oznigot writes "Yes, that's Toyota, the car company. In what appears to be a publicity stunt to promote their hybrid vehicle technology Toyota has developed a new species of plant. Of the Cherry Sage shrub family, the new plant absorbs nitrogen oxide and other substances from the air better than the original Cherry Sage." Update: 10/16 00:01 GMT by Z : Original link removed. Toyota Develops New Plant Species Log in/Create an Account | Top | 192 comments | Search Discussion Display Options Threshold: -1: 192 comments 0: 189 comments 1: 137 comments 2: 76 comments 3: 27 comments 4: 13 comments 5: 7 comments Flat Nested No Comments Threaded Oldest First Newest First Highest Scores First Oldest First (Ignore Threads) Newest First (Ignore Threads) The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. Who could ask for anything more? (Score:2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 15, @06:38PM (#13799314) Toyota! [ Reply to ThisGoogle Cache by TubeSteak (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:46PMRe:Who could ask for anything more? by aapold (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @08:11PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Dude! (Score:5, Funny) by Black Parrot (19622) on Saturday October 15, @06:38PM (#13799315) > the new plant absorbs nitrogen oxide and other substances from the air better than the original Cherry Sage.But unfortunately releases them again when you smoke it. [ Reply to This Re:Dude! (Score:4, Informative) by DrEldarion (114072) on Saturday October 15, @07:23PM (#13799511) (http://www.dealmein.net/) Thought it should be noted near the top that the article now redirects to Goatse. [ Reply to This | ParentSpecifically, a script window.location call by _KiTA_ (Score:3) Saturday October 15, @08:00PMRe:Specifically, a script window.location call by thesnarky1 (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:26PMRe:Specifically, a script window.location call by Cheapy (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @10:42PM2 replies beneath your current threshold. Hmmn, this brings to mind if other car makers ... (Score:4, Funny) by nihilistcanada (698105) on Saturday October 15, @06:40PM (#13799319) start to develope plants as well.Can you recall a tree for safety problems? [ Reply to ThisRe:Hmmn, this brings to mind if other car makers . by arlosuave (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:00PMRe:Hmmn, this brings to mind if other car makers . by Surt (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @07:09PMRe:Hmmn, this brings to mind if other car makers . by Mistshadow2k4 (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:54PMRe:Hmmn, this brings to mind if other car makers . by prell (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:14PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Yeah! (Score:3, Funny) by brilinux (255400) <brianpoNO@SPAMcmu.edu> on Saturday October 15, @06:40PM (#13799323) (http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~bohanlon/ | Last Journal: Monday February 14, @02:00AM) We should plant a bunch of these near a city to absorb the pollution and so that we can cut them all down to build new developments! Fun! [ Reply to ThisRe:Yeah! by dabigpaybackski (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @07:01PM wait (Score:3, Informative) by 42Penguins (861511) on Saturday October 15, @06:42PM (#13799332) Of the Cherry Sage shrub family, the new plant absorbs nitrogen oxide and other substances from the air better than the original Cherry Sage.Does this mean that the famed "intelligent designer" is really Toyota?I welcome our new Cherry Sage developing Japanese overlords. [ Reply to This It should be noted.. (Score:4, Informative) by linux_warp (187395) on Saturday October 15, @06:43PM (#13799335) (http://www.mindwarp.net/) It should be noted that the car division of Toyota did not create this plant, but rather a company they own: "Toyota Roof Garden Co". Not sure why it is such great news that a gardening company made a plant.. [ Reply to ThisRe:It should be noted.. by Anonymous Coward (Score:3) Saturday October 15, @06:47PMBut it's good news that a plant company made it by Doug Coulter (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:34PMRe:It should be noted.. by icepick72 (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @09:16PM The conversation in PR... (Score:5, Funny) by kosmicki (770049) on Saturday October 15, @06:46PM (#13799351) "We need a way to promote our new hybrid.""Recycling campaign?""Nah, we need something different...""How about a tree...""What? Plant a tree?""No... We make a new one!""But we make automobiles...""Exactly, no one will see it coming!""How many botanists do we have on staff again? Oh, that's right, NONE!""Relax, I'm sure a few guys on the line do it as a hobby." [ Reply to ThisRe:The conversation in PR... by descil (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:05PMRe:The