ANTI-RADIATION: Making Light out of the Fukushima Freakout

CEBU, Philippines - One of the year’s biggest scare made visual artist and blogger Nils Ferber an internet hit after releasing an unusual concept design that got the World Wide Web’s attention.

After Japan declared a nuclear radiation leak, the country’s food industry found themselves in big trouble as other countries ban and limit Japanese food imports. However Japan’s food industry cried foul and claimed that they were “unfairly targeted,” adding that the media was exaggerating reports.

Japan’s Food and Drug Administration downplayed all radiation scare reports, claiming that exported products are checked thoroughly.  

How does one exactly know that his food is not contaminated with this lethal ingredient?

German artist Nils Ferber has the solution. Ferber pokes fun at the scare by conceptualizing plates that can detect radiation which is known to be invisible to the naked eye.

The Fukushima Plate (aptly named after Fukushima City, the site of the Japan’s nuclear accident) – is a battery powered radioactive meter. But don’t let the ordinary ceramic kitchen plate look fool you! Ferber designed the product with three OLED rings that light up depending on the food’s radioactive level.

The cunningly intended part is that Ferber designed the plate so that you prescribe the radiation levels according to your liking or beliefs.

“The option to set the limiting value yourself refers to the fact that people perceive the risks and dangers of radioactive radiation very differently and even governments alter the official limiting values in special circumstances,” the German artist stated in his blog.

The Fukushima Radiation Scare resulted in a big loss for Japan’s billion dollar food industry. The Fukushima Plate was conceptualized to poke fun at the frenzy it caused. (Source:http://nilsferber.de/fu.html)