he goes on to talk about how mastering this simple toy gave him the confidence he always lacked. As if more proof were needed having already seen him calmly address thousands of spectators in English, Black then launches into a yo-yo routine that left us completely open-mouthed.

The full video after the jump.

Read More

Is That Sushi in Your Ear or are You Just Wearing “Crazy Headphones”?

Gadgets purveyor Apparestore is hoping that pretending your ears are so unclean that fungus has actually started to grow out of them will become the new fashion trend with these “crazy headphones” featuring weird objects that jut out from the earbuds. Samurai swords and sushi are just some of the things you could have seemingly growing out of your ears with a pair of these cheeky earphones.

Read More

High-Tech Water Bottle Turns Cola into Colorless Liquid 【Video】

It’s the water bottle of the future! The OKO “advanced filtration water bottle” isn’t your average container for high quality H2O. It features a filtration system developed by NASA that’s so powerful it can filter cola into a clear, colorless liquid in seconds. Don’t believe us? Take a look at the video.

Read More

South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai revealed its new E4U single-person concept car at the recently completed Seoul Motor Show. Egg-like in shape, the mobility device measures 92cm in width while standing 123cm tall. Hyundai believes the vehicle to be suitable for narrow streets in urban centers where speeds are generally slow.
Read More

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Gets Explosive New Multiplayer Map Set in Kyushu

Players of the Call of Duty series are no strangers to downloadable content in the form of additional maps on which to shoot, stab and detonate. Ever since downloadable map packs were released for Call of Duty 3 back in 2007, console gamers have been treated to (or blighted by, depending on your stance on DLC) regular releases of additional content to purchase or risk being the one guy in their group of friends who can’t play on the same maps as everyone else.

This time around, developers Treyarch are dropping virtual soldiers and screaming headset-wearing pubescents on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands. As well as being situated in the shadow of an erupting volcano, the town featured in the map is absolutely covered with cute cultural references and written Japanese which, we’re happy to say, is not riddled with mistakes.

Read More

Six Years After Launch, Nintendo Survey Hints at Charging Accessory for Wii Remotes

It’s been a long time coming, but Nintendo may have finally cottoned on to the idea that gamers do not enjoy relying on AA batteries to use their wireless controllers. According to reports circulating the Internet this morning, the Kyoto-based company has carried out an online survey asking users whether they’d be interested in purchasing officially branded rechargeable battery packs for their Wii controllers.

Read More

Battleship Island: Five Reasons Why More Movie Villains Should Live Here

Hashima Island, better known as Gunkanjima (lit. Battleship Island) due to its warship-like silhouette, is a small island off the coast of Nagasaki with a remarkable history. Owned by Mitsubishi as a coal mining facility from 1887 to 1974, this was once the most densely populated place on the planet, with more than 5,000 inhabitants crammed into its 6 square-kilometre dimensions. Now, the place is deserted and all that’s left of the once-bustling metropolis is an eerie landscape of crumbling, grey buildings.

When the Bond villain Raoul Silva chose the island as his secret lair in the latest 007 movie Skyfall, Gunkanjima received worldwide attention. But did Bond’s nemesis know that the island is home to Japan’s first-ever multi-storey concrete reinforced apartment block? We visited the island and checked out areas off-limits to the public to find out more about what makes this the perfect villain’s lair. Take the full virtual tour and see our photos after the jump.

Read More

Evoland Celebrates the Growth of the Action RPG Genre in Style, Available to Buy Now 【Review】

In January this year, we brought you news of an upcoming video game that quite literally evolves as you play, starting off as a monochrome mass of pixels before slowly introducing virtually every gaming mechanic and action RPG element that we’ve come to know and love, culminating with full-on 3-D visuals, giant demons and a suitably epic plot. That game is Evoland, and after long last it’s available to buy from today.

RocketNews24 was fortunate enough to receive a review copy of the game late last week. Having poured over the original promotional video for so long, it was with high expectations that we sat down with the full game for an extended session of hacking, slashing and critical dissecting. The finished article, we’re happy to say, is absolutely spellbinding.

Read More

There’s a myth that many young men in Japan are familiar with: the physical exertion involved in one ejaculation is the same as running 100 metres as fast as you can. Now, although many such claims often carry about as much scientific weight as the idea that dropping a cold key down someone’s back can cure the hiccups, as any men will tell you, there’s a reason why we often feel the need to collapse and fall asleep after a particularly vigorous session.

Nonsense or not, this particular myth is one that has existed for generations in Japan and refuses to die off, being passed from one huddle of teenage boys or young office workers to the next. For this reason, online magazine R25 turned to a medical professional to get the cold, hard facts.

