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With Valentine’s Day approaching, the Tokyo-based candy company says “You do you, and we’ll do us.”

Earlier this month, the Japanese division of Belgian chocolate maker Godiva made the very unusual move of publicly pleading with the people of Japan to stop buying so much chocolate. Specifically, the advertisement, with its statement attributed to Godiva Japan president and Parisian native Jerome Chouchan, was taking aim at the practice of giri choco, or “obligation chocolate,” in which Japanese women give gifts of chocolate as a platonic thank-you to male coworkers and social associates on Valentine’s Day.

Godiva criticized giri choco as being a burden on Japanese women and encouraged men to vocally disavow any desire for giri choco from their female officemates. But while detractors may deride giri choco as a meaningless gesture and costly hassle, not everyone is so critical. Some Japanese women are quite happy to participate in the established social nicety of giving an edible thank-you gift on February 14 (and to receive a gift in return on White Day, March 14), and so one Japanese confectioner is softly but firmly firing back at Godiva’s anti-giri choco campaign.

Black Thunder is a budget line of chocolate filled with cocoa-flavored cookie bits and made by Tokyo-based Yuraku Confectionery. The official Black Thunder Twitter account recently posted the following tweet:

とある広告が話題のようですね(‘-‘*) よそはよそ、うちはうち。 みんなちがって、みんないい。 ということで有楽製菓は引き続き「日頃の感謝を伝えるきっかけ」として義理チョコ文化を応援いたします(‘-‘*) https://t.co/hWi9fd5RJL

—
ブラックサンダーさん（有楽製菓公式）＠プレミアム義理チョコショップ (@Black_Thunder_) February 01, 2018

It seems like a lot of people are talking about a certain advertisement(‘-‘*)

You do you, and we’ll do us.

Everyone has different ways of thinking, and that’s fine. At Yuraku Confectionary, we support the culture of taking an opportunity to say thanks to someone for all the little kindnesses they’ve shown you, just like we always have.

Tweeted along with the ad is a photo of a Black Thunder sales display, and the bold text written along the front of the stand states:

Chocolate that you can immediately tell is giri choco.

See, while Black Thunder is tasty, it’s also incredibly cheap, selling for less than 100 yen (US$0.90) a piece. Just about everyone likes its balanced, straightforward sweet taste, and you can buy it in pretty much every convenience store and supermarket in Japan, so it’s not like it requires a special shopping trip to some fancy chocolatier with only one location in the entire greater Tokyo area.

In other words, it’s basically the perfect giri choco, and it even has the added bonus of being so remarkably unpretentious that there’s no way anyone will misinterpret it as a declaration of true love.

▼ Black Thunder

As a matter of fact, Black Thunder has embraced its image as absolutely nothing more (or less) meaningful than giri choco for some time now. In 2015, the brand even put up a large-scale advertisement in Shinjuku Station’s underground walkway, one of the most coveted advertising spaces in Japan.

▼ “Chocolate that you can immediately tell is giri choco.”

ブラックサンダーのセンス最高だなー。 http://t.co/hF05ARc6VW

—
印南敦史 (@innamix) February 12, 2015

Black Thunder’s latest reaffirmation of its support of, and usefulness as, giri choco was warmly received by Japanese Twitter users, who commented:

“It’s like Godiva is saying ‘Hey, don’t run yourself ragged over something like giri choco,’ while Black Thunder is saying ‘If you’re having trouble picking out giri choco, we’ve got just the thing.’”

“I like Black Thunder’s elegant, down-to-earth way of thinking.”

“I love when they run their giri choco ads.”

“Black Thunder is chocolate that won’t cause any misunderstandings.”

“No one gives Godiva as giri choco anyway, so it’s like Godiva is butting in to show off and say ‘See how great we are for understanding your plight?’”

While we won’t know how extensive, if any, an influence Godiva’s ad has had until Valentine’s Day comes, there’s virtually no chance that the high-end confectioner’s criticism is going to completely eliminate the practice of giri choco. And for all those who choose to say thanks in that way, Black Thunder will be there to lend a hand.

