I just know I’m gonna get whooped for this, but does anyone else wonder why the most repeated clip in that entire vid was the water droplet making a microscopic mushroom cloud?

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It’s not that much of a mystery if you listen to what the announcer and some of the exclamations are from the audience. Starting at about 3:31 remaining, the topic of the segment is “The mysterious world of water” as stated by both the announcer and the screen caption at the bottom (fushigi na mizu no sekai). So that’s why there are a series of water balloon and water drop shots.
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While there is some initial discussion by the guy in the lab coat about the energy in the droplets, the primary theme of the comments revolve around the beauty of the shape and the movement of the water film, comparing it to the gracefulness of a ballarina.
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If anybody made any references to a nuclear explosion or a mushroom cloud, I didn’t catch it (there were some sections were people were talking and “ehhhhhhh”ing over each other and it was hard for me to hear what was being said.
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I suppose you could argue that subconscious forces are at work. In my experience, however, the younger Japanese generations, while certainly aware of the events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, don’t, for the most part, feel a really deep emotional connection to them.

Nice find, Bryan

Discuss.

(I’m just sayin’…)

Cept for Kari of course. “I get worked up just thinking about it.”

- The Cat

If Allah had anything to do with this post, you might have a point.

Bryan on August 24, 2007 at 5:49 PM

Doncha just love it :)

The video is in Japanese, but that really doesn’t matter. Turn the sound off and you won’t miss a thing besides frequent “eeeehhhhhhhh”s from the audience.

Hey, now — there’s this stuff called music, too. There was a little New World Symphony in there.

The high-speed photography is fun, but geez, the audience’s reactions don’t make me think well of the Japanese.

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One of the most endearing things about the Japanese people is that, throughout their entire lives, they are (generally) able to maintain a sense of awe and wonder, and an appreciation for, the world around them. The “ehhhhs” and “sugois” and “omoshiroiis” that you constantly hear on the soundtrack are simply verbal expressions of this sense of wonder, and are not any different in spirit than Americans saying “wow” or “oh my God” when they see something that amazes them.
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This persistent sense of innocence well into adulthood is one of the things I like best about them.
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BTW, It is often hard to translate idiomatic expressions, but I think that “sugoi” is closer to “wow” or “amazing,” but “That’s cool” also works in this case.

Sore wa sugoi ne!
Kini on August 24, 2007 at 6:25 PM

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To borrow a syntactical style from AP:
sugoku sugoi!

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面白かった！

Thank you.

Science! A little more. Survivor. A lot less.

There was a time when US TV had lots of fun science. That’s why I am so smart.

But that didn’t last. That’s why I’m not rich (yet).

Agrippa2k on August 24, 2007 at 5:39 PM

I remember Bill Nye the Science Guy.

(Clue: hasn’t anyone read Shogun?)

Annoying “EEEEEHHHHHH!” aside, it was pretty cool.

Que ce moyen ?

Zaire67 on August 24, 2007 at 7:09 PM

It means, “That’s Cool” in Japanese.

Sore wa sugoi ne!

Kini on August 24, 2007 at 6:25 PM

Que ce moyen ?

Of course, the same can be said for the perpetually delighted audience of America’s Funniest Home Videos and most TV shows in general.

Splashman on August 24, 2007 at 6:41 PM

Oh, come one! Tom Bergeron is a whole lot funnier than Bob Saget ever was! I’ve seen them both live.

Of course, the same can be said for the perpetually delighted audience of America’s Funniest Home Videos and most TV shows in general.