Japanese Nostalgic Car

Today, August 14, is Japan’s official End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling Day. This is because the numbers 8-1-4 can be read ha-i-sha, or “scrapped car”. While Japan is pretty good about recycling disused cars, they’re probably a bit more trigger-happy when it comes to disposing of cars in the first place, compared to the US. In any case, everyone’s got an automotive sob story about a car which met its demise, whether too early or at the right time but in a still painful way.

What’s your saddest story of saying goodbye to a car?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What was the most important machine ever invented?”. Continue reading →

Today is Machinery Day in Japan. The holiday was established by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers to consider how machines can be created responsibly to benefit society, as well as to spur interest in the field of mechanical engineering. If you think about it, the whole of human achievement is one unbroken chain of using crude tools to make ever more advanced ones. Even the most state-of-the-art microchip owes its existence to someone banging a couple of rocks together. In honor of this holiday we’re going with an ultra-meta question this week. We’re presuming that if you’re interested in cars, you’re likely interested in other mechanical objects as well. Answers don’t have to be automotive in nature, though they certainly can be.

What was the most important machine ever invented?

The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What car would Barbie drive if she went ‘JDM’?“. Continue reading →