Month: May 2007

Homer Simpson Sparkles as Mr. Sparkle

After church Homer [Simpson] takes Bart and Lisa to the Springfield dump, where they find a box of Japanese dishwasher detergent known as Mr. Sparkle. The face on the box of detergent greatly resembles Homer. Homer, disturbed by the box of Mr. Sparkle, contacts the manufacturer in Japan for information. He is sent a promotional video for Mr. Sparkle, which consists of a bizarre TV commercial. At the end of the video, the mascot is shown to be a result of a joint venture between two large Japanese conglomerates whose mascots, a fish and light bulb, merge together to form Mr. Sparkle.

Samurai Cockroach Killer

大日本除虫菊株式会社（だいにほんじょちゅうぎくかぶしきがいしゃ、Dainihon Jochugiku Co.,Ltd.）は、殺虫剤など衛生薬品の製造・販売を行っている日本の日用品メーカー。

Translation: Dainihon Jochugiku Corporation manufactures and sells insecticide and medicine.

Cockroaches (or simply “roaches”) are insects of the Order Blattodea. The name of the order is derived from the Latin word for “cockroach,” blatta. There are roughly 3,490 species in six families. Cockroaches exist worldwide, with the exception of the polar regions.

Samurai (侍, Samurai) was a term for the military nobility in pre-industrial Japan. The word “samurai” is derived from the archaic Japanese verb “samorau”, changed to “saburau”, meaning “to serve”; a samurai is the servant of a lord.

Godzilla: It Came From Japan (part 1)

Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira) is a fictional monster featured in Japanese films and has become one of the world’s most recognized movie characters. He was first seen in the 1954 film Gojira, produced by Toho Film Company Ltd. To date, Toho has produced 28 Godzilla films.

Animal Planet, launched in 1996, is a cable and satellite television network co-owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. (parent company of Discovery Channel, TLC, and Discovery Health Channel) and BBC Worldwide. The channel is dedicated to programming that highlights the relationship between humans and animals.