Japan explains nuclear crisis to kids with a cartoon about poop and farts
March 18, 2011 4:55 PM   Subscribe

 
Oh, now I get it.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 4:57 PM on March 18, 2011 [5 favorites]


/me sits and awaits a very mature and reasonable discussion of the issue at hand without any poofarts at all.
posted by The Whelk at 5:00 PM on March 18, 2011


So funny I sharted.
posted by fixedgear at 5:02 PM on March 18, 2011


I'm glad that, through all this, Japan is still managing to get it's Japan on.
posted by phunniemee at 5:02 PM on March 18, 2011 [36 favorites]


omg, ITS! Damnit!
posted by phunniemee at 5:03 PM on March 18, 2011


A time of historic deadly farts.
posted by nickyskye at 5:06 PM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


I'm waiting for Sanrio to market that character.
posted by arcticseal at 5:07 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


" I find it ironic that Dad saved the day while a slimmer man would have fallen to his death."
"I find it ironic that fir once Dad's butt prevented the release if toxic g- "
" BART!"
posted by The Whelk at 5:09 PM on March 18, 2011 [7 favorites]


I'm just hoping there won't be a need to make a sequel showing the shit hitting a fan and blowing poo all over.
posted by birdherder at 5:20 PM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


I had a brother-in-law once who had a lot the same attributes as Nuclear Boy.
posted by leftcoastbob at 5:24 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


They should've just had Adam Sandler do a voice over.
posted by blaneyphoto at 5:31 PM on March 18, 2011


I dare you to name one crisis that can't be described through a metaphor of poop/farts. Seriously. Just name one.
posted by contessa at 5:34 PM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


Well, there was the time that I literally shit my pants. That's a crisis that couldn't be described metaphorically.
posted by quadog at 5:39 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


Japan. Never change. Except your nuclear facility building codes. Change those.
posted by TwelveTwo at 5:42 PM on March 18, 2011 [12 favorites]


It would be great if we could leave the "silent but deadly" vs "whoever smelt it dealt it" policy discussion in another thread, or, better yet, IRC.
posted by KokuRyu at 5:44 PM on March 18, 2011 [8 favorites]


I like how near the end it's all "everything is gonna turn out great and we should thank these doctors, BUT WAIT HERE'S THE WORST-CASE-SCENARIO, KIDS! But don't worry about that."
posted by Deflagro at 5:48 PM on March 18, 2011


needs more banjo
posted by clavdivs at 5:48 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


Metafilter: Needs moar banjo
posted by Windopaene at 5:54 PM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


Yeah, okay, that was better constructed than any other explanation by maintstream news outlets. and I'm only half joking.
posted by hellojed at 6:06 PM on March 18, 2011 [6 favorites]


It's a good way of showing kids how to deal with a shitty situation.
posted by Bighappyfunhouse at 6:06 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


Let me try this again in the right thread:

Nuclear Boy needs to go on adventures with this pig.
posted by cmyk at 6:11 PM on March 18, 2011 [2 favorites]


I am always amazed at how much Japanese culture holds scientists and engineers ("doctors") in high regard, as expressed by, "let's not forget to thank the brave doctors". Such a contrast to the US ...

Great post.
posted by mateja at 6:50 PM on March 18, 2011 [8 favorites]


I dare you to name one crisis that can't be described through a metaphor of poop/farts. Seriously. Just name one.

As a parent of small children, I have been in charge of the recovery efforts from numerous crises that could not be described through any metaphor of poop/farts. But that's only because poop/farts descriptions of those crises would be literal, not metaphorical.

The only crises that can't be described with pooping and farting metaphors (or literal descriptions) are the peeing and vomitting crises. Those are the ones that really catch you off guard.
posted by amyms at 6:51 PM on March 18, 2011


Thank you, Mr. Public Relations, sir. How can I get a super-Nuclear Boy to retain fast powerful energy for my area or prefecture?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 7:09 PM on March 18, 2011


If only there was a cartoon where Nuclear Boy meets Mr. Sparkle.
posted by jenny76 at 7:22 PM on March 18, 2011


has anyone run this by @arclight?
posted by mwhybark at 7:34 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


I wish I knew enough about Japanese culture to tell if this is just tongue in cheek. Because the metaphor is just perfect. Over time, preventing a nuclear melt down is just as likely as preventing a person from pooping.

It *is* tongue in cheek right? I mean the Chernobyl thing is the tip off, right?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:38 PM on March 18, 2011


I dare you to name one crisis that can't be described through a metaphor of poop/farts. Seriously. Just name one.

Titanic (the ship, not the movie, which obviously can be)
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:32 PM on March 18, 2011


Slarty: My Japanese coworker was startled that someone actually translated it into English. I do not believe it is a joke.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 8:53 PM on March 18, 2011


Asahi reports that, having hooked up the seawater pump, the Hyper Rescue squad are going to pump water at reactor 3 for the next 7 hours.

They also warn not to worry too much about the nuclear crisis, because unnecessary medicine or tests could have side effects. I will take their advice.
posted by Jeanne at 9:08 PM on March 18, 2011


Titatic: All the air farted out and it sank like a turd.
posted by longsleeves at 9:26 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


this is all very nice, but why the hell is his head square?
posted by Redhush at 9:40 PM on March 18, 2011


I think he's supposed to be a reactor building.
posted by FelliniBlank at 9:43 PM on March 18, 2011


Yeah, it's not a joke. It's supposed to be a little funny on a kids' level (thus the poop and the silly voices), but it's not tongue-in-cheek, and it gets very serious at the end.

