Call us the power-strip generation: appliances, home theater gear, and all those gadget chargers need to be plugged in, and it's gotten to the point where we just lay down cable after cable without any thought as to the drain — until we get the bill. Recognizing the problem, an organization called Static! created the Power Aware Cord to give us a constant visual reminder of how much we're taxing the grid. The PAC functions just like a regular power strip except that the more power it delivers, the brighter the cord glows and the faster the glow pulses. So if you're not home and everything's on standby, things should look pretty normal, but when you're going full tilt on your gaming PC with your Denon receiver pumping out huge amps while blow-drying your hair, your room will start to look like the engineering section of the Enterprise. As awesome as that may sound, don't get addicted to the cool blue glow — you're supposed to be turning it down, remember? — Peter Pachal

Static!, via Fosfor Gadgets