Gallery

Super(?) Hippo-tech Goods

Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier
Crane
25cm x 33cm

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Telephone "KABA-RINN"

29cm x 43cm

I bought this phone "KABA-RINN"; about 20 years ago at a small electric store in Tokyo. I guess it didn't sell well because dozens of KABA-RINN had been on sale, heaped up at the storefront. The catch phrase was "A real telephone. Receiver-free. It moves the mouth as the addressee speaks. Not only as a phone but a stuffed baby." I could hardly trust those words until I found at home that it really worked! You might feel a bit embarrassed when you speak to this hippo-phone face-to face, but it would be fun to be with the hippo speaking to you with various voices: your grandma's voice at one time, your boyfriend's at another time, for instance.

Speaker"3D HIPPO"

18cm x 24cm

Made in Taiwan

Introduced on the Net. They look a bit scary rather than cute, but the sound quality is quite good. One of the front teeth functions as volume controller, the other as on/off switch.

Extension cord (2 meters)

Trend goods disappear quickly. Years ago you could easily find hippo-figured extension cords of this kind, but now they seem to have been replaced by dinosaur-figured ones.

Rain Sensor "AME-KABA KUN"

12cm x 8cm

This is a cooking timer with a rain sensor. The black circular part functions as sensor, which senses even a drop of rain. While you put the sensor part under the sky, the hippo part lets you know with a buzzer as soon as it starts raining. A funny combination of cooking timer and rain sensor? Well, it may help Japanese wives since they hang out the washing outside.

Dirt remover in a bathtub"PAKUTA"

21cm x 12cm

What does this lovely smiling"PAKUTA" eat in a bathtub? The answer is --- the dirt on the surface of the water. His stomach is a filter, his tail functions as on/off switch. Swimming in a tub he takes water from his buttocks and expels clean water from his mouth, which opens as the water comes out. One more charm point: the eyes are pasted so that you can change them with other ones. How about crying "PAKUTA"?