Tsunami Pool at Chinese water park lives up to name, injures dozens with bone-breaking giant wave

Video shows sudden surge left no time for escape.

In sweltering mid-summer weather, a trip to the local water park can be a great way to cool off. Unfortunately, for dozens of visitors to Yulong Shuiyun Water Amusement Park, in the city of Longjing in China’s northeastern Jilin Province, their plan to beat the heat ended up with the park’s attractions giving them a beating instead.

Like a lot of similar facilities, Yulong Shuiyun Water Amusement Park has a wave pool. The park seems particularly proud of the intensity of its attraction, gong so far as to call it the “Tsunami Pool.” Unfortunately, last Monday that turned out to not really be much of an exaggeration, as this video, shot inside the park, shows.

After sending a series of normal-sized waves swimmers’ way, suddenly a much larger mass of water swells. Several times higher than the heads of the people in the pool, the giant wave doesn’t give them a playful push, but slams into them simultaneously from the front and above, carrying the first row of swimmers crashing into the people behind them. People further back can be seen struggling to get out of the way of the advancing mix of water, bodies, and flat rings, but you can only run so fast in water, and it’s only the guests at the far end of the pool, opposite where the wave formed, who aren’t caught in the mess.

In total, 44 guests were injured, including three who suffered broken ribs or legs.

To further illustrate that this wasn’t supposed to happen, water can be seen spilling out of the pool and briefly flooding the surrounding walkways. The Longjiang city government has denied early rumors that operator error was to blame, and is instead saying that its initial findings show that a power cut damaged the Tsunami Pool’s electronic equipment and caused a malfunction, though it’s not currently clear how a loss of power had the end result of making the machine-produced waves larger than intended.

The park was closed for a day for an inspection and investigation, but is reportedly now open for business again. There’s no word as to whether or not the Tsunami Pool is up and running again, but if it is, odds are it’s quite a bit less crowded than usual.

Sources: TBS News via Jin, South China Morning Post
Top image: YouTube/CoolChina
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Japanese doctor’s amazingly simple way to keep kids from crying before and after they get a shot.

Skipping the white lies and asking a single question is a better way to deal with tiny patients’ great big fears.

If a doctor is prescribing an injection, odds are it’s something the child really needs, but there’re few things that’ll scare a kid more quickly than a doctor with a needle in his or her hand. So to help keep the kid from panicking, many doctors, and parents too, fall back on the old white lie of “This won’t hurt a bit.”

Of course, after it’s over often the kid will scream and cry about how it really did hurt, because, come on, someone just stabbed a needle through their flesh and into their vein! It’d be weirder if that didn’t feel at least a little unpleasant.

Still, the fib gets them to sit still long enough for the doctor to administer the shot, right? But an incredibly kind and clever doctor recently showed Japanese mother and Twitter user @miyacollections an even better way to handle the situation, one that kept her child calm both before and after the injection.

“When my kid needed an injection, the doctor asked ‘Do you want the injection that hurts? Or the one that doesn’t hurt very much?’

‘The one that doesn’t hurt very much!’ answered my kid, and he didn’t cry. When it was over, my kid said ‘It hurt, but I’m glad I chose the one that doesn’t hurt very much,’ and was satisfied with his decision and how things turned out.”

“The doctor’s question was the kindest lie in the world,” concluded @miyacollections, and Twitter commenters were equally impressed with the doctor’s skillful handling of the common kid’s fear, saying:

“I never would have thought of that!”

“I’m an adult, and I wish the doctor would ask me that [before I get a shot].”

“Kids need to feel like their thoughts have an effect, and letting them make a choice like this helps them feel like they’re not being forced into a situation.”

“They say that the sensation of pain is amplified when you feel like you’re not in control of the situation, and lessened when you feel like you are in control. This doctor must really understand that.”

There’s no denying that the doctor has a keen understanding of child psychology, and also a kind heart. But as for his question of “Do you want the shot that hurts, or the one that doesn’t hurt very much?” being a lie? The doctor can probably skate by on a technicality there, since as an experienced medical professional he has the training and muscle memory to at least make the shot hurt less than it would in less-skilled hands, even if that’s a service he already provides to his little patients without being asked.

Source: Twitter/@miyacollections via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso
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Japanese performance artist develops kit to let you experience a summer music festival anywhere

“Fuji Rock Anywhere” can be made with ordinary household products.

This year’s three-day Fuji Rock music festival has come to a close, but for many this is bittersweet news. Not everyone has the time or money to spend on such fun in the sun, and that includes performance artist Bokunou (@_bokunou) who instead developed a way to bring Fuji Rock to the masses.

▼ “My new work is a thing called ‘Fuji Rock Anywhere.’ Even if you can’t go to Fuji Rock because you have to work, you will feel like you went there. All you need is a lawn, spray bottle, and earphones.”

As the video shows, all you have to do is take two swatches of artificial turf. However, dry grass isn’t going to fool anyone, especially yourself, so you must first spritz the lawn with some water. Then, simply slip off your footwear and step onto the lush greenery.

