Introducing eight nuggets of life wisdom to up your random trivia game

tsunamifi

You know that one person who could definitely win Jeopardy because he/she just seems to know everything? RocketNews24 is happy (and a bit smug) to announce that today we’re going to be that person and share with you some tokens of life wisdom that were originally offered up on the Japanese internet. Want to find out the luckiest day of the year, an early warning sign for cancer, and a subconscious way to boost productivity at work? Let us enlighten you!

Japanese website CuRAZY recently shared a smattering of helpful tidbits and life advice, some under trending hashtag #有益なことをつぶやこう (“let’s share beneficial stuff”). We’re sure you’ll find one that can help you out!

1. Lucky, lucky day

あ、そうだ。知らない人が多そうな日本の知識をひとつ。来週の火曜(29)は日本の暦上1番縁起がいいとされる天赦日(当然大安より上)で、かつ何かを仕込むと何倍にもなって帰ってくるという一粒万倍日という多分今年1番縁起の良い日なので、宝くじ買うならその日がいいかと思います。
—
かず(エヴァレット解釈) (@kazzna) September 24, 2015

“A lot of people don’t seem to know this, so I’ll share a piece of trivia about Japan. Next Tuesday (September 29) is tenshanichi, which is one of the luckiest days of the year according to the traditional Japanese calendar. It’s even more auspicious than the regularly occurring taian day [see below]. The 29th is the best day to begin something new because it also overlaps with another lucky day on which it’s foretold that the efforts you put into something will be returned to you many times over. I guess it would be a good day to buy a lottery ticket.”

The traditional Japanese calendar includes the rokuyo, a recurring pattern of six days which supposedly predicts good or bad fortune. There are only five or six tenshanichi per year. The dates to bear that title in 2015 are March 3, May 2, May 18, July 17, September 29, and December 14.

2. *Gulp*

昔何かで見た津波の図。数10センチでもヤバイと言われるのでご注意を http://t.co/7qaE7lUzZY
—
えびふらい (@ebifly857) September 18, 2015

“I saw this diagram explaining a tsunami’s height a while ago. Even when a tsunami is only 10 centimeters (3.94 inches) high, it’s already considered destructive.

Upper picture: “What I thought a one-meter (3.28 feet) high tsunami meant”

Lower picture: “What an actual one-meter high tsunami means.” The person is saying “Yep, no way.”

3. Mind-body connection

仕事もプライベートもダメで八方塞がり。死にてえって思ったら3ヶ月だけ筋トレしてみてくれ。テストステロンという支配欲を司るホルモンが分泌されてネガティブな気持ちを打ち消してくれる。それに加えて筋肉が付き良い身体になれば気分は最高だ。見た目が良くなれば気分も良くなる。非常に単純な事だ
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Testosterone (@badassceo) May 30, 2015

“I was at a dead-end in both work and my personal life. If you ever feel like you want to die, try weight training for just three months. Exercise will help boost your testosterone levels, and those will wipe out the negative feelings. In addition, your muscles and body will become more toned and that will put you in the best mood. When you improve your appearance, you also improve your mind. It’s such a simple thing.”

4. Goodbye, spam

迷惑メール来たら、 meiwaku@dekyo.or.jp のアドレスに転送し、本文の文頭に「受信月日「送信者アドレス」を書くと総務省が行政処分してくれるって！ #有益なことをつぶやこう
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う。低浮上 (@sssxiah1124) January 04, 2012

“If you get spam or other annoying messages, forward them to meiwaku@dekyo.or.jp. Write the date you received them and the sender’s address at the top of the message. The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will then supposedly take action.”

We haven’t tried doing this ourselves, but give it a shot if you’re being inundated with pesky messages and report back to us!

▼ It’s like that scene in Harry Potter, minus the owls.

Image: Recruiting Blogs

5. Beer bubbles in a pinch

だまされたと思って、一度やってみてください。「あ」て言いますから。 http://t.co/EluezraU
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えいちん@ワンワンのかわ (@claclaclarinet) July 23, 2012

“If you think this won’t work, please try it once and you’ll see.

Directions: 1. Pour chilled beer into a small, empty plastic bottle. 2. Twist the cap on and give it a few good shakes. 3. Fill a glass about 70% full, then slowly pour out the frothy part from the plastic bottle. You’ll definitely say ‘Ah!'”

6. Beer as cancer detection

自分も含め最近のがんは自覚症状がほとんどないまま進んでいるケースが多く、病院行った時には末期や転移と宣言されることが多々あります。長い入院生活でワシが多くの患者から共通して聞いた自覚症状があります。それは「仕事後のビールがまずくなった」です。お酒がまずくなったら要注意です
—
オスカー2020 (@mass20201) May 02, 2015

“I’ve been hearing about a lot of cases recently, including my own, where people had cancer but there were no immediate symptoms, and when they finally went to the hospital were told that the disease had already progressed far. I’ve been in a hospital for a long time now and there’s one particular warning sign that many patients tell me. Everyone says, “The beers I would drink after work tasted nasty.’ If beer starts tasting bad to you, perhaps you should go in for a medical check-up.”

Many people in the comments section confirmed this fact from their own experiences.

▼ If it’s not crappy beer to begin with and you know how it should taste, maybe it’s a heads-up that something’s wrong.

Image: Thrillist

7. Two plans are better than one

分野は書かないが、ワタシの知人は仕事で絶対に二案以上持って行くと言っていた。理由は「一案だけだと相手は『ダメ出し』が仕事だと考える。でも複数持って行くと相手は『選ぶこと』が自分の仕事だと考える。そうやって仕事をやりやすくしてく」とのことであった
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ばるぼら (@bxjp) October 28, 2014

“I won’t write what field he’s in, but a friend said that he always prepares two plans for any situation. He explained, ‘With only one plan, clients tend to think that you still have room for improvement. But if you offer them multiple plans, clients will instead view the situation as their choice. This makes your job much easier.”

8. Increasing productivity

先日ホール内でイベントのバラし中での出来事なんですが、施工会社がダラダラと仕事してて困ってたら主催側から運動会の曲を流してみては？と提案され、運動会でお馴染みのウィリアムテル序曲をホール内に爆音で流したところ作業効率が10%アップして1時間半早く撤収しました。オススメします。
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しおりさん (@Dog_magica) October 27, 2014

“This is something that happened at work the other day. A construction company was cleaning up from an event in the hall somewhat sluggishly, so the sponsoring organization suggested blasting the familiar William Tell Overture into the room. They increased their productivity by 10 percent and finished an hour and a half early. I recommend this idea.”

▼ On a related note, did you know that the 1812 Overture actually calls for a battery of canons to go off during the performance?

Image: Go Comics [copyright Bill Watterson]