Plastic gadget designed to allow mother to suck baby's runny nose clear. Comes with its own convenient carrying case.
|
|
by Hugh Cook |
|
sucking snot Devices sold in Japan for sucking baby's runny nose clear - photos - this is for real, no kidding!! Keywords: snot, baby, runny, nose, motherly, love. |
|
Section 128 Entry 0001. Date: 2004 November 21 Sunday.
(diary) (previous) (top) (bottom) (next) (topics) (contents) And just when you thought you'd seen it all, that the boring old universe had no more surprises in store, here it is: the amazing snot-sucking machine! Machine? Well, actually, since it has no working parts, it would be better to call it a "device." And perhaps "snot" is too pungent for the liquid to be sucked out of baby's runny nose. That's what it's for: it's for mother to suck out the contents of baby's runny nose. What surprised me most about this device was the surprise with which my surprise was greeted. Apparently the "Hana Sui Ki" (literally, "nose-sucking device") is a totally normal and unremarkable item in Japan. And, on account of my surprise, I was asked a question I was really totally unable to answer: "How do mothers in New Zealand suck the baby's runny nose?" I was tempted to fake an answer: by the mouth-to-nose method, as taught in the secret women-only "Management of Nasal Congestion" section of the standard New Zealand ante-natal program. However, after sleeping on the question for a night, I've come to the conclusion that the New Zealand solution is (I think) just to let baby breathe through the mouth. Warning! Disclaimer of responsibility! This web page is descriptive only! No recommendation is given or implied! Use of this gadget is entirely your responsibility! If you buy or make such a nose-sucking device and jam it too far up baby's nose and proceed to suck baby's brains out, that's your problem, not mine! Actually, I think this thing is probably designed to be used so the bit which looks a little like a nipple goes just in the outermost part of baby's nose. If so, I guess it should be safe to use. However, it's all too easy for me to imagine a scenario in which some ignorant foreigner horrifically misuses the device, so I stand by the disclaimer. With warning given, here is the photographic evidence, followed by a couple of grapics showing (and explaining) a couple of Japanese kanji: |
|
Plastic gadget designed to allow mother to suck baby's runny nose clear. Comes with its own convenient carrying case. |
 Japanese-language label of nose-sucking device complete with cartoon graphic showing a smiling mother sucking a baby's nose clear. See below for details of Japanese kanji used. |
 Japanese kanji used for suu which means "to suck" in the sense of to inhale. Note that the Japanese language has more than one word for "to suck" and, if you're looking for such a word, "suu" may not be the one you need. Note that actually the final "u" of suu is represented by the hiragana symbol for "u" rather than by a kanji. The verb "suu" is used to form "sui" ("sucking" or "inhaling") in the kanji combination "hana-sui-ki," "nose-sucking-device," shown below: |
 Japanese kanji used for hana sui ki which means "nose-sucking device". Actually, the "i" is represented by the hiragana symbol for "i" rather than by a kanji. The combination, as shown here, is read from left to right (as it is on the label featured above), with the first kanji reading "nose" and the last reading "device". (A "kanji" is a Chinese character as used in Japanese. Sometimes a Japanese kanji is identical to an authentic Chinese character, but a Japanese kanji may differ from its Chinese counterpart in shape or in application, and there are some "made in Japan" kanji which are unknown to the Chinese language.) |
|
So, now, of course, you want to rush out and buy one of these devices.
Where can you get one? Well, if you could find your way to a branch of Akachan Honpo in Japan, you may be able to buy your very own today. (Note that at Akachan Honpo I think you have to give some details and get a membership card before you can buy anything.) And once you've got it, how are you going to use it? For sucking baby's runny nose dry? Personally, I wouldn't. Personally, I wouldn't recommend sticking anything whatsoever up baby's nose - note the "warning" and "disclaimer" above. One possible use is as a conversation piece. Bring out one of these gadgets and say one of your friends says he has designed it for contraceptive control, but say you can't imagine how it could possibly be used for such a purpose. Invite speculation. (Of course, you have to choose the right moment and the right audience for this stunt, otherwise you might find your circle of conversational acquaintances suddenly diminishing.) (diary) (previous) (top) (bottom) (next) (topics) (contents) |
|
|
|