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WEIRD SCIENCE >> INVENTIONS & DISCOVERIES
STR ANGER THAN FICTION
Weird Science Can You Distinguish Between the Carefully Created or the Fabulously Fabricated? W RIT TE N BY C A MERON COBB
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tomato-feeding robot; a gel that can withstand bullets; language-translating headphones… are these the next big breaks in science and technology, or just all the props necessary for a cheesy, low-budget sci-fi film? Read on to see if there’s any truth to these intriguing innovations or if the seemingly ridiculous is simply just that … ridiculous!
A ROBOT THAT RIDES ON YOUR BACK AND FEEDS YOU TOMATOES WHILE YOU RUN A MARATHON. Say hello to “Tomatan,” and say goodbye to the difficulty of eating tomatoes while doing other things. Kagome, Japan’s largest supplier of both ketchup and tomato juice, created “Tomatan” to provide the perfect solution for people on the go, according to ibtimes.co.uk. This 18-pound machine sits on your shoulders and offers tomatoes by moving a small lever located on the robot’s “foot.” Kagome claims this to be beneficial for runners (such as participants in the Tokyo marathon), as tomatoes contain an abundance of nutrients that boost energy and help counter lethargy. The company partnered with a Japanese artistic studio called Maywa Denki, and the idea grew from there. 48 |
OUR TOWN MAGAZINE
JULY/AUGUST 2017