We all know that Japanese artists and designers create some of the strangest stuff on the planet, and that their creative efforts make the world a much more colorful place to live. Their whimsical and eyecatching designs seem to shine brightest when they're brought to life in toy form, and then we not only get to look at their wacky designs- we get to play with them!

Here are ten weird and wonderful toys created in the Land of the Rising Sun-

1. Pachi Pachi Clappy-

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One handed clapping is now ridiculously easy thanks to the Pachi Pachi Clappy toy, the toy that does all the clapping for you!

Pachi Pachi Clappy has two "big soft squishy hands" on top and a funny lil' face in front, so you can carry your own private cheering section around with you wherever you go!

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2. Jaws-Kun Puppet for Toothpaste Guidance-

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Teaching kids how to properly brush their teeth is hard since we don’t have flip top heads, and that set of plastic choppers sitting on your dentist’s desk is downright creepy, so a puppet with a full set of teeth makes sense.

But did the final product have to be so creep-tastically adorable? I don't know if I want to brush its teeth or burn it with fire!

Heres more info from the company's website, courtesy of Google translate-

I am very active in leadership with the impact in the big mouth of width 24cm. I can learn Shine difficulty of back teeth with vertical guidance and Shine "cheek".

3. Fat Cute Soldiers-

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Remember those little green soldiers who patrolled the toybox when you were a kid? Well, I think these Fat Cute Soldiers ate those little green troopers and still had room for dessert! Part social commentary, part throwback toy, the Fat Cute Soldiers are 8 kinds of awesome!

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Upon which I call dibs. This mansion in Westlake, California has 6 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms within its 15,835 square feet. There’s also a tennis court and a pool. The interior rooms, beyond the one designed to look like the planet Hoth from Star Wars, include other marvels . . .

(Rocky Davies)

It’s always been like this. Ronald upheld the honor of the family while the Joker tore it down. Even when they were kids, it fell upon Ronald to clean up his little brother’s messes. Eventually, he stopped doing it for his brother. Only love and respect for his mother would keep him going. But even that motivation will fade in time.

Artist Rocky Davies drew this drama-packed cartoon. He also designed several t-shirts now on sale in the NeatoShop.

-via Geek Art Gallery

John has previously shown us what happens when we turn hair into horses, but what happens when you top it with an octopus? Amazingness. Yes, that's right. Amazingness is what happens when you top your hair with a fancy fancinator that looks like hair that is shaped just like an octopus. That sounds confusing. Just look at the pictures on DeviantArt and know you can get them on Etsy.

 Via Incredible Things

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It’s the perfect matchup- Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy and Hodor, from Game of Thrones. Who’s the winner? It’s obviously Hodor. I laughed my way through this video before I realized it had English subtitles. Then I had to watch it again, and it was completely different. -via Geeks Are Sexy

The Jimi Hendrix song Foxy Lady is one of those iconic rock tunes that makes you wonder whether there’s an actual lady behind the reference.

Jimi was surrounded by adoring female fans in his brief yet bountiful life, but one lady in particular rocked the lives of Hendrix and many other musicians in the 1960s, and inspired many of the songs found on the album Electric Ladyland.

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Her name is Lithofayne Pridgon and she's most likely the "lady" Hendrix was talking about in Foxy Lady, as well as the inspiration for "Can You See Me" "Fire" and "Love or Confusion".

Lithofayne not only has an amazing name, she has a list of famous musical friends and lovers a mile long, including Sam Cooke, James Brown, Jackie Wilson and Sly Stone, just to name a few.

Read more about the foxy lady named Lithofayne over at Dangerous Minds

In the 1970s kids shows became totally far out in both style and subject matter, full of psychedelic characters and imagery that must've felt just right to the offspring of the Flower Power generation.

Here's a collection of ten kid oriented TV shows from the 70s, which is nowhere near exhaustive and is purposely lacking obvious shows like Sesame Street and The Elecric Company.

As you peruse the list you’ll see the name of two siblings come up on this list many times with good reason- Sid & Marty Krofft have cornered the market on strange kid’s TV shows ever since they brought their own brand of psychedelic TV magic to the small screen with H.R. Pufnstuf (1969).

1. The Bugaloos (1970-72)-

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The Bugaloos flew right into the hearts of kids who loved fantasy when they made their television debut in 1970. Starring a cast of British teens (who were also conveniently a four piece band) the Bugaloos were able to fly in their stylish insectoid outfits, and constantly avoided being captured by the evil Benita Bizarre.

