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Sep 14 2004 5 Comments

Rockin’ roses

Pictured below is Let’s Corp. president Masumi Gotoh. But don’t be fooled for one minute into thinking that Gotoh-san is a keen botanist, as what he’s actually demonstrating is his company’s Ka-on. A device that turns the petals and leaves of flowers into audio speakers.

ka-on.jpg

The name means flower sound, and the contraption consists of a donut-shaped magnet and coil that sits at the base of a vase and can be connected to a CD player, stereo, or TV. Then all you need to do is place some flowers in the vase, and the magnet and coil relay the sound vibrations up the stems and through the plant’s water tubes.

Ka-on vases and amplifiers come in various sizes and prices, the most expensive set retailing at 35,000 yen (175 pounds). Which it has to be said is a lot of money to have the sound of your favourite albums destroyed by playing them through a flower.

ka-on02.jpg

Categorized: General, Music, Odd, Technology Stuff

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. CTDeLude says

    9/14/2004 at 10:30 pm

    Interesting…and uh…..useless…

    Reply
  2. billy says

    9/15/2004 at 2:39 am

    …I’m sorry that I don’t comment more often…however your blog leaves me speechless more often than not with its wonderfulness (although there are moments I worry that I am falling into some *laughing at foreigners* trap)…
    …please keep blogging – I’m loving it (shit, turned into a macdonalds’ advert for a second)…

    Reply
  3. Ana says

    9/15/2004 at 12:24 pm

    okkkkkkkkkkkk….
    LOL
    yah. Sure. LOL

    Reply
  4. Lee says

    9/15/2004 at 8:17 pm

    Thanks Billy!

    With some of my posts I do worry that I may be treading a dangerous line, and just taking cheap shots at another culture.
    But really I’m only covering stuff that I find interesting, amusing, or whatever. It’s something I’d do wherever I was living (I think), but now it just so happens to be Japan.

    That’s my defence anyway, and I’m sticking to it!

    It’s good to know you like what I’m trying to do. And as far as comments go, don’t worry. With Typepad these days it seems to take forever to leave a message. I know they have to try and stop spam, but…

    Despite not being sure how long I’d last when I started this blog, I’ve found that “I’m lovin’ it” too, so I should be around for a while yet.

    Reply
  5. Spirit Fingers says

    9/16/2004 at 12:50 pm

    I think this blog is incredibly interesting too. Anyway, why must there always be baby’s breath in every floral arrangement.

    Reply

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