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The rise of 'conspicuous waiting': The 19th-century economic theory that explains why Gen Z posts their place in line

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The rise of 'conspicuous waiting': The 19th-century economic theory that explains why Gen Z posts their place in line

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He worked 100-hour weeks to save a nearly bankrupt boat company. At 83, he’s just turned down $400 million for it—and gave it all to charity instead

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Tim Cook signed off on his final Apple earnings call with a warning about a ‘100-year flood’ in memory chip pricing

A Hedgehog Cafe Is Opening in Tokyo

By
Melissa Locker
Melissa Locker
and
TIME
TIME
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By
Melissa Locker
Melissa Locker
and
TIME
TIME
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April 10, 2016, 12:57 PM ET
Tokyo
Everyday life street scene in one of the main roads of the Shibuya district with huge billboards in Tokyo, Japan, 25 April 2013. Photo by: Peter Jaehnel/picture-alliance/dpa/AP ImagesPhotograph by Peter Jaehnel — picture-alliance/dpa/AP
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Cat cafes are so last year.

Back in 2014, Japan spearheaded what would become a global trend—cat cafes, a place for patrons to drink coffee in the company of cats. Now, cat cafes are popping up across the United States from New York to Oakland. Japan, however, has moved on.

The Guardian reports that Tokyo is now getting its very own hedgehog cafe, where customers can pony up 1,000 yen ($9) on weekdays and 1,300 yen ($12) on holidays to carefully play and cuddle with the prickly yet adorable animals.

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The cafe is called “Harry”—a play on the Japanese word for needle–and is fully stocked with 20 to 30 different breeds of hedgehogs for all your cuddling needs.

“We wanted to show people the charm of hedgehogs, which give the impression of being hard to handle. We wanted to get rid of that image by letting people touch them,” cafe worker Mizuki Murata told The Guardian. The cafe is already a hit, with an employee telling NBC News that there has been a line out the door since the cafe opened.

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