Nissin Space Ram astro noodles

Oishi neh? Not content with conquering the world's stomachs with their sushi and ramen, the Japanese have now looked to outer space. And proving the sky's the limit, Nissin Food founder Momofuku Ando has developed instant noodle that can be eaten while in orbit. Having that first slurp recently was Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi onboard the American shuttle Discovery, digging into a special zero-gravity, ball-shaped version of Space Ram. Apparently, the soup can be heated with water at just 70 degrees Celsius, which means pretty lukewarm noodles. The mix is thick enough not to spill and comes in four familiar flavors: Soy sauce, miso, curry and pork broth. Unfortunately for the earthbound, there are no plans to ship these astro ramen down to terra firma.

See larger image

Price: N.A.
Availability: Only for spacefarers
Device: Instant noodles
Basic specs: N.A.

Ramen Person On Duty

Just what every busy executive living off cup noodles needs. Yet another offbeat contraption from Osama No Idea, this ramen timer will provide a lid for your cup noodles as well as ensure it's cooked to el dente perfection without you keeping an eye on the clock. Just set the alarm and it will ring to alert you when your cuppa's done. Ramen not included.

Also from our current fav online store: Soda Keeper

Price: 1,050 yen (US$9.40)
Availability: osamanoidea.com
Device: Cup noodle timer
Basic specs: Main body washable, detachable timer, 90 x 22mm, battery attachment 75g, CR2032 battery, button for 3, 4, 5 mins with 20 sec adjustments

Soda Keeper

More strange contraptions for your bottled drink. The idea for this one's not terribly new, but it takes the fizz for being an oddball looker. Love the company name, too: Osama No Idea.

See also: KwikTop

Via Japan Today

Price: 1,890 yen (US$16.90) for set of three
Availability: osamanoidea.com
Device: Air pump for your drink
Basic specs: Up to 60 degrees Celcius heatproof, 30g, choice of three colors (white, blue, yellow)

KwikTop

Australian company KwikTop has a bottle cap that comes with a twist--a reusable bottle locking device with an integrated combination lock. The problem is your colleagues at work are either going to think you seriously don't like them. Or that you're having a Jerry Fletcher paranoia complex; the man who saw conspiracies everywhere in the screen flick Conspiracy Theory. But who cares? We prefer the attitude of Joey Tribiani from Friends when it comes to chow. "Joey doesn't share food!"

Go the whole hock with: Ben & Jerry's ice cream lock


Via Gizmag

Price: N.A.
Availability: Check out the Web site
Device: Combination lock for your drink
Basic specs: N.A.

USB Electric Blanket

What better use for your extra USB ports on your Hub then to snuggle under an electric blanket when the building's central aircon system gets a little too hardworking. Too bad it isn't big enough to share with that cute office colleague.

Get the big picture

Price: 4,980 yen (US$46)
Availability: MIB OnlineShop
Device:: USB device
Basic specs: 480mA, 2.45W, 36-38 degrees Celsius , 70 × 50cm, 1.5m, 210g, choice of two patterns

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