Think of Sesame Street and Mr. Hooper, if that helps.
posted by vorfeed at 9:48 PM on March 18, 2011 [3 favorites]


And yeah, his head is square because he's a building.
posted by vorfeed at 9:49 PM on March 18, 2011


Think of Sesame Street and Mr. Hooper, if that helps.

It makes sense in that context. That said, I'd be hard pressed to see Big Bird or Elmo do better at explaining this.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:50 PM on March 18, 2011 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I got the feeling he was actually supposed to be shaped like the Fukushima Dai Ichi plant, which had those weird square shaped covers. In contrast to TMI (a hyperbolic cone) and Chernobyl (with a smoke stack)
posted by delmoi at 9:53 PM on March 18, 2011


Ah, that makes sense. Guess making his head look like the core would be too weird/technical. Like stainless steel saturn head boy, or something
posted by Redhush at 10:11 PM on March 18, 2011


a) This was already posted in the thread about the situation at the Fukushima reactors yesterday.

b) "Japan" didn't make this video, or "explain nuclear crisis to kids with a cartoon about poop and farts." Artist Kazuhiko Hachiya tried to explain the nuclear crisis to kids with a cartoon about poop and farts.

c) It's far more accurate and informative than most of the shit in the American media as far as I can tell.
posted by grapesaresour at 10:34 PM on March 18, 2011


I dare you to name one crisis that can't be described through a metaphor of poop/farts. Seriously. Just name one.

Dares, is it? Ok. The Holocaust. Go on, I dare you.
posted by ryanrs at 12:14 AM on March 19, 2011


arcticseal: "I'm waiting for Sanrio to market that character."

It's been done.
posted by IndigoRain at 1:03 AM on March 19, 2011


I was just thinking the other day how the ego is kind of like a fart.

In the sense that your own is a pretty fine thing, but everyone elses is repulsive?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:19 AM on March 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


There are farts that would be just as deadly...
posted by pattyc at 8:13 AM on March 19, 2011


It's far more accurate and informative than most of the shit in the American media as far as I can tell.

This. Same goes for most of western media. Scatological metaphors aside, imagine complex issues like nuclear accidents being described to average adults with clear metaphors, in terms they can understand. Instead of, you know, ridiculous and misleading fearmongering that causes hordes of ignorant and misinformed people all over the world stocking up on iodine tablets.
posted by lifeless at 8:46 AM on March 19, 2011 [3 favorites]


I dare you to name one crisis that can't be described through a metaphor of poop/farts. Seriously. Just name one.

Titanic (the ship, not the movie, which obviously can be)


Apparently you have never had something in your toilet that was so big you thought it was unsinkable, but sure enough, it went down eventually, usually by tipping itself skyward and breaking in half?


Wow, typing scatological jokes makes me very uncomfortable in a way that I wouldn't be if we were talking about this in person.

posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:08 AM on March 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


This was already posted in the thread about the situation at the Fukushima reactors yesterday.

Actually, I posted it in the first reactor thread two days ago. That's right, I've been here almost 11 years and my claim to fame is that I was the first to post Nuclear Boy. KNEEL BEFORE ZOD NORM.

Also, it's my birthday
posted by norm at 10:14 AM on March 19, 2011 [5 favorites]


Stop. Pooping.
posted by dirigibleman at 11:09 AM on March 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


I am actually going to be serious here (yes, really!) and ask: what is all this about the "smelly gas" being gone in 'about a week'? Are they talking about the actual radiation being gone in a week? Because that seems disingenuous to suggest, even to the kids.
posted by misha at 12:52 PM on March 19, 2011


Are they talking about the actual radiation being gone in a week? Because that seems disingenuous to suggest, even to the kids.

I believe that's roughly how it works, though, with regards to the radioactive steam that's been released so far. The half-life of radio-iodine is just 8 days, the level of radioactivity is reasonably low right now even in the immediate area of the plant, and some (so far, fortunately most) of the steam will blow out to sea rather than contaminating the land. If they can enclose the plant and keep releases of the more dangerous elements (the "poop") to a minimum, then radiation levels inside the current exclusion zone could be safe within weeks. It all depends on what's released, how much is released, and where it ends up.

There's a pretty good article about the dangers of the steam here, there's a good overview of how much radiation has been detected so far here (and a graph here showing radiation levels at the plant itself), and a chart which compares these values to dangerous doses here.
posted by vorfeed at 2:02 PM on March 19, 2011 [3 favorites]


Thanks, vorfeed! For some reason, I thought the half-life was much longer.
posted by misha at 2:14 PM on March 19, 2011


..although, upon reflection, it would still take a lot longer to clear it all out than "a week."
posted by misha at 2:16 PM on March 19, 2011


Thanks, vorfeed! For some reason, I thought the half-life was much longer.

The half-lives of the elements which escape from damaged fuel rods are much longer, unfortunately. It can take decades for cesium-137 and strontium-90 to stop being dangerous. That's why it's so important to keep them contained.

..although, upon reflection, it would still take a lot longer to clear it all out than "a week."

Keep in mind that the radiation levels being detected right now are already low. Levels are elevated but not dangerous just outside the exclusion zone, which implies that much of the zone is probably safe even now (again, it depends on what exactly happened with the steam).
posted by vorfeed at 3:26 PM on March 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


Over time, preventing a nuclear melt down is just as likely as preventing a person from pooping.

yeah, that was my clear take-away too. which, you know, the diaper thing is a good analogy - and we're going to store all the diapers for many years, and some of them we'll reprocess so they're even stinkier, etc.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:08 PM on March 19, 2011


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