This new piece of tableware sounds almost like something out of a Seinfeld episode – but it’s actually real.
In order to address the loud slurping sounds that people make when enjoying a serving of noodles, a company has made an electronic fork that plays noise-canceling sounds through your phone whenever you make a loud slurping sound during your meal.
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The Otohiko fork has been programmed to recognize the sound of slurping through a microphone in its handle. When it detects the slurp, it sends a signal to an app on your smart phone that plays a more pleasant sound over your slurping.
“The more you slurp, the more fun you have,” says a video advertisement for the Otohiko.
Nissin, the company responsible for Cup Noodles, says that they created the Otohiko as a means of addressing “noodle harassment” in Japan.
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According to Nippon, “the Japanese, who generally frown on noisy eating, consider it proper and even preferable to suck up one’s noodles with a loud slurping sound”. Thus, the phrase “noodle harassment” was created on social media to describe when travelers are made uncomfortable by the loud slurping sounds made by Japanese people when they eat noodles.
Whether there are many people who actually experience that cultural barrier remains to be seen – but the Otohiko is still a hilariously creative solution for the problem.
The fork is currently available for preorder on Nissin’s website with a release date of December 15th, 2017 – just in time for Christmas.
(WATCH the video below)
Click To Share The Oodles Of Fun With Your Friends (Photo by Nissin)