Last November, Bernd Chang wrote about a group of students who created a multifunctional G-string+condom featuring Chinese herbs (cumen, naturally?). We’re now here to give you this stone-faced update: that contraption has attracted more than USD $300,000 in investment from Guangdong Yuezheng Investment Management Limited.

If this Rocket News 24 report is to be believed, anyway:

The Eros Protector will come with a pouch that dispenses specially designed condoms that actually screw into place on the front of the thong. Apparently, instead of standard lubricant, these condoms also come equipped with a Chinese herbal blend lubricant that helps to maintain the pH balance of a woman’s private parts.

Yongxiang and team’s invention apparently shows so much promise it has attracted over US$300,000 in investment money from China’s venture capital firm Guangdong Yuezheng Investment Management Limited, who have high hopes that the risky investment will pay out due to the project’s creativity.

The diagram above looks like the doodle of a bored middle-schooler suffering through a history lecture, but in a country as shy about sex as China, maybe the Eros Protector can serve a purpose. Sex ed can come from unexpected places.

I just googled “What is the proper pH balance of a woman’s private parts” and learned, “Bacteria called lactobacilli help to keep the vagina’s pH balance at its normal low level (less than pH 4.5), which also prevents the growth of other organisms.”

Less than 4.5. The more you know.

By the way, the Chinese caption above reads:

1. G-String part, 2. Condom part, 3. Vertical streaks, 4. Anti-skidding microcapsules, 5. Sacs, 6. Elastics

Chinese college student’s bizarre “Thong Condom” invention wins the support of financial backers (Rocket News 24, h/t Alicia)

Via Ecns.cn, here’s a photo of a model space shuttle and rocket on a rooftop in Jiexi, Guangdong province, reportedly built by a 60-year-old farmer named Huang Yuzhan. We love everything about this: as a celebration of the can-do spirit, the very human tendency to detach from our worldly fetters and drift and spin alongside imagination as boundless as the pale blue sky, and as a simple expression of craftsmanship, patience, and (dare I say?) innovation. This photo deserves a song.

This one.

And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much (she knows!)
Ground Control to Major Huang
Your circuit’s dead, there’s something wrong
Can you hear me, Major Huang?
Can you hear me, Major Huang?
Can you hear me, Major Huang? …

Rocket model on rooftop (Ecns.cn)

Wait, rooftop?

A farmer in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province has discovered that — for him, anyway — planting crops on the roof of a four-story building increases yield. Are we set for another agrarian revolution?

Probably not. This is still interesting though, another in our ongoing “weird stuff on the top of Chinese buildings” beat. Hug China has this via Xinhua:

Peng Qiugen, a Shaoxing native, transformed the 120-square-meter rooftop of his house into a farmland several years ago. Since then, Peng has tried to grow rice, watermelon, vegetables and other crops on it and the experiment proved to be fruitful.

Last year, Peng harvested a total of 400 kilograms of watermelon on this small patch of “sky farmland”, boasting of a 30 percent higher yield than a ground-level land.

Peng says the higher output is due to the compact nature of the plot, “which makes the problem of water loss and soil erosion less severe than a normal farm.” Not knowing much about farming, I suppose that makes sense. Although maybe it’s just easier taking care of a such a small space.

Interestingly, authorities have not told Peng to quit his shenanigans. Somewhere, a wealthy quack scratches his head. Just wait until the water begins leaking.

Zhejiang farmer grows crops on rooftop farm, saying yield is 30 percent higher than on ground-level land (Hug China)

UPDATE, 11:59 pm: Xinhua with this report on Peng’s “sky farm”:

“My greatest wish is to save more land for China by promoting rooftop farming to more households,” Peng told Xinhua.

He calculated that a roof as large as his, if used for growing vegetables, can meet the daily demands of 20 people.

…Better sunlight and fewer pests are the “recipe” for the high yield and good quality of Peng’s crops.

Every year, he uses the rice for wine-making, and shares the rest with relatives and friends, including those who used to call him a “fool” when he decided to develop the rooftop farm.

In 2010, his “sky rice farm” was awarded a gold medal during the World Green Roof Conference in Shanghai.

1. G-String part, 2. Condom part, 3. Vertical streaks, 4. Anti-skidding microcapsules, 5. Sacs, 6. Elastics

Adapted with permission from Hug China.

G-String? No, it is a multifunctional condom invented by Guangzhou students (Hug China)

This is the sort of thing we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from Chinese street entrepreneurs. In Wuhan, Hubei province, some peddlers got the bright idea to charge 1 yuan for letting pedestrians use their stepladder to scale a fence that divides the two sides of Huanle Expressway.

People are willing to pay, it seems, to avoid detouring a kilometer to cross from the gate of Happy Valley amusement park to the nearest bus station.

