The huge face balloon that left a huge impression

Twitter gives me an opportunity to know something I didn't know.
I found a very interesting art project that was held in 2014. Yes, I know it is a bit late to notice, but I cannot hesitate to write about it because it is funny, amazing and has a little taste of surrealism.

The project was called "Floating Guy's Face in the Utsunomiya Sky." Utsunomiya is a name of a city in Japan.
Seeing is believing, here are pictures of the project that was on Twitter.

なんか知らんが見物人の心に強烈なインパクトを残した「宇都宮の空におじさんの顔を浮かべる」というアートプロジェクトから早5年か。いや非常に面白かった。飽きずにずーっと見上げてたもん。今でも次の作品、待ってるんだけどまだかな？改めて写真見ると、相当ヘンですわねこれ。#宇都宮 #おじさん pic.twitter.com/EQo6uR82PK

— 栃ナビ！ (@tochinavitoto) 2019年3月23日

This project was prepared by the Utsunomiya Museum of Art and an artist group named "Mé." The face model was selected from among the 218 applicants in the city. To me, this face looks like a famous Japanese comedian and it makes this balloon funnier. The size of this balloon is 15 m (49 ft) in height and 10 m (32 ft) in width.

I have seen big balloons before, but they were shapes of pretty animals or ordinary spheres, but not a realistic human face. When people see an enormous realistic face in the air, the impression they would take seems very different from those pretty animals or spheres.

If I didn't know about the project and went out of the house, then noticed this huge face balloon floating above, I would have been astonished.
According to people who saw this huge balloon with the unaided eye, they said that this huge face balloon left a strong impact on their mind and most of them couldn't stop gazing at it, and some of them kept following it. If we see a big balloon, we look at it but don't try to chase after it.
I don't know what it is, but a realistic face balloon seems to have something that attracts people.

I linked to a news page that have several face balloon pictures. Please look at those pictures.
One of them was taken at night and the balloon looks like the moon.

AFPBB News

https://www.afpbb.com/articles/-/3034866?pno=9&pid=14986656

I don't know the definition of art, but I think what can leave so much impression on people's mind and still continues to be handed down even after five years have passed is an art.

If you are very interested in this balloon and want to see your face become a huge balloon, here is a chance! You can apply for your face to The Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the English page. If you want to apply, please tell me. I'll help you to translate it. If your face has been chosen, your huge face balloon will float in the Tokyo sky in 2020. Isn't it exciting?


https://masayume.mouthplustwo.me/index.html

Automata, pendant heads and puzzle ring creator, Hideo Fukuda

I found Hideo Fukuda through Twitter long ago. He designs and makes silver accessories and automata. Once you look at his unique sense of designs, you will not forget them.

Recently, one tweet with pictures that he has uploaded caught my eye. Here are the pictures I was fascinated with. It's a maze ring.

The structure of this ring is two layers, an outside ring and an inner ring. There is a tiny projection on the inner ring and the projection can go through between the grooves of maze that are on the outside ring. Yes, that's right. You can play with this ring. Two rings can be separated after you finished solving the maze.

Unfortunately, this ring is one-of-a-kind. However, Hideo says that he is going to commercialize the ring as a slightly improved product with almost the same design. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

He also designs automata. Most of his automata are very small and I feel a little melancholy and warmth about them. Here is a video of his automata.

It's unbelievable making such a small doll that can be moved. It must be a very difficult job.

He designs not only automata, but also works on pendant heads that are made of silver. As you see, those pendant heads are all animal designs.

My favorite is "A cat traveling to space" because it's a pendant head that can be moved by rotating a tiny handle like an automaton. Isn't it fun?

「宇宙へ旅する猫」シルバーペンダントのギミック。 pic.twitter.com/DfNpzT2BSL

— アトリエpuchuco (@puchuco709) February 2, 2019

A pendant head of Opisthoteuthis californiana is charming too. It looks like an alien that people imagined long ago or a Pac-Man. One of the surprising things is, he has made octopus's feet finely. That's an amazing work! It seems like this tiny octopus is one of the best seller pendant heads.

There is one design I have never seen. A pendant head of a doll whose organs can be seen. What a unique way of designing! The preferences may be different depending on the person, but there is no doubt that this pendant head is a unique design.

Those accessories he has made used SILVER 925. Until today, I didn't know the meaning of silver 925. I googled it and understood that it means it contains 92.5% of silver. He says that all the works are finished by hand, so the color and texture might differ one by one. In a sense, I think it's nice that all the products are not exactly the same. You can have one thing in the world.

Those beautiful works are available only inside of Japan. If you would like to buy his work, ask your Japanese friend. I put his online shop link below.

Atelier puchuco : http://puchuco.jp/
puchuco's Twitter : https://twitter.com/puchuco709

 

A versatile puzzle designer, Kohfuh Satoh

I would like to introduce you to a Japanese puzzle designer who has a playful spirit with a design sense. He is Kohfuh Satoh. I don't remember very well, but maybe I first met him at the site where the Academy of Recreational Mathematics, Japan was held.

Here is his portrait that was assembled with tangram. Making a portrait using puzzle pieces is very Kohfuh Satoh. He is quite a puzzle lover.

He is a multiple talented puzzle designer. He pays attention to a variety of wonders and offers various kinds of interesting creations; puzzles, illustrations, writing, event planning, editing books and so on.

For example, this is the mathematical magic book he has participated in editing, "Encyclopedia of Mathematical Magic" (Sorry, this book is only a Japanese version). Here is a photo of "Encyclopedia of Mathematical Magic." The cover design of this book was also his.