conversation in PR... by krunk4ever (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:57PM Where does it go? (Score:5, Funny) by CRC'99 (96526) on Saturday October 15, @06:46PM (#13799352) (http://www.crc.id.au/) ok, so this new GE plant absorbs more stuff from the air.... where does this go? What does the plant do with it? Does it release the same amount of stuff that it absorbed when it dies? Does it turn it into something else? [ Reply to ThisRe:Where does it go? by silverkniveshotmail. (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @06:54PMRe:Where does it go? by Smauler (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @11:08PMRe:Where does it go? by dapyx (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:32PMRe:Where does it go? by utnow (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:44PMNOX by dj245 (Score:3) Saturday October 15, @07:47PMRe:NOX by dannobookem (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @11:38PMIt obviously turns into... by BalorTFL (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @08:04PM3 replies beneath your current threshold. In the other news.. (Score:3, Funny) by CSHARP123 (904951) on Saturday October 15, @06:47PM (#13799357) Friday, October 7, 2005 at 05:00 JSTNAGOYA -- Toyota Motor Corp said Thursday it has developed a new species of the Cherry Sage shrub family that effectively absorbs harmful substances in the air.The new species, called Kirsch Pink, will be sold for 380 yen per pot through Toyota Roof Garden Co, a Toyota Motor subsidiary, from March next year. While Cherry Sage plants are known to absorb nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and other harmful substances in the air, the new species does so 1.3 times more effectively, the automaker said.In the other news GM said it has developed a new species of "Chevy" Sage Shrub family. The new "Chevy" will be sold for $350 per "pot". People can smoke this "Pot" and absorb all the oxides like nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide that are good for the health. [ Reply to This In Other News (Score:3, Funny) by schwaang (667808) on Saturday October 15, @06:49PM (#13799365) 2005 models of the Toyota Cherry Sage are being recalled [latimes.com] because of a software glitch that causes them to stall or shut down.Toyota will notify [Cherry Sage] owners by mail that they can take the [shrub] to a dealership for free repairs, said Allison Takahashi, a spokeswoman at Toyota's Torrance-based U.S. operation. [ Reply to This1 reply beneath your current threshold. Hybrids shifting attention (Score:4, Insightful) by Y-Crate (540566) on Saturday October 15, @06:53PM (#13799378) This is somewhat on topic, so if you disagree with me posting it, just leave it un-modded in +2 semi-obscurityWith the rise of larger and larger vehicles, and the questions that have arisen regarding their impact, most of the attention has been focused squarely on the fuel economy issues. Now, I will be the first one to admit that the matter of gas consumption needs to be taken seriously and many vehicles out there are a simply irresponsible purchase with gas prices being what they are, even if the people buying them can afford to fill them. The rise in demand is increasing prices for everyone.So, hybrids are being rushed onto the scene as fast as possible. Great, eh?Not quite.By addressing the fuel economy problem and thinking that it is the end of the concerns with the larger vechicles on the road, we are ignoring the most important of them all, which is the danger they pose on the road to other drivers.Link [suv.org]Federal information shows that although light trucks account for one-third of all registered vehicles, traffic crashes between a light truck and any other vehicle now account for the majority of fatalities in vehicle-to-vehicle collisions. Of the 5,259 fatalities caused when light trucks struck cars in 1996, 81 percent of the fatally injured were occupants of the car.(9) In multiple-vehicle crashes, the occupants of the car are four times more likely to be killed than the occupants of the SUV.(10) In a side-impact collision with an SUV, car occupants are 27 times more likely to die.(11)This study was very important because it examined how many car occupants killed in accidents with SUVs might have survived had the accidents involved passenger cars weighing the same as SUVs. This is in important finding, because auto manufacturers have maintained that the weight of SUVs make them dangerous to smaller cars, not the design. The NHTSA study concludes that 2,000 people would have survived if their vehicles had been hit by a heavy car instead of a heavy SUV. Two thousand is five percent of the nation's annual traffic fatalities. The study declares that light trucks and SUVs are twice as likely to cause a fatality in the struck car than a passenger car of comparable weight.