Japanese plastic dirt is half as dense as real dirt, over 100 times more plastic

We've seen quite a few efforts to use gardens and terrariums in cities to order to bring down overall CO2 emissions and reduce temperatures, but Tokyo's earthquake-prone location means that structures there have to meet strict load requirements -- so a company called Suntory Ltd., has developed a synthetic dirt substitute called Pafcal it says weighs less than half as much as real soil. The fake dirt, which is made of urethane, can reduce the internal temperature of a building with a roof garden up to 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit). Of course, there's considerable irony in trying to save the planet by covering concrete buildings in fake plastic dirt, but then again, such a solution is about as Japanese as it gets, no?

[Phrank Posted May 15th 2008 2:41AM]

@Niels:

Let me preface this by saying that I know pretty close to jack about chemistry, and surely about what's in this plastic dirt. And so do you.

What I can tell you is that "made from urethane" does not equate with "is urethane." The majority (all?) of non-recycled plastics are made from petroleum, but you wouldn't think of drinking from a soda bottle as getting oil in your mouth, would you?

When you take one urethane and put it with a bunch of others, you get polyurethane. If you don't want it on your roof, you surely don't want it on your furniture and especially not your dining room table, you know, the one you eat off of, so likely you'll want to get rid of that, because there's a very good chance it's got some kind of plastic sealant on it. And if not your dining room table, you surely have SOME furniture that's made shiny thanks to polyurethane.

My point is, plastic dirt COULD be carcinogenic, but it seems to me that your objection to the dirt, if based on the evidence you posted, is a pretty big leap. It sounds to me largely like an emotional reaction to an unfamiliar substance that's maybe not as unfamiliar as you think.

What you REALLY need to be worrying about is dihydrogen monoxide. That stuff is a major element of acid rain, it's found in almost all foods and every single ocean, river and lake on earth...but no government in the world will consider banning it. Stick it to the man!!!

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 9th 2008 11:44PM]

U|North

[Phrank Posted May 16th 2008 1:32AM]

@Will H.

Look what somebody ELSE named Will H. said!

"She's obviously impressed, she thinks it's huge, but she's obviously used to much smaller junk."

From http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/14/samsung-first-on-the-block-with-240hz-lcd-prototype-100-better/

In reference to the asian woman looking on impressedly at a small 15" tv screen, notable for its 240Hz speed.

Making a witty remark on the stereotype that asian men are not so well hung.

I just came across this, and said "wait a minute, this must be a different Will H., the Will H. I know was offended by asian jokes." Small world, innit?

I hope that this other Will H. knows that his penis is a lot smaller than this TV screen. In fact, it's likely smaller than the average Japanese penis (one millimeter over the US average).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis_size#Race_and_penis_size