Singing Japanese... plants?!

[APTYP]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20040720/od_uk_nm/oukoe_odd_japan_flowers

TOKYO (Reuters) - People who like talking to their plants can now enjoy a musical accompaniment, thanks to a Japanese invention that turns petals and leaves into amplifiers.



Called the "Flower Speaker Amplifiers", the gadget made by Let's Corp is hidden in a vase or a potted plant and sends music at just the right frequency to vibrate up the stems and then be converted into audible sound by the plant as a whole.

A device such as a CD player or radio can be connected to it.

"Anywhere where you would want music naturally integrated with a natural surrounding," said Hirohiko Okugawa, a manager at Let's, referring to locations for the device, which he expects it to be popular for hotels and hospital lobbies.

The inventor of the gadget, Keiji Koga, said: "We are finally able to experience plants and flowers with all five of our natural senses."

The firm expects to begin selling the speakers by mid-August for 5,000 yen (24.8 pounds) to 50,000 yen depending on the plant's size.

And according to Koga, music is also good for the plants, which are invigorated by the constant musical vibes.

 

[Gus]

Seems like a pretty stupid combination.. But what do I know? I'm not really into plants.

 

[Bradylama]

The Japanese are notorious for stupid inventions that started out with a neat concept.

 

[MadDog]

Anyone remember those fake flowers from the 80s/90s that dance to a song? They were plastic, in a fake pot, and had silly faces.

http://helios.hampshire.edu/~mjmSS/images/flower.jpg

 

[SuAside]

your url isnt correct maddog


my 2 cents: i'd rather have a real boxset instead of a shaking mary jane plant to listen to my metal thank you very much...

 

[MadDog]

works for me when i click it...

 

[SuAside]

jup, now it does for some strange reason

maybe the server was down for a sec

 

[KillaKilla]

Meh, seems like just the thing to tip my 'puters cuircit over the brink!

 

[Big T]

It sounds pretty much the same as a device you can buy to turn windows (the glass ones, not Microsoft) into speakers, but twisted around until it becomes a bizzare and pointless invention.
EDIT - Linky-Linky
That kind of device.

 

[SuAside]

yeah, there are also bags of air that can be turned into speakers

thank you very much but i'll stick to my little 5.1 set to listen to metal & game

 

[Ratty Sr.]

Interesting. I wonder if the gadget works for techno. It would take a hell of a plant to reproduce those phat beats.