INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
In fact, he kind of likes it."People say my inventions are useless, but I think there are two dimensions to usefulness: practicality and
amusement," said the 30-year-old former welder, who left his job last year to focus full time on making his questionable contraptions, such
as a motorbike with its own toilet
So it's useful."Every country has its toolshed inventors
But China - which gave the world movable type printing, gunpowder and the compass - has spawned a population of tinkerers who display the
kind of outsize ambition that has helped the country become a global economic giant.There's a surprisingly large subset of farmers and other
DIY devotees who have built submarines and light aircraft, various kinds of robotic plows and monster truck-style tractors.Geng Shuai gave
up a construction job and now supports his family through his videosGeng may now be the best-known among them - a new kind of social media
star whose calling card is his quirkiness.Standing in his workshop in this tiny village outside Beijing, Geng shows off his inventions
There's the meat cleaver turned hair comb
And there's a tennis racket-size watermelon-slicer.There's the earthquake-proof noodle bowl that swings in its stand to allow the eater to
continue slurping through seismic waves
There are the slippers made from metal nuts.But Geng is most proud of his hammer bag
It's a hollow steel mallet with a compartment that slides out of the head
Perfect, he says, for storing your phone, keys and wallet
It has a strap so it can hang over the wearer's shoulder."It's very fashionable," he said, with apparent seriousness, modeling his creation
"And if someone tries to steal your bag, you can just throw it at them."But Geng, who grew up making things in his family's pump factory, is
a special kind of Chinese entrepreneur
He does not make money from his inventions.Well, not directly.Geng Shuai cuts a piece of stainless steel to craft a cellphone case.He makes
a living through inadvertently hilarious videos - filmed with the Chinese beauty filters that make everyone look like an airbrushed star -
in which he shows how he makes his inventions and then hams it up for the camera as he demonstrates how to use them.With smoldering eyes, he
combs his messy hair with the meat cleaver
He falls out of the slippers while trying to walk down a country road in them
And he presents a motorbike with a seat that lifts up to reveal a squat toilet
Just turn the throttle to flush
(Luckily the video cuts out before Geng unzips his fly.)He now has almost 2 million followers on the video site Kwai, and they give him
mobile phone "tips" for his performances - the internet equivalent of a busker getting cash dropped in a hat
His biggest tippers get their names on plaques on the wall in his workshop, which is often the set for his videos
The bigger the tip, the bigger the plaque.Geng tries to come up with a new invention every week and to make videos two or three times a week
He makes about $150 every time he does a live-streamed broadcast - decent money in a town where five people can have a lavish lunch for a
He makes enough to support his family - he and his wife have two children - and his brother, who shoots the videos.Cellphone cases designed
to look like meat cleavers are Geng Shuai's hottest product."Most people think I'm an entertainer, but I think of myself as an inventor," he
said, naming as his hero the eccentric Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla.Geng attributes his fame to China's rapid industrialization,
which has seen millions of people migrate from rural regions to small apartments in the big cities, where they work long days."Chinese
people love inventions and inventing stuff, but because of economic development, most people don't have the time to do it," he said
"That's why I am popular - they watch me making things because they can't make things themselves."It's a similar phenomenon to the "live
eating" videos that started in South Korea and are now popular in China
Internet stars eat in front of the camera, often so viewers can eat with them and not feel alone.Once, a fan who was living particularly
vicariously through Geng's videos sent him $720
Which is lucky, because he wouldn't make much if he had to rely on sales.When he first quit "boring" construction work to follow his
passion, he started making slingshots out of metal nuts soldered together
He offered them for sale on WeChat, the ubiquitous Chinese social media app, for about $10
He sold two or three.No one wanted his water pipe that supposedly filtered toxins out of cigarettes
But the metal nut cannon, which shoots rubber bands, has been one of his bestsellers
He's sold four.Geng's most popular product is the meat cleaver smartphone case, which he makes to order depending on the customer's phone
He walks around with a meat cleaver handle sticking out of his own pocket, which he grabs to whip out his phone as needed
He's sold 10.But it's the videos that have catapulted him to success."People might not want to buy my inventions, but they like watching my
videos, so they support me by tipping," he said.His family didn't quite share his passion
Geng's wife, Ji Xiangying, was initially against his decision to throw in his steady job for a fickle life of Internet renown."But I came to
accept it after seeing how many people like his inventions," she said, holding their baby, the younger of their two children, on her hip.And
when Geng told his grandma that he had garnered more than 1 million fans online, she asked how he could possibly eat that much
The phrase in Chinese sounds a lot like "one million bowls of rice noodles."Now, his fans are encouraging him to push the boundaries
Some threaten to stop following him if he dares make anything that is actually practical."I realized that my small inventions can't satisfy
you anymore, so I spent a lot of money to buy this motorcycle," Geng said into the camera in one of his recent videos
"This time, I'm going to make something really useful."Cut to the next shot and there's Geng with a wheelbarrow with half a motorbike on the
He proceeds to tear around a warehouse with it, barely able to control the contraption which, fortunately, is empty for the filming.For
Geng, the lack of sales is neither here nor there
It's the online celebrity that is motivating him
After all, before it was only his family and friends who laughed at his inventions
Now he's got almost 2 million people laughing at him.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff
and is published from a syndicated feed.)
