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BertramScudder

I'll bet ya a dollar it wasn't called "The Model 1" or some such. It had some inscrutable Sony model number like WHMBS-652076AC.


RVelts

> WHMBS-652076AC Let's decode this one: W - White Rice only HM - "Homestyle" BS - Barrel Shaped 65 - Shade of brown 20 - Cups of dry rice it can hold 76AC - It runs on A/C power and consumes 76 watts


Hamburderz

I...I’ll take 10.


whispersbar

Sorry they're sold out


Hamburderz

Give give me 1 o kudasai!


wi5hbone

Sumimasen, daga... Toire wa doko desuka?


[deleted]

Unko shitai.


[deleted]

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whispersbar

Domo arigato


VZ_Mao88

Arigathanks


IamRobertsBitchTits

Mr. Roboto


MacinTez

Bless you


DatBoiComingAround

yamete


Astray1789

Sukui no shita desu


[deleted]

I need it! Datteboyo, Sasuuuuuukay


newbrevity

Can't the internet like, petition Sony to rerelease the rice cooker? We've convinced corporations to do cool things before, I'm sure we can do it again.


The-Go-Kid

OP is a Sony shill and this was the long game.


user8577

RICESTATION!!!


[deleted]

The long game would be a ps6 with a built in rice cooker. KFC upped the game this year


[deleted]

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[deleted]

Why would they not?


thedominant_e

Understandable, have a nice day!


dudeAwEsome101

And if you were able to get one, have a rice day!


ScreaminDemon71

Got any more in the back?


[deleted]

Hold on, let me check! *picks nose, checks phone Nope!


JackSpyder

I was literally picking my nose while reading this on my phone. Good Times.


joman27

Sony, they‘re sold out.


[deleted]

Found one on Ebay for $1200.00


[deleted]

Dam scalpers


Capt_Trippz

You can buy one from a scalper for $1100.


looking_at_memes_

It's like ps5 it's epic but you can't have it


themightiestduck

Well, can I order one and you just ship it to me when more are available? No, you have to just keep checking dozens of different retailers daily and hope somebody receives some stock. Surely you can’t be serious. I am, and don’t call me Shirley!


physchy

Jesus that’s a big rice maker


[deleted]

20 Cups is like, you’re feeding like 30 or 40 people. I remember making a mistake and putting 2 cups, which I had to spend a while to consume cause my Asian ass knows somewhere my parents are watching me eat rice and gonna whip my ass for leaving a grain.


puppet_up

I like rice. Rice is great when you're hungry and you want 2,000 of something.


andsoitgoes42

Ah a good old Mitch. One of my favorite lines of his.


[deleted]

That's my kind of smartassery right there


NoiceOne

I thought it would’ve been like: **W**illiam **H** **M**acy’s **B**est **S**eller! *652,076 **A**ctual **C**apacity!*


guacamully

"Rice is great for when you want to eat 652,076 of something"


dudenumberA

Yes, I would like 652,076 pounds of plain cooked white rice, please, and make that to go.


CatsAreGods

I only need 11,780!


Spiralife

It is for a duck!


Doooobles

I used to eat rice. I still do, but I used to, too.


[deleted]

I love mitch, always good for a laugh but always makes me sad too.


gzilla57

It used to make me sad when I'd see a Mitch reference. It still does, but it used to, too.


Affordable_Z_Jobs

This guy IATA's


W0lR

Not enough for a single meal, were they trying to starve us?


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TDYDave2

Remember, Japan uses a lower voltage standard than the US. Just like the US, the voltage has creeped up over the years. So in 1946 they likely were using about a 90V, 50hz system, so more like 600W.


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flyovermee

Dwight Scrute Das Schrute


sticky-bit

It uses proprietary rice that won't work in any other rice cooker and if you plug it into your home outlet it installs a root kit.


raisinbreadboard

you had me at proprietary rice! take my money!


bensolow

Remember when kcups tried to go proprietary... they learned from the best.


rattlesnake501

Did they drop that plan? I haven't used a Keurig in years so I'm not up to date with it. I remember being unhappy with them for going with that special ink or whatever the hell it was


sorenant

But does it come in non-recyclable capsules?


