No, we don’t mean racy lingerie for post-ceremony festivities. We’re talking about an alternative to the tired old bouquet-toss.

The Sunamiya company in Imabari (Ehime), Japan, has introduced a device which it hopes will render the old bouquest-toss old hat — a party cracker that shoots out a teddy bear.

According to the Tokyo Times: “The gun-shaped device ingeniously allows blushing brides to effortlessly launch terrified teddy bears high into the air, and so as not to injure unsuspecting guests, the bears are equipped with parachutes, allowing them to gently descend to the presumably awestruck throng below.”

Developers hit on the idea after noticing that it had become a trend for people to throw teddy bears into the air instead of bouquets at wedding receptions.

Also interesting is that the Sunamiya company has a line of products called “Shalom,” among them postcards made from the wooden boards used in packaging kamaboko (fish cake). They are pretty cool, actually, but at this point the 6 degrees of separation between teddy bears, Japan, Israel and kamaboko gets a bit overwhelming, even for us.

Now, as fabulous as flying, parachuting bears are, we are compelled to share our own admittedly earth-bound, but still undeniably cute, teddy bears, who measure at a substantial and cuddly 9″ (which one can’t tell from the photos.) Shown here: one for Israeli Independence Day, one with the kanji for “chi” (energy), and of course, in honor of the Sunamiya company, the Shalom bear.

Props to always amusing Tokyo Times, MSN-Mainichi Daily News

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