Wasabi Fire Alarm 12.03.08
Wasabi is marvelous. Not only does it accompany sushi and sashimi brilliantly, but it could soon be saving the deaf from fires thanks to a new type of smoke detector / fire alarm that wakes the deaf through the strong scent of wasabi instead of sound.
This alarm will work by spraying canned wasabi extract into a room when smoke is detected. The results from tests in Japan have been very impressive with the scent alarm waking 13 out of 14 test subjects within 2 minutes. One subject who is actually deaf awoke just 10 seconds after the alarm went off.
You can see a BBC report about the Wasabi fire alarm here.