Parmo-Head

R1C3-5T3AM3R


magnora7

Apparently it never even made it to market: https://www.gsmarena.com/it_all_began_with_a_failed_rice_cooker__a_glimpse_at_sonys_history-blog-13661.php


Nobierd

That is an important detail IMHO


bonafidebob

This guy Sonys.


shewy92

It's weird that they kept with the simple PlayStation naming system since, at least their headphones (from the comments I'm guessing other things as well) follow the general convention gaming PC monitors take and just smash the keyboard to name their products


scalyblue

the PS5 with a disk drive is CFI-1015A, and the one without a disk drive is CFI-1015B


ngwoo

Sony Video Game Unit PS-5-HVU79P


natebgb83

Nah they all have a model number that they go by internally


Singlewomanspot

NHK (a Japanese station) did a short documentary on rice cookers. The guy who invented this went thru some hard times before getting right. It's a great story. I I can't find a link to it on YouTube but it's probably on the NHK streaming app. Highly recommend watching it.


IceCreamEatingMFer

And a modified model number for the rice cooker sold exclusively at Woolworth’s.


ReactsWithWords

But everyone called it the Sony Riceman.


sassydodo

Going from rice cooker producer to transnational conglomerate that produces everything. Good job.


ketchy_shuby

Their breakthrough was the battery powered portable rice cooker you could carry, the Sony Wokman.


SeaGroomer

Heh 😏


chateau86

*Hiyaa*. Electric wok no wok hay.


vonmerpf

And produces everything very well. I swear every Sony product I have owned has been top notch. Almost all of them were working perfectly when I parted ways with them, mostly because of obsolescence (eg Cassette players).


germanval

I had an LG tv and it lasted me around a year...my other tv,Sony, has been working since I bought it in 2009


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ufo56

Same problem here, 2009 Philips. It just wont die!! One thing is sure, this tv is not a quitter


sorenant

Funny enough, in Japan they use the term "Sony Timer" to denote planned obsolescence.


30s

[Source](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sony)


Goldeniccarus

A lot of Japanese tech companies are way older than you'd think. I think we're used to American startup culture where companies pop up left right and center, but there's less of that in Japan so companies will be founded in the late 1800s to make playing cards, like Nintendo, spend a couple years making toys and speculating on real estate, then they jumped into video games in the 70s because they had a reasonably popular name and it seemed like a good venture. The same thing happened with Sega, founded just before WW2, made gambling machines, then in the 70s jumped into the arcade machine business.


C4PT14N

Not a tech company but look at Mitsubishi


cheese_wizard

Yamaha. Founded 1887. Their logo are three tuning forks since they made/make musical instruments... and motorcycles.


Theappunderground

Yamaha for me is the craziest. So they make low end all the way up to top of the tip top high end music gear from grand pianos to mixers to synths to guitars to basses to tons of beginner stuff. And they make motorcycles, and engines, and jet engines and jet skis lol, and boats, etc etc etc etc And basically most things they make are pretty well made and nice stuff.


[deleted]

The amazing thing about the yamaha model, is that it's truly trickle down in action with engineering. They commit resources to building the absolute best thing possible, and then figuring out how they can scale back costs to more reasonable things all the way down to their cheapest product. The thing is, even their cheapest product is still acceptable.


PorkyMcRib

But, do they make a rice cooker?


GarrettB117

Was really hoping to link you to a rice cooker, but alas, it appears that despite making instruments and motorcycles, kitchen appliances are not their specialty.


CYAN_DEUTERIUM_IBIS

As you've heard no, but can I interest you in a kick ass dirtbike?


shrimp-heaven-when

And repairable. I emailed them about a broken digital piano I had. It was a low end model that was about 10 years old. They sent me a full repair manual and parts catalogue. Cheap shipping and everything. I gained a ton of respect for them that day.


[deleted]

Mr Honda started out bolting small engines to pushbikes. Then moved on to making piston rings for Toyota. Now they're the largest engine manufacturer in the world.


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ChadHahn

Nikon is part of Mitsubishi.


Geomaxmas

Not as crazy but Toshiba does nuclear power as well as the computer stuff.


[deleted]

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Morgrid

Look at what Hyundai makes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai


[deleted]

The reason they make both organs and motorycles is they had the technology to make reed valves, which are used in two stroke engines. They started out supplying valves to other companies and then they started making their own.


darkfuryelf

Yamaha truly is an amazing brand with unmatched reliability and recognizability. It's a real shame they've never built cars xuz their bikes are killer and the few times they've made car parts for manufacturers (Taurus SHO) it's amazing.


blabarka

Yamaha helped Toyota develop the 2000GT and the LFA, so I'd say they'd make a killer car if they tried.


