chindogu
n.— «In Japan, the designer Kenji Kawakami promotes wacky gadgetry as an art he calls “chindogu”—literally “weird tools,” but more humorously translated as “unuseless inventions.”» —“For Every Predicament, a Thingamajig to Solve It” by John Strausbaugh New York Times Mar. 21, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Carl in Sebastopol, California, was reminded of his childhood on New York’s Lower East Side while ready Harry Golden’s book For 2 Cents Plain (Amazon), the title referring to how customers ordered a plain glass of seltzer. For a little...
Book recommendations and the art of apology. Martha and Grant share some good reads, including an opinionated romp through English grammar, a Spanish-language adventure novel, an account of 19th-century dictionary wars, and a gorgeously illustrated...