Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Forget wind power and solar power. It's time to invest in hamster power.

According to a new report on Discovery.com, scientists at Georgia Tech have figured out a way to harness hamster power. No, not by attaching some sort of apparatus to the hamster wheel. That would be too straightforward.


(Just think of the electricity that little guy could generate!)

But no, what these intrepid researchers did was sew electricity-generating threads one-fiftieth the width of a human hair into a yellow jacket worn by the hamsters as they ran. That's right, folks, they made the hamsters wear jackets. (You can see a picture of the hamster in said jacket by clicking on the link above.)

And the Georgia Tech scientists have only begun to experiment with hamster-jacket technology. Soon we could have hamster-powered vacuum cleaners, hamster-powered computers, and hamster-powered cars. (Oh wait, I think GM already invented that.)

And scientists are not stopping at hamsters. A human-sized jacket, capable of powering an iPod, could be ready in as little as three years.

8 comments:

TommyMac71 said...

Richard Gere just moved a little

Dave S. said...

Tommy, that's an odd name for a hamster.

Yellow is not the most flattering color for rodents. Oh, wait - Georgia Tech's teams are the Yellowjackets! Hee yuk.

My cellphone barely fits in my pocket now - where the hell am I going to put 1,000 hamsters? Do NOT answer that.

Finally, anyone who has had hamsters as pets (raises hand) knows that they can chew through anything. Those jackets will be off in seconds unless the resulting energy can shock them into submission.

J, next time you're in town I'll do my "hamster in a wheel" impression for you. Totally kid-friendly.

Anonymous said...

What stylish jackets! So in!

Anonymous said...

What can I do to
get my own hamster jacket
Run the wheel I guess

EMM said...

What about evil squirrel power? Not as cute, but they are really fast.

TommyMac71 said...

Dave S.....

You cannot tease the masses. You have to YouTube that hamster in a wheel routine....You can't dangle that out there and not share!!

Anonymous said...

agree with TommyMac71


Share your hidden talents with your friends!

(hey - I did the Russian dance!)


(( ok... the verification word is gized -- WTF!!))

J. said...

We want Dave! We want Dave! Have Laura get the camcorder and make sure to post it on YouTube and share! Your fans have spoken.