The end is nigh! We could be headed for a future in which the wealthy float high above the earth in luxurious airships while rest of the radioactive populace fights for survival in a Road Warrior-esque nightmarescape. German designer Nils Ferber had this in mind when he designed the Fukushima Plate, which uses a radiation meter and LED lights to warn you if you’re about to eat something dangerously radioactive. Certainly, anyone eating sushi from the Pacific Rim these days would welcome this plate.
“In a society that sacrifices reason to profit, security becomes a luxury for those who can afford it,” Ferber states of the project that was inspired by the ongoing Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan. “(The plate) might become an indispensable tool of survival in the future.”
The user sets a limit for the radiation they’re willing to consume on the radioactive meter that is set within the plate. One glowing ring on the plate indicates that some radiation could be coming from your food. Two indicates the presence of increased radiation. A large red ring indicates radiation in excess of the limiting amount you set on the plate. The radiation meter can be taken off so the plate can be put in a dishwasher, assuming you still have one after society crumbles.
Ferber states he presents design concepts to show people the way things could be. “That also implies to question why things are just as they are,” he states. “Even when a new design concept is not realized and has no direct effects, it still opens up room for discussions and thoughts that stretches from status quo to the concept´s fiction.”
Above image: Fukushima plate by Nils Ferber. Courtesy of the designer.
The Fukushima plate by Nils Ferber
A diagram that illustrates the inner workings of the Fukushima plate by Nils Ferber. All images courtesy of the designer.
Will this design be put into massive production for sale globally amid Japan’s release of nuclear contaminated water？