See the video.

Kottke’s stand-in blogger, Cliff Kuang, is producing some very good linkage, besides the tip to the NYTimes article on magic fruit, you get:  instrument innovation

Nearby, Yuka Yoneda tilted her head back as her boyfriend, Albert Yuen, drizzled Tabasco sauce onto her tongue. She swallowed and considered the flavor: “Doughnut glaze, hot doughnut glaze!”

From NYTimes.

I’m wondering if you experience new tastes, or if you just don’t taste certain parts of foods as a result of this.

When I was in the navy, traveling to countries bordering the Baltic or the Mediterranean, I began to make observations of the culture. You could try to classify outgoing cultures, family-oriented, etc, etc. Lots of ways to slice the pie. I stumbled on a different, and more objective means of discerning cultural attributes. As crass it may first seem, I looked at bathroom design, and specifically, toilets.

First, my sample is, of course, limited to men’s bathrooms. However, even in that limited sample, you can start to look at some common variables. Are there privacy shields between urinals? Do the urinals extend to the floor? Do they have deodorizers in them? How clean are they? How tight are the toilet stalls? How low are they? Do they include sanitary guards for the seats? Auto flush? Bidets or no?

You’re rolling your eyes right now. You are asking yourself–”what does this say about the cultures?” I think you can break down the elements, and if you have a large enough sample, make inferences about what the culture values. How designed are the bathrooms? Or are they utilitarian, or at worst, forgotten necessities?

I used to sketch the layout, shapes, and design elements where I traveled. I’ve lost those records to many moves and many boxes that accumulate. But rather than focusing on the insights I could generate from those drawings, I’d like to push myself to find common cultural items — the more mundane the better — and break them apart, and compare and contrast them. As I get deeper into some global client work, the more interested I become, again, in understanding cultures — what unites us and what defines us.

A must watch.

His book (Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative) is in my Amazon cart.

New year, lost your way, need inspiration? Troll the web.

Mike Rhode, who I became aware of via his sketches of SEED, is so inspiring — from thoughts on journals and pens at Journalisimo, to his blog (Rohdesign), to his logo work, to his sketchtoons…

Another similar inspiration: Butter Label.