(13)In response to studies like this, automakers have begun saying they will make changes to make SUVs more compatible with other cars. When Ford Motor Company introduced it's new monster, the Excursion (19 feet long, 6 1/2 feet wide, and weighing in at 8,500 pounds), Ford added a front beam and a rear tow hitch to prevent other vehicles from sliding under the Excursion during an accident. The Excursion will be the largest SUV on the market and could be extremely dangerous in an accident with a smaller vehicle since almost every vehicle on the road is smaller. Ford has not added the safety beam to its other SUVs.The compatibility issue is not confined to crashes. The size and design of SUVs raises other safety issues. For instance, placement of headlights is a serious nuisance and a potential safety problem. On large SUVs, the headlights are mounted higher than on cars. Large SUVs have headlights mounted 36 to 39 inches above the ground - the same height as the side mirror on a small car. The glare from SUVs' headlights can appear to other drivers as bright as high beams. Glare can be 10 to 20 times worse than recommended levels when headlights are at the height of a driver's eyes or side mirror, according to a study by the Society of Automotive Engineers. (14)Yes, the site is biased, but their sources are another matter.It's ironic to think that with the introduction of more hybrids, we will see more SUVs on the road, which will increase the death rate for drivers all across the U.S. [ Reply to ThisRe:Hybrids shifting attention by KylePflug (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:05PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by Osty (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @09:49PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by KylePflug (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @10:28PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by Osty (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @11:26PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by KylePflug (Score:1) Sunday October 16, @12:28AMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by CastrTroy (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:39PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by Osty (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @11:34PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by MBCook (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @07:05PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by Desert Raven (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:22PMMod parent up! by alan.briolat (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:42PM Re:Hybrids shifting attention (Score:4, Insightful) by procon (923165) on Saturday October 15, @08:11PM (#13799743) Your point about light trucks remaining the same weight is a good one, but it ignores the current elephant in the living room, SUVs. Light trucks served a different purpose 35 years ago; chiefly they were trucks. They were driven by experienced drivers, mostly for work, and nationwide they were far less common then cars. High & Mighty [amazon.com], a great book on the subject, painstakingly shows how American car companies shoe horned SUVs into the light truck category to avoid safety and environmental requirements. Free of these requirements, SUVs evolved to become as dangerous to fellow drivers as possible. They were built high, with bumpers that rode over other cars, and stiff under bodies that did impaled its victims. The government looked the other way, protecting American Motors, and then Chrysler, until it was too late. And your other point about the physics of big cars being fundamentally safer ignores all the improvements in car design that has occurred over the past 35 years. Cars are now built with air bags, crumple zones, and unibody construction. I'll let others who are more knowledgeable than me weigh in, but I think a modern Camry is actually safer for its occupants than a 1972 mid-sized car. In closing, nobody's evil here, I have close family who drive SUVs, and calling them names doesn't go over well at reunions. That being said, Randy Cohen, the New York Times' Ethicist [transalt.org] eloquently concluded that it is selfish to drive a vehicle that puts others at mortal risk for style or comfort. Food for thought when deciding what our next vehicle should be. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Hybrids shifting attention by nutshell42 (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @08:37PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by Amouth (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @10:52PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by Osty (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @09:56PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by Osty (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @10:36PMRe:Hybrids shifting attention by amliebsch (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @11:26PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Hybrids shifting attention by Thu25245 (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @11:57PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Hybrids shifting attention by dbIII (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @08:43PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. I see how it works... (Score:2) by evil agent (918566) on Saturday October 15, @07:00PM (#13799413) So they're trying to genetically engineer some plants that will better absorb the toxins that are emitted by their cars. How about eliminating the emission of toxins in the first place. Imagine if a company sold you some software that damages your computer, only to then sell you some more software to repair those damages. Oh, wait... [ Reply to ThisHow about we have the magic fairy by Ogemaniac (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @07:17PMRe:How about we have the magic fairy by evil agent (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @07:45PMRe:How about we have the magic fairy by bfizzle (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @09:55PMReally? by Ogemaniac (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:06PMMy point concerns the low-hanging fruit by Ogemaniac (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:09PMRe:I see how it works... by bariswheel (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @08:34PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Genomic Pollution (Score:3, Insightful) by Doc Ruby (173196) on Saturday October 15, @07:00PM (#13799415) (http://slashdot.org/~Doc%20Ruby/journal | Last Journal: Thursday March 31, @02:48PM) "the new species does so 1.3 times more effectively"Why doesn't Toyota just spend the time and money cultivating the natural species, increasing its biomass by 30%? Maybe by planting it all around their car factories, to compensate for the vast pollution their machines spew into the sky every day. Without tinkering with yet another complex global ecosystem they don't understand? [ Reply to ThisRe:Genomic Pollution by DrEldarion (Score:3) Saturday October 15, @07:11PMRe:Genomic Pollution by Doc Ruby (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @09:12PMRe:Genomic Pollution by Darius Jedburgh (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @08:15PMRe:Genomic Pollution by Doc Ruby (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @09:33PMRe:Genomic Pollution by CastrTroy (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:57PM Surprise! (Score:2) by Kawahee (901497) on Saturday October 15, @07:03PM (#13799423) (http://ensim.bkshosting.com/~admin83/lanlocked/) Yes, that's Toyota, the car company ...will be sold for 380 yen per pot through Toyota Roof Garden Co, a Toyota Motor subsidiary, from March next year...Amazing! Toyota, the car company (not Toyota Roof Garden Co, or Toyota Research) devised this plant. I don't see what's so amazing about this, companies have been making stuff through subsidaries for a long time now. Mitsubishi make pens and other office equipment. Yes, that's Mitsubishi, the car company. It's nothing new to have subsidaries, get over it. [ Reply to ThisRe:Surprise! by Osty (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @10:02PMRe:Surprise! by NEOGEOman (Score:1) Sunday October 16, @12:31AM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Improve mileage (Score:2, Insightful) by Belseth (835595) on Saturday October 15, @07:10PM (#13799455) They'd accompish more simply improving mileage. The fact that an electrical engineer on his own with a few grand worth of batteries and adding a recharging feature improved gas mileage to 200mpg just proves that there is resistence to improving mileage. Not to sound star chamber but the only thing that makes sense is the car and gas companies are working together on this one. The hybrides all originally came out of Japan because american oil companies have less influence there. With the amount of driving I do a 200 mpg hybride would mean I could get by on filling up about 3X a year. Considering most of my driving is less than 5 or 10 miles a trip I might actually do much better. Would I pay an extra $5,000 for a 200mpg car, absolutely. In case of emergency, gas shortages, I could run a long time on a five gallon can of gas. [ Reply to ThisRe:Improve mileage by Superfarstucker (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:23PMRe:Improve mileage by alan.briolat (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:47PM Goatse link (Score:5, Insightful) by shird (566377) on Saturday October 15, @07:11PM (#13799460) (http://www.myplugins.info/ | Last Journal: Tuesday January 13, @09:30AM) Nice.... the main article now links to the goatse man. Some guy playing with his redirecting no doubt. Mind you, it does kinda look like some flesh eating virus/plant