April 10 2008
The Thudguard and Other Choice Links
posted by Ana Samways at 12:48 pm
The cover story in a recent issue of the Listener describes over-protective parenting with labels like “helicopter parents” (those who hover) or “curling parents” (those who vigorously “sweep the ice in front”). Both the hoverers and the curlers would surely be interested in this toddler helmet, called a Thudguard. Or you could just roll them up in a foam squab…
Ten businesses facing extinction in 10 years. The list includes record stores, camera film manufacturing, crop dusters, gay bars and newspapers…
Video link: The second ad is particularly good in this very funny ad compilation…
Narcoleptic Cat equals internet gold. (Photo sharing site Flickr is now doing video; best thing is duration maximum is 90 seconds)…
The dangers involved in news reporting: Gawker has a great compilation of reporters getting pwned, falling over, being mauled or humiliated. Includes classic and previously unseen clips… (some language NSFW)
Reader K’s call to Dell tech support for his laptop resulted in the tech helping him break a different computer, then sending him a replacement laptop full of human pubic hair…
This year’s Webby Award nominees and winners includes Red Shed website The Warehouse Careers as a finalist in the employment category…
MySpace Morons: Five of the most moronic looking, cash hungry, MySpace teens, drug dealers, and gangster wannabes…
Video: Remarkable footage of commuter hell in Tokyo as railway officials shoehorn passengers into a busy train…
April 11th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Hahaha been there done that, not for the faint hearted or people that require personal space
April 11th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Wow – but I know where Graham Henry can send the AB forwards for scrum practise.
April 11th, 2008 at 8:39 am
I know the feeling, I nearly didn’t get a seat to put my bag on this mornings bus ride…
April 11th, 2008 at 9:21 am
What happens if you were first on, but don’t want to go to the end of the line???
April 11th, 2008 at 9:32 am
If the doors opened at the next stop, would they all spring out? they should make a video of that
April 11th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Good God that makes me feel better about my London District Line morning journey to work.. although I suspect the average Japanese commuter is more than likely to use deodorant than the average British stockbroker (Im 5ft tall – these things matter when my nose is constantly rammed near someone’s armpit)
April 11th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Boy – does that bring back some unpleasant memories!
I lived and worked in Tokyo in the 1990s, commuting across the centre of the city and changing trains at the Shinjuku station twice a day every day.
Those trains operated at around 190% of their nominal capacity with the help of the pushers. I’m a bit taller than average so it wasn’t as bad for me as it is for the shorter commuters who get buried in the scrum.
But there were a few times when I travelled with my arm caught behind my back or stuck above my head because of the crush.
The passengers spring out at each stop to let people out their destinations; and then the whole sardine thing starts again with a new lot of passengers joining the crowd.
Back in those days only 2 million people passed through Shinjuku each day; now nearly 3.5 million pass through daily!
April 11th, 2008 at 10:15 am
This doesn’t actually happen anymore. They finally realised that this kind of thing shouldn’t be happening in a first world country, so now, the officials are there to make you wait for the next train.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Looks like the ideal place to be if you’re into frotteurism.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Wow, efficient.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
the carriages at the front during peak times and at night are just for women, this is to avoid ‘Chikan’ or train molesting….
the pink line markings on the platform indicate women only..
April 11th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
That is some crazy sh**! Just goes to show what lunacy the human animal will put up with if it’s normallised.
April 12th, 2008 at 1:34 am
Curiously, Japanese deodorant is about half as efficient as that sold in the rest of the world…
April 14th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
That is so funny
April 18th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Does indeed still happen… Happened only this morning to me on the Chiyoda-sen. It was raining too so rather slippery… Ah the joys of Tokyo