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What is and what is not a Chindogu ?
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What is and what is not a Chindogu ?
Not every useless or funny gadget is a chindogu. To be called a chindogu an object must abide by a few regulations and be submitted to the decision of the Int' Chindogu Society. |
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 Butter Stick; very almost useful, provided you do not mistake it for glue |
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Yes, that’s correct, you haven’t misread. There is an International Chindogu Society (ICS) . It even has a president, Dan Papia, and it’s supported by cultural institutions such as the Pittsburg University, which provides ICS with resources and organises chindogu competitions amongst its students.
This organisation – ICS – is responsible for establishing the necessary requirements for any invention to become a chindogu. There are ten tenets that define the gentle art and philosophy of chindogu; it’s a very simple idea: “Every chindogu is an almost useless object, but not every almost useless object is a chindogu.”
1. A chindogu cannot be for real use . It is fundamental to the spirit of Chindogu that inventions claiming Chindogu status must be, from a practical point of view, almost completely useless. If you invent something which turns out to be so handy that you use it all the time, they you have failed to make a chindogu. Try the Patent Office.
2. A chindogu must exist. You’re not allowed to use a chindogu, but it must be made. You have to be able to hold it in your hand and think “I can actually imagine someone using this. In order to be useless it must first be.
3. Inherent in every chindogu is the spirit of anarchy. Chindogus are man-made objects that have broken free from the chains of usefulness. They represent freedom of thought and action: the freedom to challenge the suffocating historical dominance of conservative utility; the freedom to be (almost) useless.
4. Chindogus are tools for everyday life. Chindogu are a form of nonverbal communication understandable to everyone, everywhere. Specialised or technical inventions do not count.
5. Chindogus are not for sale. Chindogus are not tradable commodities. If you accept money for one you surrender your purity. They must not even be sold as a joke.
6. Humour must not be the sole reason for creating a chindogu. The creation of chindogu is fundamentally a problem-solving activity. Humour is simply the by-product of finding an elaborate or unconventional solution to a problem that may not have been that pressing to begin with.
7. Chindogu is not propaganda. Chindogus are innocent. They are made to be used, even though they cannot be used. They should not be created as a perverse or ironic comment on the sorry state of mankind.
8. Chindogu are never taboo. The International Chindogu Society has established certain standards of social decency. Cheap sexual innuendo, humour of a vulgar nature, and sick or cruel jokes that debase the sanctity of living things are not allowed.
9. Chindogu cannot be patented. Chindogu are offerings to the rest of the world - they are not therefore ideas to be copyrighted, patented, collected and owned. As they say in Spain, “mi Chindogu es tu Chindogu”.
10. Chindogu are without prejudice. Chindogu must never favour one race or religion over another. Young and old, male and female, rich and poor - all should have a free and equal chance to enjoy each and every chindogu.
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(
9 Mar 2009)
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26 Jan 2009)
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17 Dec 2008)
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20 Aug 2008)
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24 Nov 2008)
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Especiales
Language English [