This is my personal opinion, there is no one except him who is suitable for drawing illustrations for mathematic or puzzle books because he majored in mathematics at university. It's better for someone who understands the contents of a book to draw illustrations. In fact, he designed the poster for The Mathematical Society of Japan in 2012.

Let's get back to the subject, puzzles.

I found his puzzles at my favorite puzzle shop in Tokyo, Japan, Torito. 

I guess some of you guys who read this blog visited Torito when you went to Tokyo, Japan for IPP.

Puzzle Shop Torito
http://torito.jp/shopping/search.cgi?series=kohfuh

Kohfuh feels sorry for puzzle lovers who live outside of Japan that his puzzles are a little difficult to obtain.

He says that his puzzles are not very difficult, but tricky.

What a nice word, tricky! I'm sure that most puzzle lovers love something tricky.
Long ago, I got one of his puzzles "4U." As you see in the picture below, it looks very simple, but it was tricky.
When I uploaded the picture of "4U" onto my blog, some readers said that this puzzle is impossible to solve. No, no, it IS possible.

4U

http://kofth.com/projects/4u/en.html

I'm now interested in the puzzle "Chaplin." Using four pieces you make a bowler hat. He says that "Chaplin" has an element of surprise. I'm a bit curious what it is.

Chaplin

http://torito.jp/shopping/item.cgi?_chaplin

Looking forward to seeing what he is going to do for his next step forward.

Kohfuh's website - Kofth :  http://kofth.com/en.html

Kohfuh's Twitter : https://twitter.com/kohfuhsatoh

Puzzling Times - Kohfuh confuses! : 

http://allardspuzzlingtimes.blogspot.com/2013/10/kohfuh-confuses.html

 

 

You can download the STL file for Kohfuh Satoh's interlocking puzzle from the site below.

https://www.printables.com/model/1184759-puzzle

 

Berbard Gutton's water clock

Today's topic is about a water clock.
I have seen a huge water clock in Yokohama, Japan. It's placed in the middle of the big hall of The Bank of Yokohama, Head Office. I went to the bank more than 10 years ago just to look at the water clock.

Here are some pictures of the water clock at the Bank of Yokohama.

This huge water clock was designed by a French physicist, Bernard Gitton. If you search the word "Bernard Gitton", you will find several pictures and videos. I haven't seen it but it seems like there is another water clock in Nagoya, Japan too. Maybe it might be somewhere near you.

Here is one of the videos of Bernard Gitton's water clock.

I was at the bank for about 10 or 15 minutes and tried to figure out how to read the time, but it was a little awkward. As you see in the picture, there is an ordinary clock on the top of the water clock as just a reminder. I don't remember it well now, but I think it moves actively at regular intervals.
This water clock is not practical, yet it has a very interesting mechanism and is artistic. More than anything, it's beautiful isn't it? You can forget the time seeing this clock even if you are looking at a clock.

Bernard Gitton - Physics and Art: https://vimeo.com/28461780

The Mystery of cube-shaped poop

I know this blog is supposed to be written as a puzzle blog. I should write about a topic that is related to puzzles, but I cannot ignore this unique topic. Before I start writing, I will tell you that this topic may not be suitable for people who are about to eat a meal. The reason is, as you already know seeing the title, it's about wombat droppings.

All right. I warned you enough, so if you feel awful while you are eating your meal, I'm not going to accept any complaints, O.K?

I have read an article about wombats. It's on the National Geographic website. The surprising thing is that wombats are the only animals in the world that produce cube-like shaped scat. This article intrigued my curiosity. It's like a biological puzzle.

There is one postulation that is common which is cube-shaped scat cannot be rollable and can be put around the territory to mark its territory to other wombats.

Wombat poo is cube shaped so they can mark their territory with it but no one knows how they make their poo square #advancedwombattechnology pic.twitter.com/fIvMhyRoWS

— Diana S. Fleischman (@sentientist) 2016年11月3日

This postulation describes the purpose of using cube-shaped poop, it's not how it is made. I'm interested in how it can be cube-shaped. I thought it's strange that a cube which is about 2 cm size exists in nature. There must be a reason.

The first thing that popped into my head is a process of making macaroni. There are different shapes of macaroni extruders and depending on the extruder attachment, the shape of macaroni would be very different.

Patricia Yang, a researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology, says that at first she thought that they have square anuses. However, the samples of intestines of two roadkill wombats showed the expectation was wrong. The pig intestine is a relatively uniform elasticity, but the wombat intestine is a much more irregular shape. She thinks that two distinct ravine-like grooves in the wombats' intestine help make cube-shaped poop.
Hmm, the wombat mystery is getting more interesting.

Mike Swinbourne, from the University of Adelaide, says that the shape of wombat poop is more likely related to the dry environment.
Bill Zeigler, Brookfield Zoo and Peter Clements, the president of the organization of Wombats SA, have the same opinion that two elements, intestine and moisture, might be the reasons.

What I thought strange was "two distinct ravine-like grooves of a wombats' intestine." I wonder why there are two grooves, not four? I couldn't find the picture of two grooves. I wonder if two grooves are spiral or straight?

I think it's rare to see something shaped like a polyhedron in nature. I know bacteriophages have a dodecahedron head or there are rocks that are shaped like a hexagon. I don't think those are strange but wombats!

Can you guess how it's made?
This must be a new type of puzzle challenge from wombats!

photo credit: tomosuke214 ウォンバットの「チューバッカ」＠多摩動物公園 via photopin (license) photo credit: Andrew C Wallace upwind via photopin (license)

 

We need to have a conversation about wombats - The Oatmeal 

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/wombats