Editing Chindōgu (section)

==Background==
Literally translated, ''chindōgu'' means {{nihongo|unusual|珍|chin}} {{nihongo|tool|道具|dōgu}}. The term was coined by [[Kenji Kawakami]], a former editor and contributor to the Japanese home-shopping magazine ''Mail Order Life''. In the magazine, Kawakami used his spare pages to showcase several bizarre prototypes for products. He named these gadgets "chindōgu"; Kawakami himself said that a more appropriate translation than "unusual tool" is "weird tool". This special category of inventions subsequently became familiar to the Japanese people. 

Dan Papia then introduced it to the English-speaking world and popularized it as a monthly feature in his magazine, ''[[Tokyo Journal]]'', encouraging readers to send in ideas. In 1995, Kawakami and Papia collaborated on the English language book ''101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions: The Art of Chindōgu''. Most classic chindogu products are collected in the book. Many examples display a sense of humor in the way they are used.
Examples from the books include:
* A combined [[Feather duster|household duster]] and [[Cocktail shaker|cocktail-shaker]], for the housewife who wants to reward herself as she is going along.
* The all-day tissue dispenser, which is a [[toilet paper|toilet roll]] fixed on top of a hat, for [[hay fever]] sufferers.
* The all-over plastic [[Swimsuit|bathing suit]], to enable people who suffer from [[aquaphobia]] to swim without coming into contact with water.
* The baby mop, an outfit worn by babies, so that as they crawl around, the floor is cleaned.<ref>{{cite book|last=Szpirglas|first=Jeff|others=Dave Whamond|title=They Did WHAT?!: Your Guide to Weird and Wacky Things People Do|year=2005|publisher=Maple Tree Press|location=Hong Kong|isbn=1-897066-23-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/theydidwhat00jeff/page/60 60]|chapter=<s>Amazing</s> Amusing Inventions|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/theydidwhat00jeff/page/60}}</ref>
* The [[selfie stick]]. While dismissed as a "useless invention" at the time, it later gained global popularity in the 21st century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.distractify.com/alex-scola/but-first/|title=Turns Out Japan Invented The 'Selfie-Stick' 20 Years Ago|author=Alex Scola|work=Distractify|url-status=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109130439/http://news.distractify.com/Alex-Scola/but-first/|archivedate=2015-01-09}}</ref>