Next slide in your earphones and play some music. Some audio from the actual Fuji Rock found on YouTube, like the video below, would be good, but eh, whatever floats your boat is fine too.

After that, just close your eyes and be transported to a real music festival. According to the video, at some point your shirt will get ripped off. I’m not sure why because I haven’t tried it myself yet.

Still, Fuji Rock Anywhere allows you to experience a music festival using two of your senses. While that’s two less than actually being at Fuji Rock, it’s still one more than not being at Fuji Rock…so there’s that.

The invention was well-received over Twitter, netting high praise such as:

“Bokunou is a genius.”
“I can’t go to Fuji Rock, so I’m going to do this.”
“This is seriously the best.”
“This is really clever.”
“It can work for other music festivals too!”
“That’s great, but seriously, you should wear shoes at an actual music festival because it’s filthy.”
“You could also just stand in some regular grass outside and not pay anything!”

Fans of Bokunou might notice that he’s missing his trademark bangs that were featured in his breakout hit video “Brushing Man.”

Bokunou has also teamed up with makers of Cup Noodle, Nissin, and given their track record for the bizarre, this 2018 collaboration should surprise no one. Bokuno developed the Futaomen (Lid Mask) campaign in which people are encouraged to make a mask out of the lids from UFO instant yakisoba tubs.

▼ Bokunou makes a startling appearance at the very end of this commercial, telling us all to make a Futaomen

Yes, we are witnessing the birth of a real Renaissance man in Bokunou and are excited to see what he does next. Meanwhile, if you’re upset about not being able to see our own reporter Seiji Nakazawa perform at a sold-out festival in England, you now know what to do.

Source: Twitter/@_bokunou, Netlab, Nissin
Featured image: Twitter/@_bokunou
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The Genius Behind Cartoon Boobs (Masterclass Parody)

How else will people know if an animated character is a girl?

The Genius Behind Cartoon Boobs (Masterclass Parody)


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Long-exposure Japanese fireworks photos show what happens when you hold on to a flash of beauty

Detective Pikachu plush arrives in mysterious packaging【Photos, video】

That’s one way to package things, we guess.

Since we saw a preview of Pokemon Detective Pikachu last November, we’ve been falling more and more in love with the CG version of one of our favorite 2-D characters. When the movie came out, It was every bit as good as we’d hoped, as you can read in our review, so we’re not at all surprised that everyone wants some Detective Pikachu merch, which differs slightly from the traditional Pikachu goods.

When Twitter user @bauerpower ordered a Detective Pikachu plush online, she probably expected it to come in the traditional cardboard box with some bubble wrap or inflated plastic bags to cushion the package’s contents. But when she received the ordered item, she was fairly surprised.

▼ It looks exactly like Detective Pikachu…on a diet.

Detective Pikachu came delivered in a package with all of the air vacuumed out of it, altering its initial appearance in a sort of grotesque and painful-looking way. The Internet had a laugh about it and made their own comments and comparisons.

“Vacuum sealed for extra freshness!”
“FREE HIM”
“I thought it was Mimikyu at first glance!”
“Looks strange, but reduces shipping costs & bulk, but also prevents infestation from home owner joys like bed bugs, stink bugs, roaches, fleas etc.”

▼ The cheese looks more comfortable than the plush, in our opinion.

What we found even more hilarious was the follow-up video that showed the “unflattening” of Detective Pikachu.

▼ Some assembly required, apparently.

After a bit of massaging and brushing here and there, however, Detective Pikachu ended up looking pretty good.

▼ Ah, yes, now he has truly become 3D.

If this is what a small Detective Pikachu looks like with all of the oxygen sucked out of it, we shudder to imagine what the life-sized Pikachu plush would look like in a vac pac.

Source, featured image: Twitter/@bauerpower
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Starbucks Caramel S’mores Frappuccino coming to Japan for a limited time!

Move over S’mores, it’s time for Caramel S’mores to take the limelight this summer.

Starbucks has been catering to local tastes in Japan with some very Japanese flavours like Cherry Blossom and Matcha in recent years, but now it’s time for everyone to enjoy a taste of America, with the brand new Caramel S’mores Frappuccino.

Just in time for National S’mores Day on 10 August, the new Frappuccino aims to conjure up summertime images of toasting marshmallows on the fire at summer camp, or at a fun BBQ with friends. The limited-time beverage is said to contain all the delicious flavours of a S’more, the well-known toasted sweet that consists of marshmallow and chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers.

While Japanese customers were treated to a special Matcha S’Mores Frappuccino last summer, this time the distinctive chocolate, biscuit and marshmallow flavours will be joined by a bitter caramel sauce, to add an enticingly sharp contrast to the sweet ingredients.

The new Caramel S’mores Frappuccino will only be available for a very limited time this summer, from 7-29 August, or while stocks last, so we’ll need to get in quick to get a taste of the drinkable S’more.

Sold in a tall size only, the new Frappuccino will retail for 590 yen (US$5.41) plus tax, which is a little less than the Peach on the Beach Frappuccino that’s on the menu until 29 August.

Source, images: Starbucks Press Release
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