Too Wierd for the West of Us?

Are inventions like robot supermodels or super soldier suits too weird to take hold in the U.S.?

Remember that the Sony Walkman, the great cassette-tape ancestor of portable CD players and iPods, also started out as one of those wacky Japanese inventions.

The Freakonomics blog at the New York Times suggests: "During this economic downturn, people are more open to a quirky product if it saves them money."

Note: TP is cheaper than "facial tissue" on both sides of the Pacific.