Featured image: Twitter/@Black_Thunder_
Top image: Wikipedia/Ronjones
Insert image: Wikipedia/Boneyard90

Apparently this kanji is read differently based on what country you’re from.

Japanese kanji can sometimes be read different ways depending on how they’re used, a quirk of the language that we saw before when one kanji was read five different ways in a single sentence.

Because of all these different readings, learning the language as a foreigner can be difficult. Sometimes you might not be able to read a kanji, but if you can figure out the context around it, you can guess at its reading.

▼ For example, pretend we had this kanji in English.
Its reading is “donut.”

▼ And it could be used in sentences like this.

But imagine if someone learning English saw that sentence. If they don’t know the kanji’s reading, they might guess it as “bagel” or “cookie” or “danish” or even “cupcake” (if you imagine it as looking at a cupcake from above).

And the same thing can happen in Japanese, sometimes with humorous results. Japanese Twitter user @ask82320757 shared a story about a foreigner misreading a kanji in an unexpected way.

▼ “I heard a story about a French person reading
the kanji 嬲る as mamoru (‘to protect’) and I cried.”

フランス人の日本語学んでる人が「嬲る」で「まもる」って読んだって話を聞いて涙出た…。

—
ask (@ask82320757) October 18, 2017

In case you’re not familiar with the kanji in question, which is perfectly fair since it’s a pretty rare one, let’s break it down.

▼ The kanji is read naburu and means “to tease/torment.”
It’s made up of three smaller kanji: two “men” and one “woman.”

So the kanji that basically has one woman surrounded by two men means “to tease/torment.” That’s unfortunate, but the ancient scribes came up with all sorts of weird kanji, so we can’t really hold it against them.

What makes this funny is that the French learner of Japanese read the kanji as mamoru, meaning “to protect.” What probably happened was, he looked at the kanji, saw two men with one woman, assumed it meant “to protect,” and read it as such.

For Japanese people, it’s such a pure-hearted mistake that they couldn’t help but fall in love with the story.

“What a wonderful person, to read the kanji like that.”
“The men kanji will protect the woman kanji!”
“So chivalrous.”
“I wonder what his face looked like when he found out the real reading.”
“Can we appeal to have its reading changed?”
“The cultural difference is apparent.”

Other netizens shared their own, similar experiences:

“That’s pretty different from an American I know who read it as ‘bitch’ haha.”

“I have to tell this to my German friend who immediately read the kanji 如 as manko without any hesitation.”

▼ They’re referring to this kanji, which can be read many different ways,
but definitely NOT as manko (considered a vulgar word in Japanese).

And for those curious about what the opposite of the naburu kanji would be (that is, two women and one man), another netizen cleared that up:

“When I found out that 嫐る and 嬲る are read the same as naburu, I was very excited.”

▼ Yup, the two kanji are read exactly the same way.
So if you ever have to write naburu, feel free to use whichever you prefer.

We’re just happy that, despite the ambiguity of the kanji itself, at least it makes sense when you learning its actual meaning — pretty much anyone can empathize with being the odd one out in a group and being “teased/tormented” because of it. And that’s a lot more than we can say for some other Japanese words that make no sense… even after you learning their meanings.

Source: Twitter/@ask82320757 via Hachima Kiko
Top image: PAKUTASO (edited by SoraNews24)
Insert images: SoraNews24

New Cyanide and Happiness Comic

Library | CA, USA

(Some cleaning solution has spilled on a table and dried. A four-year-old boy sees the stain, wipes up a bit on his finger, and licks it.)

Boy: *perplexed* “That’s not candy.”

Me: *speechless*

The post Not Exactly Clean Eating appeared first on Funny & Stupid Customer Stories - Not Always Right.

Bank | Seattle, WA, USA

(My parents and I have been living in the USA for about twenty years. We moved here from Ukraine and still have a house there for vacation trips. My mom sends money to a neighbor each month to keep an eye on the property and maintain the grounds.)

