![shortformblog:
theatlantic:
Japan: The Country Where 59% of Households Still Have a Fax
For most industrialized nations, the arrival of e-mail quickly heralded the beginning of a very slow decline for fax technology. But for a mix of reasons, Japan hung on. First, there’s language: Early word-processing software couldn’t work with kanji, Japanese characters, so handwriting (and therefore fax) was the best way to transcribe and send messages electronically. Additionally, Japanese document seals — used much like a signature — are often required for paperwork. Finally, high-speed Internet has remained costly in Japan, pushing much of the communication we do online to either mobile or … fax.
Read more. [Image: &_yo/Flickr]
Who in the U.S. owned a fax machine at home even when they were popular? Not talking the all-in-one printer deals, either.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5b5i3xWCU1qcokc4o1_500.jpg)
Japan: The Country Where 59% of Households Still Have a Fax
For most industrialized nations, the arrival of e-mail quickly heralded the beginning of a very slow decline for fax technology. But for a mix of reasons, Japan hung on. First, there’s language: Early word-processing software couldn’t work with kanji, Japanese characters, so handwriting (and therefore fax) was the best way to transcribe and send messages electronically. Additionally, Japanese document seals — used much like a signature — are often required for paperwork. Finally, high-speed Internet has remained costly in Japan, pushing much of the communication we do online to either mobile or … fax.
Read more. [Image: &_yo/Flickr]
Who in the U.S. owned a fax machine at home even when they were popular? Not talking the all-in-one printer deals, either.
Japan has shut down another nuclear power station, bringing it a step closer to suspending atomic energy, following the Fukushima disaster.
Only one of the 54 nuclear reactors remains in operation, and it is due to be switched off in May.
Strong earthquake hits northeastern Japan, causes tsunami
A tsunami hit Japan’s northeastern coastline on Wednesday, officials said, after a strong earthquake rocked the region almost exactly a year on from the country’s worst post-war natural disaster.
A 6.9-magtinude quake struck 26.6 kilometres below the seabed off the northern island of Hokkaido in the Pacific at 6:08 pm local time, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
How collective memory saved lives during Japan’s tsunamis: When the tsunami struck Miyatojima island, a story passed down through generations meant residents knew what to do and kept many safe.
A millennium ago, the residents of Murohama, knowing they were going to be inundated, had sought safety on the village’s closest hill. But they had entered into a deadly trap. A second wave, which had reached the interior of the island through an inlet, was speeding over the rice paddies from the opposite direction. The waves collided at the hill and killed those who had taken refuge there. To signify their grief and to advise future generations, the survivors erected a shrine.
… Some 50 generations later, on March 11, 2011, the Murohama tsunami warning tower — which was supposed to sound an alarm — was silent, toppled by the temblor. Still, without the benefit of an official warning system supported by modern science, the locals relied on the lesson that had been transmitted generation to generation for 1,000 years. “We all know the story about the two tsunami waves that collided at the shrine,” I was told.
Wow.
Photo: Evacuees from Futaba, a town near the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, arrive to an evacuation shelter near Tokyo. Credit: Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press
Want Someone to Shut Up? There's a (Non-Lethal) Gun for That
Japanese researchers have created a non-lethal gun that silences people up to 100 feet away.
Via Extreme Tech:
The gun has two purposes, according to the researchers: At its most basic, this gun could be used in libraries and other quiet spaces to stop people from speaking — but its second application is a lot more chilling.
The researchers were looking for a way to stop “louder, stronger” voices from saying more than their fair share in conversation. The paper reads: “We have to establish and obey rules for proper turn-taking when speaking. However, some people tend to lengthen their turns or deliberately interrupt other people when it is their turn in order to establish their presence rather than achieve more fruitful discussions. Furthermore, some people tend to jeer at speakers to invalidate their speech.” In other words, this speech-jamming gun was built to enforce “proper” conversations.
The speech jamming gun works by using a directional mic to capture the offending voice and then rebroadcasting the audio back to them with directional speakers. The reported effect is similar to talking on the phone when there’s an echo. As we hear the delayed feedback our brains get jammed.
Japanese make world’s biggest KitKat
University of Tokyo students have made a giant version, measuring 100 x 60 x 20cm and weighing 80kg.
KitKat is considered a lucky food in Japan as it is pronounced “kitto katsu” in Japanese which means “I surely win”.
