Word: yokoi
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Once upon a time, a savvy Japanese hotelman named Hideki Yokoi came up with the ultimate gimmick. He spent $300,000 for a phoenix-shaped, 22-karat, solid gold bathtub, and installed it 14 years ago in the basement of his Funabara resort hotel about 100 miles south of Tokyo. A bit larger than normal, the tub holds a cramped two, and Yokoi was able to charge honeymooners and Very Good Friends $2.80 apiece for a five-minute soak that he claimed would prolong their lives for at least one year. For $4, a photographer burnished the moments for posterity...
...Hideki Yokoi's good fortune is not unalloyed: he worries about protecting his treasure. Now he requires that his male receptionist inspect the bathers before they undress to see if they are carrying hammers, gimlets or any other sharp instruments. Scrapes and scratches have appeared mysteriously on the tub, and Yokoi fears that his guests might be trying to recoup their costs under their fingernails...