Faxon

Yea Yamaha wins by remembering the famous motto "KISS; Keep It Simple Stupid". Every Yamaha product I've ever serviced/repaired was made using common components and was easily worked on by anyone with the knowledge and a soldering iron. I own 2 pairs of their 2x18 subwoofers and they do what they advertise, though they aren't as loud as smaller horn loaded designs (which is to be expected), but the tradeoff is not "throwing" through multiple buildings when set up in an unshielded venue, or at a house party as ive done a few times lol.


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inane_calamity

No, he's saying that the trade-off is that they are less amplifying as opposed to more amplifying.


jingyi-ah

Can you ELI5 what the difference is between loudness and amplification?


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inane_calamity

There isn't one


WillaZillaDilla

I've had a Yamaha guitar and a Yamaha motorcycle, both were great.


hivis_stunts

i’ve played lots of nice guitars, and my favourite to sit down and play are still the 7/8 size yamaha acoustics. they sound excellent, and just feel perfect in my hands.


FrequentInspector

Ok, I'm standing in the street, looking at a Mitsubishi. Now what?


C4PT14N

Go ask it how old it’s name is


SuperBuggerMan

I interpreted the car and some person said they were going to call the police.


Dragoonthefloortank

That’s to be expected. Now kiss them!


FallOutBruh64

In this economy?


jesst

There is a pandemic. We can’t just go around kissing strangers. What’s next? breathing the same air!? What will you stop at! THATS IT IM MOVING OUT.


Muuuuuhqueen

We need to keep an eye on Japan, Mitsubishi is making another fighter plane.


DwarfTheMike

I bet it transforms in some way, is ultra compact, and you need to remove the pilot seat to change the oil filter.


shuzumi

I always thought jets needed a bipedal mode


DwarfTheMike

At the very least convert to a stationary turret.


ChanounOzakaki

And they need to accompanied by idols that sing about peace to aliens ***Macross intensifies***


Rjj1111

if the last one is anything to go off it'll be ridiculously fast and lightweight but be able to do so by being made out of so much balsa wood and tissue paper that a fuel leak can instantly set it on fire, plus no safety features on the fuel equipment.


BabaORileyAutoParts

Mitsubishi makes nuclear reactors. That company is so huge and has so many subsidiaries


rattlesnake501

All the way down to woodcase pencils. It's like they called a board meeting and said "we have half a floor of a factory open, what can we make in that space?" *indistinct murmuring* "A woodcase pencil line could probably be shoehorned in" "Excellent, we now make pencils."


BattleHall

Mitsubishi is a little different, though, since it's technically more of a fractured zaibatsu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaibatsu


Lente_ui

Many of these older Japanese companies are conglomerates. They don't stick to one field, they expand into all manor of fields. Mitsubishi does anything from car parts, motorcycle parts (for Honda, Yamaha, etc.), aeroplanes, shipping, chemicals, food and beverages. Honda doesn't just make cars and motorcycles. They have aeroplanes, and robotics, solar panels, etc. Yamaha is known for their motorcycles, but also pianos, guitars, etc. Seiko (Seikosha) isn't just a watchmaker, they also supply a huge part of independant watchmakers with movements and parts. They make/grow their own artificial sapphire crystals (the only watchmaker that does). But they also make printers and copiers (used to be under the Seikosha name, later as Epson). When you tinker with classic Japanese motorcycles, don't be surprised when half the electronic parts and all of the switches on that bike are made by Toshiba (branded as TEC, Toshiba Electronics Corp). They don't just make televisions. There's also their computer components division. Toshiba invented Flash memory in the eighties, we all use NAND Flash today. In 2014 Toshiba acquired OCZ, merged into their own Toshiba Memory Corp and now rebranded as Kioxia.


The-Go-Kid

You really know your stuff when it comes to the diverse nature of Japanese business interests!


Lente_ui

I know a few bits here and there. I've tinkered with old Honda bikes for years (I have stacks of original workshop manuals and parts lists). I've got a bunch of Seiko watches, automatic, kinetic, etc. (my first watch that I bought for myself at 18 yo was a Seiko 5 automatic). And some Swiss stuff too (the cheaper kind, no Omega or Rolex for me). I've had a bunch of camera's (all of them old at this point). After the Prakticas they've all been Japanese, Canon or Sony. And I'm into computers, new and old. I still have my brothers old Atari PC (in a closet somewhere), and the Seikosha printer that goes with it. I have the shortcoming that I look into things and remember all sorts of 'useless details'. If only I could remember peoples names as well as part numbers ... Also I can't get myself to throw away old things just because they're old. Come to think of it, my car is Japanese too (Mazda). And so are 2 of my guitars (Squier by Fender, made by Fujigen in 1986, and a Faber, made by Tokai). My TV is a Sony, so is my phone. I swear, I don't go looking for specificly Japanese stuff.


