Calling all loud eaters! The utensil that you need is finally here, and it might just enable you to eat messy ramen on a first date. Yes, seriously!
All you need to do is fork out a pretty penny, and with a little bit of luck, you can receive a special noise-canceling fork that detects the sound of noodle slurping and sends a signal to a nearby smartphone, which will then quickly work to cover up your eating noises with a serene "whoosh" or playful xylophone notes, according to Rocket News 24.
Nissin, the global instant ramen lords, created a device called Otohiko, which costs around $130 but might end up saving you a lot of grief in the long run if you are affected by what some people call "noodle harassment."
In Japan, it's often seen as socially acceptable to loudly slurp your noodles, which can be jarring to foreigners from America and other anti-slurping nations. According to Kotaku, slurping is said to open up your nasal passages and help you breathe in all the tasty aromas and flavors in your soup.
"Some want to slurp noodles to enhance its flavor, but some feel its noise disturbing," the video's narrator explains. " ... This friction is sometimes featured on media as a social problem. As a friendly solution, we developed [a] noodle slurping noise canceling fork, 'Otohiko.'"
Otohiko uses a microphone and near field communication to pick up slurping noises and hide them so "you can slurp as much as you want."
"Why don't you try Otohiko?" says the ad's narrator. "Enjoy your first slurping experience. With Otohiko, it tastes better, don't you think? Go with Otohiko [and] cultural difference [don't] matter. The more you slurp, the more fun you have."
If you want one of these beautiful giant forks, you'll want to act fast. Nissin has only made 5,000 of them, so make sure you pre-order one before the ordering period ends on Dec. 15.