Ned posted a link to a version of a video of Japanese Rube Goldberg machines. These two links on youtube.com take you directly to the contraptions so you don’t need to skip around in the video. The gadgets are really inventive. Each one ends with a little jingle and a tag in Kanji. We were wondering about the words in the jingle. In comments to Ned’s post, David says that the tag says Pythagoras Switch, and that’s what is sung in the jingle (“pitA,gorA,su suIchI”).
A search turns up a longer explanation: Pythagoras Switch (aka Pitagora Suicchi) is an educational television show on NHK in Japan. The show targets four to six year old children to help foster and develop their powers of thinking. Here’s a loose translation of the mission statement for the show:
Within our daily lives, which we go about without thinking much about the many mysteries, archetypes, themes and more varied ways of thought. For example, have you ever thought why waffles are always the same shape? Behind it all is concept of “having a shape”. There [are] all sorts of these archetypes/shapes: in print, in mass-produced goods and whatnot. Understanding these these “shapes” let’s you grasp how these things work.“Pythagoras Switch” wants to help kids have that moment of A-HA! We want to raise thinking about thinking, to flip that epiphany switch in every child.
Sounds kinda cool. There are episodes of the show on youtube.com.
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