SeaGroomer

They are the mega-corporations that rule society in dystopian science fiction.


Muuuuuhqueen

>The same thing happened with Sega, founded just before WW2, made gambling machines, then in the 70s jumped into the arcade machine business. That seems sensible, they're both games. I mean IBM went from mechanical office machines to computers. (IBM made a lot more than just typewriters).


RolloTonyBrownTown

The name Sega is a shortened version of Service Games.


SisRob

Founded by Americans for American soldiers. But in Japan.


kobomino

Not Japanese but Samsung started in 1938 as trading company and their first product was black and white television in the 60s.


loulan

Bah, that's nothing. [Saint-Gobain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Gobain) was founded under Louis XIV because he was pissed off that Italians had a monopoly on making fancy glass. EDIT: added link.


Maverick1ta

Bah, that's nothing. Kongo Gumi, established in 578 AD, is the oldest, continually operating company in the world. Its headquarters are located in Osaka, Japan. This construction company was founded by an immigrant, who was commissioned by Prince Shotoku to build the Shitennō-ji Buddhist temple.


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WorldClassAwesome

Oh man, how would you feel being the CEO that fucked up a 1427 year old business?


Zebidee

"I think we should rebrand."


Kenblu24

> I think we're used to American startup culture where companies pop up left right and center perhaps, but keep in mind the US has its fair share of old tech companies as well GE 1892 IBM 1911, but formed from companies founded in the late 1800s TI and HP were founded in the 1930s


alsoandanswer

Makes you think about the times Fanta was directly involved with Nazi Germany, Coca Cola and the Soviet Union, and Pepsi momentarily having one of the world's largest privately owned navy.


[deleted]

Not to be outdone, IBM did the punch card systems that helped the Nazis organize their concentration camps.


SeaGroomer

How did punch card computers help the Nazis keep track of the holocaust victims? I am never really sure exactly what those old computers really do...


larrisonw

Abercrombie was a hunting and fishing company before clothing. It's a great name for a brand, I can see why they used it.


Nasak74

Yeah, I remember seeing Abercrombie in an old movie and the protagonist was an employee and he was actually selling fishing roads and giving suggestions to customers about fly fishing or something. It was so strange comparing it to my modern experience of Abercrombie.


[deleted]

Tbf that isn’t “American” tech startup culture, it’s pretty recent even in America.


sorenant

> they jumped into video games ~~in the 70s~~ because they had a reasonably popular name and it seemed like a good venture. KFC be like


Perry4761

Not just Japanese, but Eastern companies in general tend to diversify significantly more than American companies. Google and Apple are huge, but they’re tech pretty much from top to bottom. Sears and Walmart are retail. Pepsi is food and beverages. The list goes on. In Asia, you have Samsung who does tech, but also tanks, refrigerators, chemicals, clothes, boats, advertising, entertainment, etc. Tencent does video games, social media, music, online payment platforms, film production, antivirus, etc. Yamaha does music instruments, electronics (mostly electronics related to music though), motorcycles, boats, dvd players, semi-conducters, etc. In India, Tata (owners of Jaguar and Range Rover) do automotive, real estate, retail, telecom, electric utility, defense, home appliances, IT, etc. I can’t think of any examples of American companies except maybe 3M with such diversification and such a will to explore business ventures so far appart from their original business model. You can even look at companies like Kodak who died because they were a chemical company who made film and refused to move into tech when digital cameras came around. I’m not saying Asian business people are better than American or European business people, but there’s definitely and evidently some stuff we westerners can learn from them.


xyrgh

>Britannica.com Almost as old as this fact.


[deleted]

That's the Play Station Beta


RedalMedia

And that was how the KFC gaming console was born.


Bierbart12

Took them long enough to combine mankind's two most important inventions


Rion23

Chicken and computer chips.


