Chindogu are Japanese “un-useless” gadgets that solve a problem in a hilariously impractical way. They are those ridiculous Japanese inventions designed to solve a particular problem but are, in fact, so clumsy and inelegant that they are an inconvenience to use, and generate a whole lot of new problems.  It was popularized by Kenji Kawakami in the 1990s through a Japanese mail-order magazine where he showcased bizarre prototypes to fill empty pages. 

“Basically, chindogu is the same as the Industrial Revolution in Britain,” says Kenji Kawakami. “The one big difference is that while most inventions are aimed at making life more convenient, chindogu have greater disadvantages than precursor products, so people can’t sell them. They’re invention dropouts.”

Source: https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/10/chindogu-japanese-art-of-unuseless.html