As news stories about elderly Japanese people choking on the sticky rice dish, mochi, have wormed their way into our post-New Year’s consciousness next to hangovers and Twilight Zone marathons, it was only a matter of time before our gadgets started catching up. Now, a simple vacuum attachment wants to get shoved down your throat, potentially saving you from an untimely and delicious end.
For years, as soon as January 1st hits, articles will start popping up with tragic tales of (often elderly) individuals choking on the traditional Japanese New Year’s dish consisting of starchy, sticky, pounded rice. Because the rice cakes are so compactly glutinous, it’s all to easy for larger chunks to get lodged in less agile throats. And that’s where the power of suction comes in.
The simple tube extension, which is manufactured by a Tokyo-based medical supplies company, works pretty much exactly like you’d think. Should someone near you start choking as they chow down, just jam the clear attachment onto the end of your vacuum, shove the tube down your neighbour’s throat, start sucking, kindly apologise for what you’re doing to this human, and voila — no more blockage.
It’s hard to imagine the process being even mildly comfortable, but who cares? It’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative. [Core 77]