io9
In Japanese, the word urawaza means "secret tricks," like knowing that Superman is vulnerable to kryptonite or that certain moves will lead you to the song at the end of the game Portal. Now io9's Lisa Katayama has a whole book of Japanese tricks to turn your everyday life into science fiction, just like in William Gibson novels. The book is called Urawaza, and aside from some practical stuff like how to keep your elbows clean, it also contains obscure Japanese wisdom on a few superpowers.
For example, if you buy this book, you'll learn things like how to run faster and how to keep wounds from reopening (wait, is Wolverine reading this?). And you'll get secret tips on even stranger things, such as how to make a tiny piece of soap big again and how to revive a dying ballpoint pen. I think somebody on Heroes actually had that soap power.
Every chapter is arranged into a series of dilemmas, accompanied by the urawaza solution. Want to cure your runny nose? Lisa has the answer:
Simply cut the top fronts off two green onions, stick the remaining thick white root sections into your nostrils, and let your new nose plugs do their thing. Your sinuses will magically clear up — plus, you don't have to deal with drippy boogers.Now I really do feel superpowered.
Urawaza [Amazon]
Comments
govault!
Umm... Call me unadventurous, but given a choice between using a few tissues and sticking onion pieces up my nose, I think I'll stick with the former.
I just keep imagining a videogame where one of the characters yells repeatedly, SCALLIONS IN YOUR FACE!
They become projectile weapons in case of emergency! ...and sinus pressure.
@Annalee Newitz: And, THAT is a WRAP, ladies & gentlemen!!!!
Where's the (private) wrap party?
@Annalee Newitz: Was that you in the supermarket today?
Ichiban wa!
@phoenix: I'm reminded of a scene in "Strange Brew" (sci-fi? Hmmm... armoured, brainwashed hockey players controlled by organ music... a ghost in a computer system... a super-powered flying dog? Sure!) with one of the McKenzie brothers stuffing bullets in his nose to hold off a nose bleed... which results in a rather dangerous sneeze.
@Frozen-Tex: Two orders of Split plea soup please!
Take off you hosers! Classic.
Does making a small piece of soap big again involve breaking into a liposuction clinic dumpster at night?
Genki!
@Epaminondas: A friend of mine once said if he could ever be president, his most important act would be to make every American watch "Strange Brew" to better understand their neighbors to the north.
@Frozen-Tex: Much like heeded advice to a young man to read Cosmo to understand one's neighbor's of the opposite sex, I'm afraid my love of Strange Brew has been equally unhelpful in understanding others.
Except that I always carry a box of jelly donuts when I cross the border, just in case.
How 'bout this: if you order your burger at In-and-Out "animal style," you get grilled onions and extra pickles. If you order your fries like that, they come covered in cheese and grilled onions. And if you order a "4x4" you get four meat patties and four slices of cheese on your burger. It's nowhere to be found on any menu at the restaurant. You just have to "know" the secret.
An I contend that once you have had your burger and fries this way, you will feel as if you had superpowers.
@EBone: Animal-style? OK that made no sense even to me. And I'm the master of not making sense.
@Annalee Newitz: you've never been to
L
A
?
@MaxTwice: Is LA the source of "animal-style"? I mean, I grew up near LA but maybe I was too provincial out there in Irvine to know about this?
@Annalee Newitz: for the burgers eaten at the ff joint in torrance, yeah it was the source, but also in holly-whoville, i think hollywood ave. it was?
@Annalee Newitz: ne'r been to irvine~
Oh, pff, everyone knows about the In-N-Out secret codes now that there's websites. Might even be on the company site. Works chain-wide in all of Calif. plus Vegas and maybe some other places westerly.
Yep, here it is.
[www.in-n-out.com]
I think I know what I'll have for dinner tonight.
@Evil Tortie's Mom: me 2
MMMMM.... In n Out (all I miss from my pre veggie days...)
That scallion thing is making my eyes water. Scallions is soup - good. Scallions is my nasal passages - not good.
@OMG, WTF, CMG?!?:
@ideaman2020:
For those not in the "know", Scallion is nothing like onion, and in fact both smells AND tastes awesome.
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