3.11: With a Little Help From My Friends

Show Notes

This week, we review and analyze Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (機動戦士ガンダムΖΖ) episode 13 - “Little Sister!” (妹よ!) - discuss our first impressions, and provide commentary and research on calcium deficiency, the history of Japanese toilets and the Toto company (東洋陶器), and napkin etiquette.

- Symptoms of calcium deficiency (hypocalcemia).

- Japanese sources on calcium deficiency and "frustration."

- Wikipedia pages for Toto Ltd., the Toto Washlet, and the history of toilets in Japan.

- Toto company website page on the history of the washlet.

- The 1982 Washlet ad that led to public outcry.

- Article about prevalence of Toto washlets in Japan and the difficulty of breaking into the overseas market (also describes the public reaction to the 1982 TV ad).

- Another article that mentions the public reaction to the 1982 ad, as well as outlining some of the high-tech new features on contemporary washlets.

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan has a great kids-oriented site that includes information on toilets in Japan.

- More on the history of toilets in Japan (with great photos of different styles of old toilet - including lacquer and painted porcelain).

- Article with historic data on Toto’s sales of traditional vs. western-toilets, discussing the transition to more western toilets in public restrooms as well as in schools.

- History of napkin etiquette.

- History of table manners generally.

- Blog post about dining etiquette in the Imperial Japanese Navy.

- Japanese etiquette guide specifically about the correct usage of napkins.

- Etiquette guides advising placing the napkin on the table when finished.

- Etiquette guides saying to place the napkin on the table when leaving during dinner.

- Etiquette guides saying to place the napkin on the chair when leaving during dinner.

- Anecdote about folding napkins in France in the 1860s.

Mobile Suit Breakdown is written, recorded, and produced within Lenapehoking, the ancestral and unceded homeland of the Lenape, or Delaware, people. Before European settlers forced them to move west, the Lenape lived in New York City, New Jersey, and portions of New York State, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut. Lenapehoking is still the homeland of the Lenape diaspora, which includes communities living in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario.

You can learn more about Lenapehoking, the Lenape people, and ongoing efforts to honor the relationship between the land and indigenous peoples by visiting the websites of the Delaware Tribe and the Manhattan-based Lenape Center. Listeners in the Americas and Oceania can learn more about the indigenous people of your area at https://native-land.ca/. We would like to thank The Lenape Center for guiding us in creating this living land acknowledgment.

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The intro music is WASP by Misha Dioxin, and the outro is Long Way Home by Spinning Ratio, both licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licenses. The recap music for Season 3 is New York City (instrumental) by spinningmerkaba, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.. All music used in the podcast has been edited to fit the text.

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