Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2010

How’s this for simple: Daisaku Shoji’s Magicool is a neck scarf that requires nothing more than a quick soak in water to keep you fresh for hours. This is thanks to an absorbent polymer concealed inside that swells up when rinsed, providing a cooling effect as the water evaporates—which, lest we forget, is the function that sweat serves when it isn’t just getting in your eyes and making people on the train stand further away from you. Physics: gotta love it. It’s available in navy, light blue, pink and camouflage versions (ooh, ghetto!), and Daisaku proudly report that they’ve already shifted over two million of the little blighters.

Magicool, ¥699. Available from branches of Tokyu Hands, Tomod’s, Koyasu and Natulabo.