Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Chinese Earthquake Typewriter

Combining some aspects of Chinese culture to address a known issue
  (+2)
(+2)
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A typewriter with a full Chinese Hanzi character set would have too many keys to be practical.

However, by combining the Chinese convention for naming children with any character, with the (more recent) cultural predeliction toward communal exercise, I propose the Earthquake Typewriter:

A large area is marked out with 1 metre squares, each marked with one of the Chinese characters and fitted with a pressure sensor. All the sensors are coupled to a receiver.

On each square stands a child whose name matches that square's character.

The operator simply speaks (probably through a loudhailer) and when a child hears their name, they jump, triggering the sensor and sending a signal to the receiver to print the character.

At fast typing speed, earth tremors may become an issue.

Among the other issues to be addressed is the inequitable usage of characters. While a child with a very commonly used name may expire through exhaustion, another with a seldom used name may suffer from the sedentary nature of their day.

Twizz, May 13 2010

Chinese Typewriter http://blog.modernm...chinese-typewriter/
This looks equally as complicated to use. [swimswim, May 13 2010]

[link]






       1 metre square - thats generous.
po, May 13 2010
  

       I applaud the use of foriegn people in a menial and degrading manner.   

       [+]
MikeD, May 13 2010
  

       Too many names are pronounced the same, with the same tone even, but are written with a different character. For example, in each of the four tones, there are probably several characters for LI used as names. When the operator called out such a name, several kids would jump at the same time and the typewriter's keys would get jammed.
swimswim, May 13 2010
  
      
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