I saw this article in the Taipei Times tonight, and I couldn't help but laugh. The picture I took tells the tale, but there are some pretty hilarious lines in the story. It begins:
Do your feet smell bad? Just a little, or absolutely awful? If you do not dare ask a friend, one Japanese start-up might have the answer with a robot dog that will sniff your feet and give you a pitilessly honest verdict -- even fainting if the stink is especially strong!
Because as we all know...
Malodorous feet can be socially awkward in Japan, where shoes are removed at the entrance to every home.
Indeed! So leave it to the Japanese to solve this problem in their own unique way.
The robot, named Hana-chan -- a play on the Japanese word for nose -- will bark if your feet are a little stinky, and will faint if they are super stinky. Hana-chan will even spritz your feet with foot freshener if they're particularly bad.
Hana-chan does not come cheap though, at nearly $1,000 USD. But she might be worth it because, as the article states, smells are becoming more of an issue in Japan, because...
