Lotion tissues ( Taniguchi)

0:00Hey, this is Strawberry, how y'all doing today? I hope everybody is having a good day. If you're not having a good day, let's see if we can make ourself have a good day. But today, we are going to learn about notion tissues created by somebody in Japan. This story is behind renowned Japanese products. This is Japan's top inventions. Today's topic is lotion tissues. Japanese Topping inventions. This count store in Tokyo.

1:01This section is dedicated to lotion tissues. These tissues feature a moist feeling, soft texture. Paper manufacturers have developed a wide variety of products with companies competing for market share. These tissues contain twice the moisture of conventional tissues. How do they feel to use? Wow! They are so soft! This is amazing! No more sorroses! The developer of the world's first lotion tissue paper was a manufacturer with roots in making washi, traditional Japanese paper. The product was inspired by concerns from people with nasal rhinitis who had to blow their noses constantly.

2:07Today, I'm visiting the factory of a paper manufacturer located on the outskirts of Tokyo. Welcome to our home! Hello! Joining me around is engineer Kenichi Kenji. Over 30 years ago, he developed the world's first lotion tissue. First, he shows me two boxes. What? Here, we have two kinds of tissues. Can you guess which one is the lotion tissue? Even up close, they look exactly the same. If you touch them, you'll probably notice the difference right away. Really? These are the lotion tissues. Let's see how they feel. Oh, wow! It feels the same at all! Totally different.

3:07Completely different textures. It's moist, silky and gentle. The softness is on another level. These tissues contain more moisture. Roughly twice that of regular tissues. So that's why they feel so moist. How exactly do you double a tissue's moisture content? Let's find out. There's moisture in the air. It's often expressed as a humidity percentage. The tissue itself absorbs and releases this moisture. It's essentially breathing. Really? The tissue itself is absorbing the moisture? Con for an experiment. We measure the weight of one lotion tissue. 1.336 grams. As it absorbs moisture from the air,

4:07this tissue should get heavier. But will it really? And we're off. It doesn't take long. We're off. It's true. It's just for me exposed to the air. It's increasing in weight. This means it's absorbing the air's moisture. It's incredible. Two minutes later, it now weighs 1.366 grams. 0.03 grams more. So this difference in weight means a tissue absorbed more moisture? That's right. So this is what your company developed? Yes. Our company was the first in the world to do so. Our aim was simply to make softer tissues. But it's since grown into a market of its own. Behind the creations.

5:07Development began back in 1991. Pay fever was on the rise in Japan. Every spring, large amounts of pollen are released from trays and plants. This pollen was triggering allergic rhinitis in people all over Japan. During this time, the president of the paper manufacturer Taniguchi works at was suffering from allergies himself. He was constantly blowing his nose using the company's own tissues. But his nose soon became sore. The president placed Taniguchi in charge of developing a new product. How does he recall the story? The company president suffered from allergies.

6:09He blew his nose so often it caused him pain. So he came up with the idea of making a softer tissue that was gentle on the skin. I remember feeling like it was a challenge worth tackling. Taniguchi began development. The first idea he tested was adding fabric softener, typically used for laundry to the tissue. However, it didn't turn out as soft as he'd imagined and the test was a failure. His next idea was to increase the moisture content of the tissue since the raw pulp used to make the tissue become soft when it contains more water. However, he quickly ran into an issue. With more moisture, the tissue would be more prone to tearing. So when people become sweat, it gets softer, right? But it also tears.

7:09Right, which wouldn't be so useful. It's well known in this industry that adding water makes the tissue softer, but also prone to tearing. So our goal was to find a way to make it softer while still being strong enough to use. This prompted Taniguchi to begin experimenting together with other employees. They created six prototypes, each with a higher moisture content, than the typical 7% of conventional tissues. They tested and tested, blowing their noses to see if the tissues would tear. After a month of testing, they found the ideal moisture content for softness that wouldn't easily tear to be 14%. Double the typical amount. Taniguchi had determined the specifications for the lotion tissues,

8:15but it was here that he encountered another critical issue. The tissues were created with a 14% moisture content, but as time passed, this moisture would evaporate, and the tissues would dry out. Of course, water dries out. At 14%, the tissues are just lightly damped, so they would dry up really quickly. Yes, because it's just water. Just like a puddle evaporating. Were these tissues just a pipe dream? Development had hit a wall until one day. Something in the kitchen caught Taniguchi's eye. A container of sugar. Inside, the sugar had hardened. Sugar has a tendency to harden if you don't use it, right? Yes, inside the jar.

9:15This happens because it absorbs moisture, so I spread some on to a tissue. Wow, you actually put sugar on a tissue? Because sugar absorbs moisture, I thought this might just work. From there, I tested a variety of moisturizing agents. But you started with sugar. Did you think it would work? I was excited. Taniguchi gathered highly absorbent materials and conducted more than 100 trials. Finally, he determined a working solution. Materials used as ingredients in sweeteners, glycerin and sorbitol. Glycerin absorbs moisture from the air. The sorbitol then holds onto that moisture. In January 1993, two years after development began,

10:17the world's first lotion tissues hit the market. When I first fell in the lotion tissue, I was amazed. I had no idea something unpleasant is soft existence. What do you think were you surprised, too? Absolutely. Until then, nobody in the paper industry thought of using moisturizing agents. As the first person to touch one, it was quite move that we could actually make this into a reality. It was something completely new. How exactly are these lotion tissues made? Time for a special tour of the factory. Oh, incredible! It's shaped like a giant roll of toilet paper. This is before we cut it. We call it base paper.

11:19Just one roll of this base paper can be as long as 30 kilometers. One roll is enough for 3,000 tissue boxes. Amazing! Enough to last a lifetime! This machine carries out the people making process. First, the Pope is straight onto the roller. Spread thin and dry. This is then wound around another roller, becoming the base paper. This base paper holds the key to the tissue's softness. Take a look. If we zoom right in, you can see it's covered with wrinkles. It's made.

12:30Give this a feel. Oh, it's stiff. It's crisp. About a stiffest regular coffee paper. Once we add the wrinkles to this, it becomes soft like the tissues we looked at. When you crumble paper, it becomes softer, right? It's the same idea. What exactly does this mean? The secret lies in the machines, rollers. They're actually rolling at different speeds. Here's how it works. The roller that lines the paper is slightly slower than the one feeding it. Three wrinkles. The roller base paper is then tested by staff, who directly feel it by hand to check its softness. If it feels stiff, the entire roll is once again dissolved in water

13:32as a process starts over again. You're using machines, so is there that much variation? Occasionally, that's why thorough checking is essential. In the end, it comes down to human touch. You check each roll by touch just for softness. That's how we satisfy the high standards of Japanese consumers. That's made in Japan. Exactly. Popping machines. Actually, flushable tissues. They're designed to be safely flushed out the toilet. Despite being tissues, you notice they break down into small pieces when placed in water. Tissues are so versatile. Other toilet paper can also be flushed, but it tends to be long and narrow. These are the same size as regular tissues, so their potential applications are broader.

14:36A new way to think about tissues. What do you feel is important to stay inventive? Not following conventional wisdom. Breaking them all and having a sense of playfulness. It's about having a playful spirit. I'm looking at the world through that lens. If you approach things with that mindset, I feel ideas will come to you naturally. Thank you very much for your time today.