I wrote a while ago about a TV programme here in Japan that tests extreme claims about products and things by finding two claims that are in (granted sometimes stretched) contradiction and pitting them against one another.
It is one of the few genuinely original shows on TV here that doesn’t involve food (OK, sometimes it involves food, and normally with no real reason to involve food…)
So I thought I would write again about it, so far two of the challenges have really made my Monday evening, one because of the cockiness of the guy that lost, and the one I will share with you because of just how incredible the product that won was!
The first of the two products were anti-theft paint balls that a shop worker can throw at a thief to mark them. These balls supposedly break on contact first time, every time. Their competitor was a mat made of “alpha-gel” that claimed to save any delicate falling object from it’s particulate fate.
The mat had it’s prowess shown by dropping various objects on it (usually an egg) and at one point getting a pro handball player (yes really) to throw it as hard as he could at the mat, which duly saved it from it’s messy fate.
The balls were demonstrated by dropping them gently onto various soft materials and showing how they broke at the slightest contact, the most impressive was the big thick pile of hotel standard towels – I am sure the hotel wasn’t happy with the indelible orange paint they found after check out!
You can watch the episode here but it is the whole episode in Japanese without subs…
For those who couldn’t be bothered watching the whole thing, the crucial point is at 20:00 in. Retired Hiroshima Carps pitcher Manabu Kitabeppu was brought in and allowed to place the throwing line at a distance that he thought he couldn’t miss the target, which he did. Then he missed the target with the first ball, splattering the on lookers with the criminal marking paint! The question I have here is why the makers who were so sure the ball would break were standing within splattering distance. If I thought the ball was sure to break, I would at least stand far enough away so as not to get indelible paint on me!
The second ball is the one to watch though. If you haven’t already, click the link above and slide along to 20mins in. Absolutely incredible!
Looking forward to this show coming back next Sunday afternoon!
