Japan Potato Chip-Eating Aid in High Demand

A Japanese Toy manufacturer created a new tool for picking up potato chips after learning that many Japanese eat potato chips using chopsticks. For those who would like to have their potato chips without getting fatty fingers, reading a book or writing, Toy developer Yoshinobu Kaneko developed a hand-like new eating tool.

This eating tool called “Potechi no Te” was showcased at the Tokyo toy fair and is struggling to keep up with the demand since its introduction this June. “I thought if I made a tool with which people can enjoy reading books or watching videos while munching potato chips without worrying about their hands or nails getting oily, it would be a hit,” Yoshinobu Kaneko, the toy’s creator, told Kyodo News.

Originally, the developer thought to create an eating tool looking like a doubled tongs. Later on, a tool formed like a hand with a forefinger and a thumb extended for picking up the chips turned out more handy. This way, as Kaneko explained to Kyodo News, he wanted to get closer to the motion of “picking up something with hands.”

“I thought it wasn’t interesting to make it similar to a pair of tongs. I put playful spirits into the product,” he said.