Mom: *hands form to bank teller the form with the information for the recipient, including the address*

Teller: “Umm… where are you trying to send this money to?”

Mom: “To a friend in Ukraine.”

Teller: “Ukraine? I’ve never heard of it…”

Mom: “It’s a country in Eastern Europe, near Russia.”

Teller: “Are you sure? I’ve never heard of it.”

Mom: “Well, I lived there for nearly 40 years before moving to America. So I’m quite sure.”

Teller: “I don’t know if we can send money there. I’m not even sure if it’s a real place, I’ve never heard of it.”

Mom: “I’m sure you can. I’ve been sending money there every single month for years and have never had a problem at this bank before.”

(At this point I’m getting annoyed so I pull out my smartphone and bring up a world map to show her.)

Me: “See? It’s right there. On the map. Do you trust the map?”

Teller: “I guess. I just don’t know why I’ve never heard of it.”

Me: *rolls eyes*

Teller: “Okay. So, the city is [Name] but you’ve left the space for the state blank.”

Mom: “Ukraine doesn’t have any states. It’s a pretty small country.”

Teller: “But why does the form have a space for ‘state,’ then?”

Me: “Because some countries have separate states or provinces. But not all of them. Ukraine doesn’t, so on the mailing address it’s just the city, country, and postal code.”

Teller: “But the form…”

(By this time my mom and I are getting frustrated since we’re wasting time on an errand that usually is pretty straightforward and quick. )

Mom: “Can you please just enter the information in the computer? I don’t have time to explain how geography works to you.”

Teller: *enters the information into the computer system* “Oh, wow, it seems to have gone through! I guess you were right.”

The post Crimea River appeared first on Funny & Stupid Customer Stories - Not Always Right.

By Maggie Mae Fish  Published: December 16th, 2016 

Mall | Australia

(I overhear the following conversation of a good looking, early- to mid-20s-year-old girl as she is talking on the phone. It is also a few days after Halloween.)

Girl: “Did I tell you the wild Halloween that I had?”

(She pauses for a few seconds as the person replies.)

Girl: “Yeah, so, get this. I’m at home and there’s a knock at the door. So I go and open it and there are two boys standing there in costume, pretty s*** costumes, too, and they do the whole ‘trick or treat’ thing. I didn’t want to be a b**** but I also had nearly nothing in the house and the only thing I could spare was some cans of [Cheap Beer] that were left-over from that party a month ago, so I gave them that.”

(Pauses again.)

Girl: “So, yeah, their parents found out and f****** dobbed me in, so I got fined.”

The post Trick Or Tipsy appeared first on Funny & Unusual Friend & Stranger Stories - Not Always Friendly.

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Research Institute | Durban, South Africa

(My colleague and I are filling out registration forms to give presentations at a conference.)

Colleague: “What did you put for “Title”?”

Me: “I put ‘PhD student.’”

Colleague: “I put ‘Miss.’”

Me: “Well, I guess we’ll find out which one was correct.”

(Some time later our supervisor comes out of his office struggling not to laugh.)

Supervisor: “I think where they asked for ‘Title’ they meant the titles of your presentations…”

The post Not Presenting The Best Version Of Themselves appeared first on Funny & Interesting Student, Teacher, Parent, & Staff School Stories - Not Always Learning.

Hospital | SC, USA

(I’m an ER nurse and I am talking to one of my patients about my farm back home.)

Me: “Yeah, I have chickens and they’re about to—”

Patient: “What do you have chickens for?”

Me: “They lay fresh eggs that my family and I can eat.”

Patient: “You eat the eggs out of a chicken’s butt!?”

Me: “Uh… where do you think eggs come from?”

Patient: “I buy mine from the store. They’re store eggs!”

Me: “Those come out of a chicken’s butt, too.”

Patient: “But… but you said the ones you have are brown. The ones I get are white.”