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2. The Wombles (1973-75)-

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The Wombles are the original puppet environmentalists, little pointy nosed critters who collected and recycled trash dumped by humans in order to help keep the environment clean.

This British oddity is based on a series of novels by Elisabeth Beresford, and the Wombles encouraged kids to be more environmentally friendly, thereby becoming the original spokespuppets for going green!

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3. The Secrets Of Isis (1975-77)-

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Before Linda Carter brought Wonder Woman to life on the small screen there was a mighty cool show called The Secrets Of Isis, about a science teacher turned superhero.

Using the power of the Isiac Amulet mild mannered teacher Andrea Thomas transformed into the Egyptian goddess Isis, giving her "the powers of the animals and the elements".

The Secrets Of Isis brought superheroic action into the lives of young girls, and the show also brought them a line of action figures so they could battle their brothers!

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Screen Junkies gave us Honest Trailers for The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and now finally, the Hobbit Trilogy finishes up with the Honest Trailer for The Battle of the Five Armies. Whew -it’s about time! -via Tastefully Offensive

The 2015 Star Wars Celebration will be happening in Anaheim from April 16-19, and fans are gearing up for the fun. One of the many cool things that will be on display during the convention is San Francisco artist Robert Xavier Burden's beautiful piece of Star Wars-inspired artwork. According to Burden, he spent more than 2,000 hours over the last 18 months working on his oil painting, entitled “The 20th Century Space Opera.” 

The original is priced at $200,000, but Burden is also selling prints for $250 apiece. Click here to see an enlarged version of the art, and visit this link to see the painting broken into thirds and enlarged for an even closer view. Prints can be ordered directly from Burden here. 

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Voldemort, the bad guy from the Harry Potter series, is out with his version of “Uptown Funk.” Elijah Thomas is Voldemort, and the cast includes musicians, dancers, and a group of cosplayers from Brigham Young University. The lyrics are at the YouTube page. -via The Daily Dot

The mysterious artist Sleevebucks doodles on coffee cup sleeves that he gets from Starbucks. The iconic Siren becomes the Bride of Frankenstein, Heisenberg, Maleficent, Snape, and other characters from popular culture.

I really like this one of Princess Leia that fits so well with the pre-existing shapes in the logo. It's appropriately called Café au Leia.

-via Landa Calrissian

(Photos: US Army Europe/Ellis Arts)

In a recent Twitter exchange with a fan, William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on Star Trek, hinted that he's a fan of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.

.@CalfCorset I could be a brony

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 20, 2015

He even has a favorite pony:

@Iouisaimh @CalfCorset Rainbow Dash

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 20, 2015

Shatner pushed back against a bronyphobe who showed up:

.@leohoratio What are you talking about? Friendship is Magic!

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) March 20, 2015

Welcome to The Herd, Captain.

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This LEGO stop-motion video is an abridged version of Jurassic Park with all the major action scenes plus a few snarky bits of humor thrown in. The sets are huge and ingtricately-detailed, and the special effects are cool (note the skeleton in the electic fence scene). Paul Hollingsworth of Digital Wizards and his 8-year-old daughter Hailee started working on this project over Christmas vacation, and enlisted all their friends to contribute their talents. The story of how they did it is in the behind-the-scenes video. -via Metafilter

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A few years back, I wrote a Neatorama article featuring some of the weirdest and coolest video game mods out there. Many of the best mods were on Skyrim, which continues to be one of the best selling (and most epic) games of all time, but at the time, it seemed unlikely that anyone would be mad enoug to combine all of these outrageous mods to make Skyrim into an outrageous and hilarious world of mayhem. This video shows what happens when someone does just that. Be prepared for Thomas the Tank, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Master Cheif, Sonic the Hedgehog and more madness. 

Warning: Language is definately NSFW, but the commentary is utterly hilarious, so leave it on if you can get away with listening to that many curse words.

Via Nerd Approved

I don't know about you guys, but I still have a special place in my heart for old school games. My personal favorites are for Pac-Man and Bubble Bobble, but like most retro gaming fans, I also enjoy a good Mario or Tetris game. 

Those that share an adoration of old school gaming will love our newest Homes and Hues article, as it features 13 home decor designs inspired by classic video games.

Whatever your favorite game and no matter what type of decor you're looking for, we're willing to bet that there's something in the list that will tickle your fancy so don't miss the full list at Homes and Hues: 13 Fun Pieces of Classic Video Game Home Decor