Saturday, October 29, 2005

Hair Dryer Poised to Make Housewives Wetter


Gentlemen, behold! The Matsushita “Nanoe Minus Ion” dryer! For those who have been living in the outer reaches of the Hindu Kush, minus (aka negative) ions are a snake oil cure-all for everything from stinky rooms to grumpiness here in Japan. Having not lived in the West for about 9 years, I’m not sure if this trend is big elsewhere or not, but here one can buy exorbitantly priced home negative-ion generators, negative-ion producing jewelry, and negative ion computer peripherals for the health-conscious geek. But what are these Nonoe Ions? According to the description of the Matsushita “Nanoe Minus Ion” hairdryer:

“Low acidity ‘Nanoe Ions’ are carried in the electric currents contained in water and are produced through cutting edge technology. Compared to regular ‘minus ions’ they contain 1000 times more moisture. This dryer produces ‘Nanoe Ions’ from its built-in 4cc water tank and injects them into the center of your damaged hair…”

Wow…so this dryer actually makes your hair wetter than it was before? I guess that justifies the JPY 14,000 (about US $120) price tag. What other items need Minus Nanoe Ion technology to inject more moisture into dry, neglected body parts? Post your ideas in the comments section (or not).