Why Japanese "Unuseless" Inventions AND Fascinating Names Give Us Hope

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On the surface these 2 articles could be seen as unrelated, but I would posit that they are both human endeavours that fit into the "absurd worldview" helping the creators survive feelings of saṃvega ("the urgent realisation that you need a more meaningful life").

They also give me a big smile and a warm feeling because of their efforts. It's a cold and unfeeling universe but hey, there's a baby mop in the world, and someone was once called Biff Life, it's not all bad eh.

Chindōgu: The Unuseless Inventions of Kenji Kawakami

Chindōgu 珍道具ちんどうぐ is made up of two words. Chin 珍ちん means "curious" or "strange." Dougu 道具どうぐ means "tool" or "device" - a term coined by chindōgu’s originator Kenji Kawakami. "Strange device" doesn't quite capture the entire meaning though. There's an essence to chindōgu that can't be ignored. They need to be useful, but only just so. Something people could use, but probably won't because of shame.

They're almost useful. Or "unuseless."



Society for the Verification and Enjoyment of Fascinating Names of Actual Persons

The Society for the Verification and Enjoyment of Fascinating Names of Actual Persons (SVEFNAP) was a group of people, mostly based in Canada, who collected odd names of actual people.

The society was started in the 1940s by movie critic Clyde Gilmour, and it seems to have ceased to exist with his death in 1997.

Some names from the society's 1961 bulletin from a Toronto Star (Oct 11, 1961) article, by Pierre Berton:

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