I’ve said before, in jest, that the Apple iPad is just a couple of iPhones taped together. In a way, it is. That’s what makes it ideal for a segment of Japan’s population. As it turns out, the sumo wrestlers love the iPad because it’s one of the only computer devices that they can use with their giant fingers.
As if that alone wasn’t weird enough, Japan’s sumo wrestling governing body has actually given out iPads to Japan’s 51 different official sumo stables, so that they can more efficiently communicate with the wrestlers in those particular facilities. “We will hand out the newest iPads to all the sumo stables to swiftly communicate what we need to,” confirmed sumo association vice chairman Hiroyoshi Murayama. Apparently, in the sumo dojo’s crowded environment, information was occasionally lost as telephone messages and faxes could be misplaced.
That’s Japan for you. A sports tradition that dates back thousands of years meets the latest in tablet computer technology. What an awesome (but weird as all get-out) country.
Tags: sumo wrestling, Japan, sumo wrestlers given ipads, Apple iPad, iPads, Japanese sumo training stables given iPads, too fat to use mobile phones, technology, unusual technology uses, communication