A basket for your bag. Found at Eggs N’ Things in Tokyo.
This Muji hex key is genius. Instead of being flat on the ends like they typically are in IKEA furniture, this one is shaped like a ball. What this allows me to do is screw at an angle other than 90 degrees, which is exactly what I had to do so the bent end wouldn’t hit the underside of the table.
Edit: the-full-grohac says “This isn’t a muji exclusive - ‘metric ball end’ hex bits are available at pretty much every hardware store you’ll come across. They’re slightly more expensive than their regular hex brethren but easy to find.”
In Barcelona, city block corners are set at a diagonal (versus the typical 90º) to allow more sunlight and ventilation between blocks. It explains why the city felt distinctly light and breezy.
(via Amusing Planet)
This NYC train encourages good posture. Take a peek at the origins of bad posture from this page of the book 8 Steps To A Pain-Free Back.
I am a big fan of direct mapping. In this bus stop waiting area in Tokyo, a sign is mapped to each each room, bus stop locations from the viewer’s perspective. It also shows what’s beyond, to the left and right.
Tiny drains connected to downspouts run across the sidewalks in Helsinki to storm sewers in the streets.
(via Kate Nelischer)
I entered a dressing room to fit a sweater when the lady told me to use this tissue-like thing to “cover” (myself, I’m assuming). But I had no idea what to do! I even took a sample home to show my Japanese friends. As it turns out, it’s a face cover so your makeup won’t stain clothes when you are trying them out!
The ends of Japanese toothpicks are grooved for easy snap-off, to use as a stand just as for chopsticks.
(via Jed Schmidt)
Blinds in Spain are outside and made of metal, which provide convenience and security.
When they’re closed they have small slots in them to allow light in serving as a screen during the daytime. By giving them a little more slack the slots close completely to keep out all the light.
(via Christian Arca / photo c/o verticolor.es)
Lots of Chinese people buy electronics from the US, so most power strips in China support both US and Chinese outlets (and voltages).
Found in Xiamen, China.
(via Christina Xu)
This school clock in Arnhem only has an 8, presumably because that is when school starts.
(via Boris van Hoyetama)
At a train ticket machine in Japan. When we pressed the help button, a head popped out of this hole and asked us if we needed help buying our train ticket. Don’t you think everything in the world should work this way? See it in action in this youtube clip.
Moving dishes from the dishwasher to cabinets is redundant, no? Thankfully Spain has it figured out.
The drying rack is the cabinet.