thing. Great for work. [ Reply to ThisRe:Goatse link by ergo98 (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:15PMRe:Goatse link by Unordained (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @07:16PMRe:Goatse link by deathazre (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:36PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Goatse link by evilviper (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @08:02PMRe:Goatse link by heinousjay (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @11:17PMRe:Goatse link by evilviper (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:54PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold. Wrong URL (Score:1) by zmarty (850185) on Saturday October 15, @07:12PM (#13799464) (http://www.jucaushii.ro/) The link redirects to http://goatse.ca/ [goatse.ca] [ Reply to ThisRe:Wrong URL by seaQuest_AMD (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @08:15PM Bad Redirect (Score:1) by WigginX (104107) on Saturday October 15, @07:14PM (#13799471) If there's anyone left on slashdot who hasn't seen goatse, they've just had their innocence shattered. [ Reply to ThisRe:Bad Redirect by Xyrus (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @07:23PM Re:Bad Redirect (Score:5, Funny) by glsunder (241984) on Saturday October 15, @07:40PM (#13799598) actually, I heard a screech from my pregnant wife while I was going into the kitchen. I thought some sort of animal got inside the house. She'd never seen the pic before. She was expecting to see a cherry sage plant, not a cherry ass pic plant. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Bad Redirect by poopdeville (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @08:30PM3 replies beneath your current threshold. Bad javascript (Score:1, Redundant) by garvon (32299) on Saturday October 15, @07:17PM (#13799482) WATCH OUT there is a goatse.ca redirect on that page [ Reply to This Goatse Linked (Score:2, Informative) by crypto55 (864220) on Saturday October 15, @07:22PM (#13799506) The page died before I could continue loading; my WiFi is bad in my room. But FF told me that the link to goatse.ca died...Look at the source of the page." Japan Today - News - Toyota devises shrub to purify, cool airwindow.location="http://goatse.ca/""Someone hacked the page to redirect to the Goatse. [ Reply to This Nitrogen Oxide? (Score:1) by DiamondGeezer (872237) on Saturday October 15, @07:23PM (#13799509) Of the Cherry Sage shrub family, the new plant absorbs nitrogen oxide and other substances from the air better than the original Cherry Sage.Nitrogen oxide? Just say NO! [ Reply to ThisRe:Nitrogen Oxide? by Sephiriz (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:26PM goatse (Score:1) by osoroco (626676) on Saturday October 15, @07:23PM (#13799510) someone managed to put this in title <title>Japan Today - News - Toyota devises shrub to purify, cool air<script>window.location="http://goatse.ca/"</sc ript> - Japan's Leading International News Network</title> [ Reply to This Goodbye Slashdot (Score:1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 15, @07:25PM (#13799522) Not that anyone really cares but that stunt ends my ever looking at /. again. Not only has this made the entire site no longer work friendly but I would not dare think of ever clicking a link around my children. So long and thanks for all the fish. [ Reply to ThisRe:Goodbye Slashdot by Brad1138 (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @07:44PM pwned! (Score:3, Informative) by shorti9 (307602) on Saturday October 15, @07:25PM (#13799524) Awesome, some jackass got into their db and changed the title slightly:$ wget 'http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&id=3513 99' -O - | grep title<title>Japan Today - News - Toyota devises shrub to purify, cool air<script>window.location="http://goatse.ca/" </script> - Japan's Leading International News Network</title> [ Reply to This Some more pictures are here... (Score:4, Funny) by mikael (484) on Saturday October 15, @07:26PM (#13799525) (Last Journal: Monday July 05, @08:34PM) Vans [switchimage.com]Family cars [greaseworks.org]Classic cars [jaykevin.com] [ Reply to ThisRe:Some more pictures are here... by Kingrames (Score:1) Saturday October 15, @10:24PMRe:Some more pictures are here... by mikael (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:47PMRe:Some more pictures are here... by BitchKapoor (Score:2) Saturday October 15, @10:49PM Is this the predecessor of (Score:2) by Travoltus (110240) on Saturday October 15, @07:26PM (#13799526) Greenpeace Crolis?(This ain't offtopic or a troll... old school Anime fans might know why I say that, lol!) [ Reply to This article text (got it with lynx -- no goatse.ca) (Score:3, Informative) by putko (753330) on Saturday October 15, @07:32PM (#13799546) (http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=2768 | Last Journal: Wednesday October 05, @04:08AM)