"Guys are the same the world over", or, "What would happen if . . . "

I have had Japanese classmates and friends from grade school onwards. Lots of Japanese classmates in graduate school. I have read a lot of Asian history, particularly related to Japan and China. I have had Japanese teams working on projects and been responsible for a business unit in Japan. You cannot overlook World War II but I have, none-the-less, immense respect for the Japanese people and their culture.

What has always struck me, and part of why I find Japan so interesting, is that there are some ways in which Japan is so nearly parallel in history or culture to the West while at the same time being, in some distinct ways, completely different.

At the level of popular culture, who can't appreciate the country that gave us Godzilla. In various countries in which I have lived, there are occasionally dubbed Japanese competitive shows, usually some form of athletic challenge for the public which are entertaining.

But this takes the cake. The following video seems both quintessentially a western "guy" video and yet also, distinctly Japanese. This is exactly what guys come up with when at loose ends. Lawn mower racing, building trebuchets to throw pumpkins, making a potato gun, opening a beer bottle with a backhoe, etc. Not seeking knowledge as a goal but doing something simply to see if it can be done.

Here is the Japanese version. What happens when you roll different sized tires down a ski jump? You have to respect the idle engineer who came up with that question. And clearly they are having fun figuring out the answer. Watch to the end to see what happens with the final tire.