Last year's net gains

'Useless Edison'

On Dec 31, 2019, Geng Shuai, better known as Shougonggeng, posted a clip on Kuaishou which shows him converting a diesel engine into a stylish stereo that also functions as a humidifier. It received more than 114,500 likes from viewers.

In his small workshop in Hebei province's Yangcun village, the 31-year-old handicraft expert has created hundreds of quirky contraptions over the past two years, including a sword-shaped skateboard, a hollow steel hammer which can be used as a bag, a soybean grinder rotated by riding a stationary exercise bicycle, an automatic hair-washing machine which requires the user to hang upside down by their feet, and an earthquake-proof noodle bowl that allows the diner to continue munching through a seismic shock.

In one video he made a cage, the bottom of which is a wide treadmill belt for people to walk or run on. But there's a catch. Only when users reach the exercise target they set beforehand can they get out from the cage, otherwise they will be locked in. Geng says that the cage treadmill will force people to run and keep fit.

Online users found his not-so-practical inventions hilarious and started to dub him as "a useless Edison".

The former welder became a social media star who boasts nearly 3.5 million fans on Kuaishou and 1.8 million followers on Sina Weibo, and has started to get an income from holding livestreaming shows, selling his handicrafts online and cooperating with enterprises for advertising revenue.

Being "internet famous" means he has to come up with a new invention every week, and his father and brother, former migrant workers, have now come back home to support his work.