Hug China has this story via Wuhan Morning Post. The city planners should be blamed, one commenter said, while others shook their heads at this sort of behavior (second-level jaywalking, you could call it).

But remember, innovation is a byproduct of inefficiency. We’ve seen plenty of Chinese innovation — for better and for worse.

Shrewd pedlars profit from providing ladders for jaywalkers… (Hug China)

A key to entrepreneurial success is being unafraid to be great while also being unafraid to fail. The “pee straight funnel,” without a doubt, will fail as a commercial item — but that doesn’t mean it’s not great.

Last month, Shenzhen issued an ordinance — largely symbolic, we figured — requiring men to pee inside the urinals in public bathrooms, presumably because men, for sundry reasons, have difficulty doing this. Those who continue to fail at this basic life task may be fined up to 100 yuan.

Recently, migrant workers in the city have sought to capitalize on this. Check out the “pee straight funnel” (via The Nanfang), which, well, just look at it. Note how long it is. By using it, you’re basically escorting your urine on a red carpet from its source to its destination. Not one drop spilled. (Unless you pull out early, so don’t do that.)

It costs only 10 yuan per unit. We don’t think you should reuse it — where would you store it? — but that’s a possibility.

You could also, you know, take a step closer to the urinal. But there’s a vicious cycle at work here, of course, since the closer you get to the urinal, the more likely it is you’ll step on urine; the farther you stand, the more urine accumates underneath.

A funnel. That’s the answer.

Gravitational buoyancy, bitches! Someone’s high school physics teacher must be real proud.

Liu Qiyuan, 45, isn’t letting the end of the world take him alive. He’s built seven spherical survival pods, each costing about $50,000, that are water-proof, ice-proof, and fire-proof. “Only my daughter supports me,” Liu says. “Practically everyone else thinks I’m crazy.”

“If there is really some kind of apocalypse, then if you use my product, it has the ability to save people, and I think that would be my contribution to humanity,” he adds.

He hasn’t sold any pods yet. The national maritime department hasn’t contacted him, either. We think they should throw. Look at him: he has the sort of entrepreneurial spirit that this country could use — if it survives past December 21, that is.

Although… hopefully he’s not called out for shanzhai. Youku video for those in China after the jump.

(H/T Shanghaiist)

First, I’m not sure what makes this boat something that can survive the apocalypse; is it the railing up there? Second, I’m not sure this boat can float.

But in defense of Lu Zhenghai, a man in Urumqi, Xinjiang who spent his life savings of 1 million yuan building this vessel, it’s not exactly done. Quoting Global Times:

Lu said that due to a lack of funds, the boat is still not completed after two years of work.

“Now the boat still needs at least another million yuan for more equipment,” said Lu.

Equipment might be an understatement. Right now, it looks like he’s spent 1 million to build a barn with unstable supports. One more million and he’ll still be a few screws short of Noah’s Ark, I think.

Lu said he built this thing because he was afraid of the 2012 apocalypse.

Lu Zhenghai began building the boat in 2010, China News Service reported on Wednesday.

The vessel, designed by Lu himself, is 21.2 meters long, 15.5 meters wide and 5.6 meters high.

And it displaces about 140 tons of water. The boat will have a total weight of 80 tons after it is completed.

He’s running out of time, considering December is just around the corner.

The good news, however: China already has a Noah’s Ark. Several, in fact, thanks to inventor Yang Zongfu, and they only cost 1.5 million yuan.

Or Lu could do the sensible thing: throw up his feet, crack open a Yanjing, and watch the splendor that is a solar flare ripping through life, limb, and earth. The Yanjing is cold and delicious.

(H/T Alicia)

Alicia wrote about a homemade Lamborghini last week, used to “deliver fertilizer.” Netizens have dubbed it the “most awesome sports car ever,” but we expressed a reasonable dose of skepticism as to whether it actually works, because after all — homemade Lamborghini.

Our doubts have been laid to rest. While it’s uncertain whether it can go fast, at least this awesome sports car can go. Via ITN, here’s a video of the vehicle in action. Youku version for those in China after the jump.

A father and his 26-year-old son, Xu Furong and Xu Tiehong, have invented a jetpack in China. Of course they have, because that’s just how the Chinese do. This tandem-operated contraption uses basic Newtonian principles (action-reaction) to blast a human being 30 meters into the air and suspend him there, as shown off on Monday at Haining, Zhejiang province. This video marks the first time the public has seen the Xus show off their invention, and the guy on the jetpack has already been dubbed “fly man.”

Couple this latest anti-gravity device with this ski-board and we come a little closer to realizing the dream of the hoverboard. As has been well documented: we have three years to fulfill the Back to the Future prophesy. Chop chop, people. Youku video for those in China after the jump.

(H/T Alicia)

Innovation level: Asian.