Read More

The country may be on the shy side when it comes to the exchange of digital information, but thanks to cheap labour costs and an enormous workforce China’s exports can be found in practically ever corner of the world. Assembling and distributing everything from U.S. flags to iPhones and laptop computers, since childhood many of us have been familiar with the imprint “Made in China” on the underside of our action figures or dolls. But even if we chuckle at the sometimes shoddy workmanship or gasp at counterfeit goods that never work, arguably few — if any — western countries could survive as they do today without their neighbours in the east.

It would seem, however, that the familiar old “Made in China” stamp is gradually being phased out. Looking at a number of goods assembled in China in recent times, “Made in PRC” is instead becoming an increasingly common sight on boxes and labels. Needless to say, the change is setting tongues a-wagging in Japan.

Read More

Lifehack for Cooks: How to Remove Garlic Skins Quickly and Cleanly

Ah, garlic. It’s so fragrant and delicious. These days, cooks are using fresh garlic even for everyday dishes because it’s just so tasty and relatively easy to use. There’s just one small problem: getting that papery skin off the clove without ending up with bits of it all over the kitchen! More people would probably use that delicious, delicious garlic if it didn’t make such a mess.

No need to worry about that any more, though, because we’ve discovered a simple tip that will remove those pesky skins cleanly and easily. Read on to discover how. Read More

Perfect the Art of Laziness! Get Your Sloth On with New Eyewear from Sanco


Everyone’s had one of those days when they just don’t feel like getting out of bed. Well “rare things” online store Sanco is now offering a must-have item for just such occasions: GORODEY2 Eyewear, glasses that allow you to remain flat on your back and still be entertained.

Read More

The Five Most Popular Places to Kill Oneself or The Top Five Places to Save a Life

Japan often gets a reputation as a suicide-heavy nation but the social problem of self-destruction is something all parts of the world have to tackle.

The following is a list of five places in the world where suicides have most often occurred. It’s a bittersweet honor in that they are all either places of extreme natural beauty of impressive feats of engineering.

On the other hand, they are also places and countries that clearly do too little to prevent either the mental illness that leads to suicide of the act itself.

Read More

We Prove We Are Culinary Wizards by Turning Cup Ramen Ingredients into Delicious Gourmet Meals

Cup Ramen, known to Westerners as “Grade A college student feed,” is perfectly formulated with enough sodium and other preservatives to both fuel late-night study sessions and cure massive hangovers, but nobody’s ever accused it of being a gourmet food.

Read More

China Releases Knockoff iPhone5S Before Actual iPhone5S Goes on Sale

Just like every other Apple release, scores of eager Apple fanatics will wait in line for hours (or days) in order to be one of the first to get their hands on the new iPhone5S. But for those who are so eager they can’t wait for the rumored August 2013 release, there is now an alternative to waiting: purchase the Goophone i5S, China’s knockoff iPhone5S, on sale now.

Read More

Risk Monster, a credit management outsourcing service that calculates bankruptcy risk, recently announced the results of its first survey asking, “Which Japanese Companies Do You Expect to Still Exist in 50 Years.” The survey was conducted over the Internet on Feb. 25 and 26, and received 1,000 valid responses from influential individuals between the ages of 20 and 69.

Coming in third was Honda, second place went to the East Japan Railway Company, and grabbing the top spot was…
Read More

Kimchi is a fermented cabbage dish from Korea that is often referred to as “Korea’s national dish.” It’s so pungent that those who enjoy eating copious amounts of kimchi have been known to purchase a separate fridge dedicated to storing it. For decades, Korean mothers have sworn by the health benefits of adding kimchi to one’s diet, but now it seems scientists agree as well. New research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food suggests that eating even a small amount of kimchi every day may help lower cholesterol, LDL (“bad cholesterol”), and fasting blood glucose levels.

Read More

For those whose work has them chained to a desk, concerns about whether or not they are getting enough exercise often creep into their minds.

In Japan, it is estimated that an average adult male should burn about 2,000 calories a day while an adult female should use around 1,700 (numbers vary according to age and build). Even armed with that knowledge, many people still consume more calories than they burn by indulging in snacks between meals and eating excessively late into the night. A lot of desk jockeys are probably wondering what they should do to better their situation.

Well, there might be some good news. The number of calories burnt at the click of a mouse has recently been calculated.
Read More

  2. 1
  3. ...
  4. 47
  5. 48
  6. 49
  7. 50
  8. 51
  9. 52
  10. 53
  11. 54