You've probably been told at one time or another to chew your food at least 32 times. Some claim it will help people lose weight as well as help with digestion, but did you know this theory has been around since the early 20th century? Diet reformer Horace Fletcher turned his chewing method into a very popular fad years ago even Thomas Edison and John D. Rockefeller became fans. Over 100 years later, Fletcherizing continues to captivate people so much so that one geeky artist created headgear he called the Masticator, in honor of Fletcher's mastication method.
The Masticator is a helmet made of bone (human and animal) that beeps and lights up when the wearer chews. It's equipped with MAST-I technology that tracks how many times the masseter muscle pops out and counts how many times the person chews. The count is then displayed on an LCD display on the wearer's chest. To add to the audio-visual effect, a light on the helmet lights up and produces a beeping sound. It's a bit scary, but fascinating at the same time.
Takehito Etani's designs often deal with the body and its relationship to technology, so geeky types will appreciate the other projects in his portfolio.
Check out the video.
This design is part of the Second Skin exhibit taking place at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The artist will be demoing the Masticator on May 6th at the Exploratorium for bloggers/journalists in the Bay Area. If you want to attend, contact Leslie Patterson for an invite to the mini-event. Three other designers will be showing up as well. This is a one time event, so if you want to see the designs in action, you better call her.