Me: “Yeah… some chickens lay white eggs and other lay brown. That’s not how—”

Patient: “I guess I’m just never having eggs again… like, ever. That’s disgusting.”

The post Where Else Would You Egg-spect Them To Come From? appeared first on Funny & Stupid Customer Stories - Not Always Right.

College & University | USA

(We have been assigned our first group project that is worth a high percentage of our final grade.)

Partner: “Let’s go to the library after class to get started on some research!”

(Inwardly, I breathe a sigh of relief that my partner seems to care about this project. I let my partner know that my father, who drives me home, is waiting outside. My partner proceeds to spend the next three hours in the library taking selfies and telling me about her recent cruise and the handsome boy she met on it.)

Me: “Can we please focus on this research? Why don’t we choose one of these case studies?”

Partner: “But do you think he and I are gonna get married? I mean, he gave me his number!”

Me: “Okay, it’s getting late and my father’s been waiting for a long time. Let’s just agree on this case study. Then I can do the first half of the assignment and you can do the second half.”

(My partner agrees. We have two weeks to do the project. She ignores my attempts at contacting her. Finally, with fear for my grade, I secretly do her half of the assignment. On the day of the presentation, I ask if she read the case study and did her half of the project.)

Partner: “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t do my part of the project. I was just so overwhelmed from my cruise!”

(Needless to say, I let my professor know she didn’t do any of the work. I got an A for the class and my partner barely passed.)

Middle School | AB, Canada

(There is a small ledge in front of windows that are very high up.)

Teacher: “[Student #1], can you please open the windows?”

(Student #1 proceeds to open the windows. He uses the small ledge to inch across to the windows.)

Teacher: “Wow, that kind of looks like Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible.”

(Then she turns to a rather short kid.)

Teacher: “[Student #2], do you want to open the window?”

Student #2: “Now that really is Mission Impossible!”

IT | Winnipeg, MB, Canada

(I have recently returned from a six-month maternity leave and am about to have my performance evaluation.)

Supervisor: “Your work is excellent.”

Me: “Thanks!”

Supervisor: “However, you were only here for part of the year, so I can only rate you 3 out of 5. That means no raise. Sorry.”

Me: “But you just said my work is excellent?”

Supervisor: “Yes, but excellent work for half the year isn’t good enough to rate a raise.”

Me: “You mean that, if I’d done mediocre work for the entire year, I’d have a better chance of getting a raise?”

Supervisor: “That’s right.”

(I was fairly sure that she wasn’t allowed to penalize me for taking the maternity leave I was entitled to, but I wasn’t positive, so I didn’t pursue it. Instead, I quit and got a much better job elsewhere.)

College & University | Winston-Salem, NC, USA

(We are talking about the cons of wind turbines, one of which would be killing birds who fly into them.)

Student: “Wouldn’t the bird look down and say ‘Oh, my brother got killed. Maybe I shouldn’t fly into that’?”

Professor: “I think you are assuming a level of reasoning birds do not possess.”

By Gladstone  Published: June 14th, 2014  Television has been with us since the dawn of time. Scratch that. That's stupid. Television's a 20th century invention. I'm sorry. I get carried away talking about television sometimes, because it can do so much. It can entertain; it can educate; and

I don’t particularly long for harder games, but I know some gamers do.

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Also, did you know there’s a Kickstarter going on to fund plush of GaMERCaT and Glitch? It’s true! Check it out!!

I've added this (and many other new BF offers) to the Black Friday Round-Up, but I want to give an extra-special thanks to reader Lisa for sharing this deal today. Now through 12/2 on the NARS...

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The crew of the offshore supply ship Bourbon Peridot were cruising through Western Africa, and for some reason decided to create their own very special version of the music video for Toto’s 1982 hit Africa. Your move, Deadliest Catch.

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An indoor electric grill that can tell when your meat is cooked to your desired doneness, based on the type of meat and its thickness. Has settings for burgers, poultry, paninis, sausage, red meat and fish. Also great for grilled veggies.

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• Price: $180