Apr 7 2008Man Builds Canoe Out Of Used Chopsticks
Shuhei Ogawara is a former city employee of Koriyama, Japan. He worked in city hall, and one day decided that it was f'ed up all the cafeteria's disposable chopsticks were going in the trash after a single use. So what did he do? What any normal person would -- he somehow retrieved said chopsticks and made a freaking canoe.
Ogawara spent over 3 months gluing 7,382 chopsticks together into strips to form the canoe shell, to which he added a polyester resin coat. The canoe weighs about 30 kilograms (66 lbs), which is a bit heavier than an ordinary cedar canoe, but Ogawara is confident it will float. A launching ceremony is planned for May at nearby Lake Inawashiro.
That's awesome. As someone who regularly throws things in the lake to see if they float, I'm behind you, Ogawara. Also, I stabbed my roommate with a used chopstick once. But not before I coated the tip with wasabi. He died. Suck it, poison dart frogs.
Canoe made from disposable chopsticks [pinktentacle]
Thanks to Melissa, who never lets me down, for the tip
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Reader Comments
1. jab - April 7, 2008 4:23 PM
Looks WAY better than I thought it would.
2. bar room hero - April 7, 2008 4:38 PM
Nice, I wonder if he could make me a surfboard....
3. guate6 - April 7, 2008 4:57 PM
The Japanese think of everything.
This is amazing, I want one...perhaps I can collect chopsticks and aim for a yacht, so that when I'm done, it'll look like a canoe.
4. Andrew - April 7, 2008 5:34 PM
Looks much nicer than my disposable fork kayak from a while back.
5. Smartass - April 7, 2008 7:02 PM
I went for a ride but was hungry an hour later O_o
6. yeu2 - April 7, 2008 11:17 PM
Now THAT is a lot of Sushi he must have eaten to get those chop sticks!
http://yeu2.com
7. tandzijde - April 8, 2008 6:48 AM
Dude, there is an American guy in Holland who built a complete Viking longboat with those sticks and is now sailing to florida! In 2005 he already set a worldrecord by just floating with the thing: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=288_1184964954&c=1
also
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4157182.stm
http://www.ad.nl/binnenland/2202433/IJsstokjesboot_op_weg_naar_Amerika.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RITvj_7FvzA
8. herpesfinder - April 9, 2008 1:25 AM
So cute boat?
9. Sentral - April 9, 2008 5:12 AM
Am I the only person who's immediate thought was 'why'?
10. Alex - April 10, 2008 1:11 AM
Cool Idea great execution!
As for all those asking why, It says why in the post.
The guy was feed up with all the waste and unlike most people he did something about it.
11. www23e - April 13, 2008 1:53 PM
another man's junk
12. JAB_au - May 12, 2008 10:56 PM
To much time on his hands me thinks, can you imagine putting them all together.
13. ken upton - May 19, 2009 2:47 PM
Nice reuse to build a boat , See our reuse and sailing junk . Our main R&D craft has been sailing for 28 years ,Puff the magic dragon .Is made from reuse of plastic window blinds ,plastic sewer and water pipes ,car bumpers ,and foam from fridge's in a GRP sandwich construction . Willa and her friends for the cyberlifeboat project ,will be on www.sims.tv soon . Willa is a sperm whale who fell in love with a magic dragon .With the help of the ecofrogs they are rebuilding our seas.Check out the cyberlifeboat project and eco reef gardens .New work and richness for all.