Earlier this month, Chinese media reported on a homemade submarine called “Sacred Dragon 2,” which creator Zhang Junlin, a retired police officer in Fuyang, Anhui province, said could dive 50 meters underwater and travel up to 15 kilometers per hour. One or both of those figures was probably hopeful thinking, but look no further for confirmation that the vessel at least works. Last Thursday, Zhang took Sacred Dragon 2 for a test swim (sink?) in a pond in front of onlookers, including assembled media. The submarine went below surface twice, about five meters both times, before returning to dock. (The journalist in the newscast says it can submerge 10 meters.)

The submarine — 9 meters long, 2.8 meters high and 2 meters wide — has a huge computer monitor in its cabin, with Wi-Fi and air conditioning, and can hold 12 passengers. It cost Zhang 40,000 to 50,000 yuan to build, but it seems like the investment may pay off: tourism companies have expressed keen interest in his design.

This wasn’t the first time Zhang’s built a submarine. His Sacred Dragon 1 made its maiden voyage in September 2010, reports Global Times.

And his wasn’t even the first homemade underwater craft in China. In 2009, CCTV profiled Tao Xiangli, also from Anhui, a peasant who spent 30,000 building a submarine that was “1.5 meters high and 6.5 meters long… made out of oil cans, and is furnished with a lid, an oxygen pipe, a warning light and other equipment.” Tao reportedly told CCTV, “I made the submarine not for a patent but so that a talent scout can discover me.”

You listening, talent scouts out there? If you’re not looking in China, you’re in the wrong place.

By Alicia

This “Lamborghini” made with spare parts from other cars and steel pipes is the ultimate passion project. Wang Jian, 28, from Siyang, Jiangsu province reportedly spent 60,000 yuan to construct this life-size replica model of the classic Italian sports car (maybe the Gallardo?), and slapped on the license plate “王NB0001” (the character is Wang, and “NB” is slang for “awesome”). Chinese netizens have dubbed it the “Most Awesome Sports Car Ever.”

We’re told it’s functional by at least two TV stations (obviously taking information from Sina Weibo et al.), and that it’s able to reach 160 kilometers per hour. Absent of video proof, however — we’ve yet to find any — we’re going to go ahead and not believe that last part. But perhaps it really is able to chug along at an indeterminate speed, and turn and go up slopes, as has been claimed, which would make it pretty awesome indeed. It “shouldn’t be hidden from the public,” as a commentator on Liaoning Satellite TV said (video embedded after jump).

And what does Wang intend to do with his awesome creation? Use it to deliver fertilizer. Yes, in rural China, there’s an operational made-at-home Lamborghini, and it’s transporting fertilizer. Of course it is.

For comparison:

UPDATE, 8/25, 7:18 pm: Here’s another picture, via Global Times:
 

If you can’t find it, build it. Noah’s Ark is the creatively named project of Chinese inventor Yang Zongfu, an insulated, breathable, livable yellow ball that we’re told can withstand 1,700 degrees Celsius of heat, survive a magnitude-10 earthquake, and support life for a year (not like James’s Giant Peach, we don’t think, but it supports lots of supplies). Also, it’s waterproof.

According to Dongfang News via Zhejiang Online via Qingdao Media (Chinese online news sites are weird), the four-meter-diameter ball can carry 33 tons of water, has a safety seat, lookout system, ventilation, bathroom and living facilities. The ball is built with 3.5 millimeters of steel plate, 57 centimeters of insulation, 300 high-intensity shock absorbing springs and 75 airbags. Yang said vehicles have hit the ball at 100 kilometers per hour, and the people inside report not feeling a thing. The coolest part: between the third and fourth layers is a 10-centimeter layer of rotating liquid, filled with either water or lubricating oil, which maintains the principle of the gyroscope so that people inside don’t roll when the ball rolls.

There’s more. The living space can accommodate three people, with leftover room to store a year’s worth of food and water. The bottom of the ball is reinforced steel, ensuring that it floats right-side-up. There’s also a motor at the bottom to enable navigation in water.

Lest this is all beginning to sound like a hypothetical science fair project, Yang climbed inside the ball on Monday and let himself be rolled from a slope of about 50 meters into a watery landing. When he emerged from the ball, there was a little blood on his mouth, but he smiled and said it was because the seatbelt cut him when he tried to exit the pod.

The contraption cost Yang 1.5 million yuan and took him two years to build. We’re told he has 300 national patents – and the same birthday as Thomas Edison. He’s been dubbed the Inventor King, or King of Inventions. And now we know the real reason the arks in the movie 2012 were stationed in China.

Youku video of the above:

Wearing what could possibly be a fake Lakers jersey and shorts. We think one of his feet is in a plastic tub. The video description says he’s like the wind, which would only be true if the wind lik shimmies like his. Nothing else is known. Youku video for those in China after the jump.

(H/T Alicia)