The hamster powered cellphone charger

Who can possibly be contented with their hamsters merely powering their lights? We want it all. We want hamsters powering our kitchen appliances, we want them powering our video game consoles, we want them charging our phones. Yeah, you heard us. Of course, exactly what happens when your poor little organic electricity production unit runs out of steam is entirely up to you, but we might recommend buying an itsy bitsy whip and an itsy bitsy circus ringleader costume for your hand to keep the ball rolling. Gotta make 'dem calls!

P.S. To Peter Ash, the creator of this device: don't worry dude, even though you got a C for this project, you're on Engadget now. And that's gotta mean something, right?

[Thanks, GCR]

[toto @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Where is the hamster on the picture ?

[sessy boy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I also wonder this things. Where is a hamster of these picture.

[Poolshark @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Which one is the hamster?

[Ken @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

This guy is my hero. I know those little turd creating beasts were good for something other than stinking up the house!

Give 'em a cup of coffee and you'll be able to pop a bag of popcorn in the micro!
ken

[james @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

is the hampster the small furry one on the wheel, or the one with the white shirt? I cannot tell the difference betwixt them! HAW HAW HAW

[Jon @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Animal abuse?

[Reid Bode @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Poor guy only got a C?
Teacher must be a PETA person, or just evil.
It's brilliant!

[alek @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

i am glad he got a C. he didnt do much. i have one of those chargers for nokia cell phones where you wind a crank. all he did was attach it to a hamster wheel. not a big deal. also, he's lying; in the news report they quote him saying that 2 minutes of the hampster gives him 30 minutes of talk time. uh.. with most phones, even plugging them into the wall for 2 minutes wont give them 30 minutes of talk time. i never used the hand crank charger i have because its crank to charge ratio meant youd have to charge it 2 minutes to get 1 minute of talk time. im sure if a hamster is powering it its even less.

[Antonio Hernandez @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I bet nobody can find the nerd on the pic!

[peter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I wonder what that guy's thinking about doing to that hamster afterwards?

[js @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

the humane society should do something about this

[dean @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

wait, wait, wait...which one of the above comments is from the the comedian. the dumb one, the other one that thought it was funny the second time, or the next two that like to rephrase things (b/c that makes them more funny)?

[alek @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

dean, i was just thinking the same thing. i didnt think it was very funny the first time. and it became incredibly stupid by the 5th time. and im sure it will be even funnier the 6th and 7th times

[friend of a comedian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

i heard repeating a same line and recalling a joke in later time is called "callback?" i always thought i was tripping, but it has a specific term. now that's driving me crazy. anyone?

[jeffro @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

13 - Yes, the correct term is Callback. Have a funny day!

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

in russia, phone charges hamster!

[morisato @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

animal abuse?? how is that animal abuse?? he's not hurting the hamster and hasnt stated anything about forcing the hamster into running. hes only using energy the hamster produces when he decides to run. so STFU about animal abuse!! im so tired i and bored at work...

[Reagan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

That C grade reminds me of my high school days. Always having a cool project only to receive a B while the dumb jock gets an A for cutting an article out of the newspaper or piggy-backing on one of the smart kids.

It's a bit disconcerting that he says the hampster generates a 1/15 ratio of spinning to talk time.. that couldn't possibly be correct, but I'd be impressed if it were.

Did anyone else notice that the wheel is smaller than the hampster? Look at him sticking his head in the air. Nice.

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

But, it's not USB enabled... *eg*

[pat @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Now this looks very similar to that, "the Hamster-Powered Night Light
With Custom Low-RPM Alternator", which is about 2 years old:
http://infam.antville.org/stories/896979/

[Mark @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

brian, i love you.

[Jen @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I'd have given him an A!

[robin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

That is too cute.

[teeyee @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Ha ha ... hamsters are getting more exercise than most people in industialised nations.

[Steve @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Saw this post in Newsgator and look what GoogleAd popped up at the bottom!! I hope their chargers are slightly lest rodent-based...

http://img304.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eg0013za.jpg

[Joe @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I know not which is hamster and which is nerd boy! Ha ha I am from Krackisvania and I make joke. I am wit! This funny because obvious is there but I pretend not!

[macsucks @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

why does the hamster have such a weird expression on his face?

[XTC @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Didn't you know? Hamsters are the new black.

These designers have designed a dress that incorporates them for fashion.

http://www.yourpsychogirlfriend.com/

[labamba @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

That hamster looks like he could end up with spinal injury...

[Shannon @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

cute. I had hamsters growing up and like them as much as the next person, but that's totally not animal abuse. Hamsters run in wheels all the time anyway, it's what they like to do. My hamsters would run pretty much all night in their wheels.

[Swifty @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

omg...

[Whiplash @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

Does this guy have the same hair stylist as Bill Gates? Looking at this guy, I'm starting to think that mullets weren't so bad....

[PixelSlave @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

I wonder if it's misquoted. 2 minutes of exercise generated 30 seconds of talk time make is more believable.

I mean, if that generator can truly generate 30 mins of talk time from 2 mins of wheel spinning, he can easily sell the design to some company to produce a portable version, and then you will see millions of people spinning a mini-wheel on the street to power their cell phones ...

[That1Guy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

That boy looks like a total nerd...I just wanna slap that smirk off his damn little face.....

[tony @ Dec 19th 2005 1:05AM]

why would you want a hamster charging your phone at an extremley low rate, when you can plug it into the wall, it charges much faster, and you dont use that much current anyway.