3d illusion arts: Oddity Central

Oddity Central

Man Wears Empathy Suit for Nine Weeks to Experience Pregnancy
Indian Sculptor Makes Creepy Bust of Favorite Politician from His Own Blood
Would You Pay $600 a Month to Live in a Human Locker Room?

Man Wears Empathy Suit for Nine Weeks to Experience Pregnancy

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 04:38 AM PST

In a bizarre attempt to experience “the one thing unavailable to men as parents”, writer Benjamin Percy wore an empathy suit complete with a fake belly, for nine weeks. You’d think the efforts of a man trying to go through the hardships of pregnancy would be applauded by women, right? Well, no…

Although fully aware that he couldn’t go through all the stages of pregnancy or experience all the nasty symptoms, Percy thought that by wearing an empathy suit for a condensed pregnancy period of nine weeks would be “a way for me to alter my point of view, deepen my empathy, help me overcome my mouth-breathing-caveman deficiencies.” He may never be able to go through child birth, but he wanted to know what it felt like to carry carry one with him wherever he went. To aid him in this “pregnant man” project, the noted fiction and non-fiction writer used a special suit designed by the Japanese scientist Dr. Takayuki Kosaka of the Kanagawa Institute of Technology. It was made of thick nylon, had a fake belly and fake boobs, but instead of adjusting his wardrobe, Benjamin opted to wear the unusual accessory over his regular clothes. As the weeks passed, he added extra weight to the belly, to match the growth of his imaginary baby. It was a unique experience, but a lot of women aren’t exactly impressed with his stunt.

Photo: Today

Constantly bumping into things, having trouble performing the most mundane tasks, feeling hot and sweaty all the time and being stared at and questioned by strangers are just a few of the things Benjamin Percy had to deal with throughout his nine-week experiment. When he first got the idea for this simulated pregnancy period, the American writer says he thought most women would applaud his efforts, but instead, they chose to focus on all the things he didn’t go through: itchy skin, swollen ankles, boob growth, nausea, having to go to the bathroom every five minutes, and all the other symptoms of pregnancy. Plus, the option to take off the suit whenever he wanted to didn’t sit too good with them either. And Percy agrees that his wasn’t exactly a perfect simulation, just a way for a man to understand mother better. The father-of-one hoped that his time in the suit would make him a more compassionate dad, a goal shared by Dr, Kosaka, who after the nine-week period invited Benjamin to Tokyo, to test out his most recent of the Mommy Tummy pregnancy suit, which simulates a baby’s kicking.

After wearing a pregnancy suit that ended up weighing 33-pounds in the last stages of the experiment, in the hottest months of the year, and suffering ridicule from mothers everywhere, Benjamin Percy summed up his experience with the phrase: "I learned that I'm not man enough to be a woman." If you want to know more about his fake pregnancy, the writer describes everything in detail in the March issue of GQ Magazine.

This isn’t the first time men have tried to emphasize with pregnant women. Just a few weeks ago, two Dutch presenters strapped electrodes to their stomachs to experience the agony of giving birth.

Source: Today

Man Wears Empathy Suit for Nine Weeks to Experience Pregnancy was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Indian Sculptor Makes Creepy Bust of Favorite Politician from His Own Blood

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 02:51 AM PST

An Indian man known only as Hussaini has recently unveiled a shocking work of art – a bust of J. Jayalalitha, Chief Minister of the Tamil Nadu state, made from 11 litres of frozen human blood, donated by him and 32 of his students.

Apparently, nothing shows admiration for a person like making a creepy sculpture of them from human blood. At least that’s what Hussaini, a sculptor and archery teacher from Chennai, must have thought when he got the idea to create a bust of Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha out of his own frozen blood, for her 65th birthday. The noted artist wanted to thank the politician for being the "most sports loving CM of India" and for her support to his archery association, and since he had a few liters of his own blood stored for special occasions, he decided to put it to good use. You see, Hussaini has had his blood drawn at three-month intervals, over the last eight years, waiting for an opportunity to use it as a medium for his sculpture. But he only had 6.5 liters of blood, and this special project required 11. Luckily, his 32 archery students were more than willing to donate the extra 4.5 liters needed to complete the project.

Photo: Reuters

"Blood depicts the qualities of courage, valour and sacrifice of Tamil Thaai — the mother of the Tamils. These are the qualities the CM embodies, whom I revere," Hussaini told New India Express. To create his blood sculpture, the artist first created a made one from clay. He then prepared a silicone mold, encased it in a hard outer shell and filled it with the 11 liters of blood. The mold was finally frozen at -27 degrees Celsius, for two months. On the day of the unveiling, Hussaini revealed the other big idea behind his plasma artwork – blood donation. "If I can organize 11 liters of blood, then every other citizen can follow suit and save many lives," he said.

Photo: Martin Louis/New India Express

Although he is aware of Mark Quinn’s frozen blood portraits, Hussaini insists his bloody masterpiece is the first one of its kind. "It was, however, only a life cast and not a sculpture nor a bust," the Indian sculptor said about Quinn’s work. Still, there’s a chance this will remain Hussaini’s only such project, as J. Jayalalitha wan’t too pleased with his way of celebrating her birthday. Apparently, the Chief Minister advised him to never do something like this again in the future.

Indian Sculptor Makes Creepy Bust of Favorite Politician from His Own Blood was originally posted at OddityCentral.com

Would You Pay $600 a Month to Live in a Human Locker Room?

Posted: 28 Feb 2013 01:54 AM PST

It’s no secret that Tokyo is one of the most crowded cities n the world. It’s also got some of the smallest apartments in the world, but a recent news program showed this whole housing problem is getting ridiculous. People are paying huge rents to live in coffin-sized apartments.

Just looking at photos of these locker room apartments in the Tokyo’s Shibuya district is enough to make anyone feel claustrophobic. And yet there are people willing to pay as much as ¥55,000 a month ($586) a month to live in them. Granted, most of them are probably just young professionals who spend most of their time at work and outdoors, using these tiny accommodations just for sleeping, but still, the fact that someone would pay that high a rent for this kind of living conditions is baffling. Apart from the obvious lack of space, these so-called ”geki-sema share houses” are stacked on top of each other, and some don’t even have windows. The latest reactions to the video report show even Japanese people, who are used to small spaces, think these human locker rooms are insane.

The news crew interviewed two geki-sema tenants, a young entrepreneur and an aspiring actress. Their boxes were no more than 3 meters across, and only had room for a small TV, pillows and blanket and some clothes. They said they opted for this kind of living arrangements because they didn’t have too much money. They probably could have found more decent apartments somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo, but young Japanese these days have a lot things to consider when choosing a place to stay, like proximity to the work place and other conveniences. Also commuting can take several hours in Tokyo, and combined with at least eight hours of work, it can become exhausting after a while.

Considering rent prices and the density problem in Tokyo, I could understand why someone would pay $100-$200 a month for one of these coffin-style apartments, but $600 seems a bit steep. Sure that includes heating and electricity, but the shared bathroom is a deal-breaker for me. Just make sure to remember this pics the next time you feel like complaining your studio is too small.