No, you can’t have a bite. Go and get your own.
Not jealous are you?
Edible envy
Food and Drink
Condom connoisseurs
With condom sales currently sluggish at best, contraceptive manufacturers are continually looking for ways to increase interest in their product; novelty items especially being a popular choice when it comes to tempting would-be wooers.
However with Japan once again coming last in the most recent ‘how often are you getting it?’ survey, condom makers are faced with a very stiff challenge indeed, the 2005 study showing that the average Japanese only finds time for a bit of a fumble 45 times a year. A number that makes even Singaporeans seem sex mad, although their second to last figure of 73 sexual sorties is still way behind the top placed Greeks Olympian tally of 138.
Still, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, hopes in the industry are high, prompting one company to release the rather playful chocolate themed effort below. A product that provides the chance of a little extra excitement during break time.
And fear not those after something a bit more savoury, as amongst other items, online retailer Rakuten is offering an, erm, chicken ramen flavoured option.
Just make sure you leave home with the right one.
Sausage sorcery
As youngsters all over Japan take entrance examinations in the hope of bagging a place at their school or university of choice, snack manufacturers are equally busy trying to extract as much money as possible from these sleep deprived and stressed out students.
Nestle for one has it easy, as ‘Kit Kat’ is similar sounding to the Japanese for ‘definitely win’; meaning the multinational need only release different flavours of the popular biscuit to have the nation’s youth clamouring desperately for a bit of sugar-based superstitious success.
Yet despite having a much bigger mountain to climb, fish-based foodstuff maker Maruha has made a bid of its own for a piece of this lucrative market. The wily company bringing out a special edition of its, erm, fish sausages.
Realising early on that the product could be a tough sell, Maruha has ingeniously stamped each and every snack with the word gokaku (pass), encouraging students to mistakenly believe that sucking on a sausage will ultimately bring success.
But even after packing its ‘lucky’ product with extra DHA, given the choice of nibbling on this:
Instead of this:
The word ‘pass’ could become more appropriate than Maruha ever imagined.
Flowery flavour
Giving its famous chocolate covered biscuit something of a makeover, Kit Kat manufacturer Nestle has come up with this rather novel cherry blossom variety.
But before you question the introduction of a spring themed product in the middle of winter, its arrival is timed to perfectly coincide with the commencement of school entrance examinations; the humble snack having become something of a lucky charm of late, its name sounding very similar to the Japanese for ‘definitely win’ (click here for a more detailed explanation).
A phrase that may ultimately ring hollow for many Kit Kat recipients, but not, one can safely assume, for Nestle.
Hangover heaven
Suffering a long morning nursing a tear-inducing headache and/or repeated dashes to the bathroom, could finally be a thing of the past. And even better news is that it doesn’t require even the slightest reduction in alcohol consumption. Nor does it necessitate the quaffing of so much water that leaving the vicinity of a toilet for more than 10 minutes is fraught with extreme bladder discomfort and potential public embarrassment.
Yes, all one needs to do before embarking on a bout of liver damaging lunacy, is pop a couple of the pills pictured above. Then, after making short work of your first six or seven drinks, just take the remaining two. A procedure that makes the product’s name rather apt.
Once the second batch is taken — and this is the really good bit — you can happily continue boozing, safe in the knowledge that a hangover can’t touch you. Also, whatever your tipple of choice, it is said to work just the same.
Perhaps the only drawback is taking the pills at the right time. Which, after greedily guzzling upwards of five pints of premium lager, could be problematic to say the least. Especially as there appears to be no warning about what will happen if the ‘chasers’ are taken before or after the allotted number of beverages.
A headache perhaps? Projectile vomiting even?
Still, these young ladies appear perky enough after an alleged 48-hour bender. And they obviously swear by the stuff.
