Hitachi's "green" refrigerator turns out blue

Going "green" is a huge movement, with companies around the world releasing products that have less and less of an environmental impact--or, at least, that's what they want us to believe. As consumers' interest in eco-friendly products gets higher, so does the temptation to embellish a product's green credentials.

According to The Mainichi Daily News, Hitachi Appliances, a subsidiary of Hitachi and currently Japan's biggest refrigerator maker, seems to be the first company to have fallen for the temptation to claim a product is green when it isn't.

Of nine refrigerator models the company released between September and November of last year, including the "Eiyo Ikiiki Shinku Chirudo V" and the "Big & Slim 60", six are not eco-friendly at all and the other three are far from the level of eco-friendliness the company advertised them to be.
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Games meet dentistry with the PediSedate

Sometimes we hear about gadgets that are made for good but could definitely be used for evil. Take the PediSedate, a combo gaming device and sedation machine.

It's essentially a Game Boy system modified to distract kids ages 3 to 9 with Tetris or something while they're pumped full of nitrous oxide to knock them unconscious for dental surgery. Sounds evil, even though it's intended to make things easier on the kid.
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Designer-rolled sushi, anyone?

Is there any other way to roll a sushi roll apart from using the Japanese bamboo mat? If you're a traditionalist or purist when it comes to the art of maki making, look away. But if you're game for a fun intepretation of a sushi roller machine from German-based studio osko + deichmann, check out its odd-looking device which is slated for showcase this June at the Kitchen Ecology Exhibition in Los Angeles. There's just no way to do full justice to how this machine works, except to show it in pictures. Which is exactly what the studio has done in a step-by-step gallery. In fact, if you're feeling really bored this weekend, you could print this out in color and turn it into a flip book of moving images. More photos after the jump.
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Heart rate monitor for swimmers

Though most heart rate monitors are waterproof and can be used by swimmers, they are normally strapped to the chest or worn on the wrists. This makes checking your pulse on-the-go almost impossible in the water.

The Finis AquaPulse, on the other hand, is a nifty little device that is strapped to the goggles and rests on the temple, with a little bone conduction earpiece that you clip to your ear lobe.
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Noodle Waterslide for fun family meals

What's that about not playing with your food? But seeing as the Noodle Waterslide's from Japanese toymaker Bandai, it does wear the label of "toy". Still, this not only brings back memories of another noodle device, the USB-powered noodle strainer, it's actually a replica of the flowing somen speciality called nagashi somen which I so wanted to try out while visiting Japan. Too bad this summer delight is found mainly in the Hyogo prefecture.

Here, thin somen is put in water flowing along a long bamboo gutter where you catch the noodles with your chopsticks, dip them in a cold broth, and well, dig in. While plastic doesn't quite replace bamboo, it's one way to have summer somen at home anytime you fancy playing with your food. The Noodle Waterslide just slithered out in Japan on April 18, for 8400 yen (US$85).
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