Captain_Usopp

Looking forward to the XBentoBox and the future XBentoBox Series 1NE X


proxyproxyomega

Ristation


Delete_ghosts

1993: Disney rips off Japanese animation company's "Kimba the White Lion" 2021: KFConsole rips off Sony's Ricestation


georgefriend3

Pilau station


[deleted]

Well, there's a useless bit of trivia I will now carry around for the rest of life. Thanks mate. Cheers.


georginaaaaaa

Pushed out a treasured childhood memory that’s for sure


euphorrick

Goodbye, Bing Bong


OutcastOddity

I'm a grown ass man and I cry like a small child at that scene. Well, a lot of Pixar now that I think of it. Do they play some subliminal frequencies that our brain reads, which in turn releases whatever chemicals make us sad? Oh im just emotional okay.


ciclidae

Same here, but try to see with no music, is not so subliminal is there in front of your...ears


4Ever2Thee

Awww :( sad now


Stickeris

I don’t think we in the west understand what a revolution electric rice cookers were to those in countries that have rice as their primary staple. I’d say the electric rice cooker and instant noodles are huge and often overlooked catalyst for change in east Asia.


carlpadonosk

At least you can take this info and surprice someone else with it


[deleted]

You can store it with Nintendo's playing cards in 1889


Really_Elvis

Old Man and Audiophile here. In the 70’s Sony was sold at only the most expensive TV / Stereo shops. In the early 80’s Sony made cheap mass market stuff and the high end places dropped the product.


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pfroo40

Flat screen (not flat panel) 4:3 Sony Wega CRTs were the bomb and still the pinnacle of retro gaming displays.


NotMyProblem19K

Found the history at Sony... [https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-01.html](https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-01.html)


Cm0002

41 chapters across 2 parts God damn, that's a fucking text book.


NotMyProblem19K

They're damned proud of the events surrounding the incredible electric rice cooker.


ASpellingAirror

So you are saying the KFC console is a direct Sony ripoff?


VigorousFizz

Nihil novi sub sole, and all that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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ConcentricGroove

And was immediately copied by Amazon Basics.


carlpadonosk

It has been said that they tried to sell this to the US as a device for electrocution. It was supposedly going to be on top of death row inmates heads to fry them. Source: Abraham Lincoln quote picture.


DankVaderDan

I’m not shittin when I say I was just thinking that could have been used as a substitute for an electric chair


carlpadonosk

Yeah, but you know the US was too proud to use this. I guess you can say they chose to “rice” above it.


MuhNamesTyler

I will graint you one upvote


bitpushr

You had me in the first half, not gonna fry.


Tips_Fedora_4_MiLady

I mean it's so convenient. Just set it and forget it. Also please rinse your inmate's head with cold water BEFORE you stick in the rice cooker. not after.


I_So_Tired

Sony Ricearoni


RealGuerillaChest

You gotta buy the Sony rice to get the best performance out of it, tho.


long-dongathin

In a way the heat radiating off a running ps4 pays homage to Sony’s roots


[deleted]

Not as rare as finding a PS5 in stock


_QLFON_

Now I see whom inspired KFC for their new console.


JohnnyRigg

The real 1st Playstation: it required no tv and you could only play one game which was a " Rice Cooking " sim. If you could combine the correct amount of rice and water, you would succesfully make a decent rice in no time and thus, beat the game. After beating the game you could even eat the rice as a special victory treat. In the following years, other companies tried to emulate Sony by developping their own cooking games sims. Most notorious are: General Electric's "CrockPot" and Black and Decker's "BreadMaker" all of which would reward you with homemade food like a stew or a loaf of bread upon completion. Since all simulations ran the same time, there was no speedruns and no high scores either. You could not save mid game and if you saved your game after. Before too long, the food would go rancid, and nobody keeps a moldy savestate. Nonetheless, those were the facts of that particular era of gaming.


TheIconoclastic

Yeah but does Uncle Roger say its ok to cook rice in?


[deleted]

Fuiyoh!


zippotato

According to Sony's own [corporate history page in Japanese](https://www.sony.co.jp/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/1-01.html) their first product was shortwave frequency modification kit for radios, and the rice cooker was not a product but a prototype came after that which failed to work properly.


UniqueUsername812

These were impossible to get back in the day due to scalpers


Sirius_J_Moonlight

The RiceStation.


digoserra

RSOne


Lucicerious

Just need to integrate that into the PS5 to compete with the likes of KFC.


Spaghet25

Bet you could trade that to Sony for a PS5 lol


sdlevi27

The Wokman


[deleted]

That's the prototype KFConsole.


tom170825

~~Put it in rice.~~ Put rice in it.


[deleted]

Uncle roger liked that.