Magnetic headphone organizer prevents accidental death

(Credit: Magneat)

The Magneat headphone organizer provides a solution to the most annoying accessory attached to your music player: the headphone cord.

The industry is a few years away from offering high-quality, inexpensive Bluetooth earbuds, so for the time being we're left untangling and tripping over long wires. As a matter of fact, just today I was walking into the bathroom (keep reading, it's OK) and my headphones got caught in the door handle. My headphones nearly pulled me to the floor and strangled me to death. Granted, Kimmy Gibler and I share a similar center of gravity, but my to-do list is long enough; I don't need to add "wired asphyxia" to the end.

(Credit: Magneat)

Save me, Magneat! It's actually very simple, as all great ideas tend to be: you clip the device to your shirt, coat, or jacket via magnetic fastening and simply wind your headphone cord around the cylinder until it runs taut, eliminating excess cordage and preventing tangles. And that's it!

Rest assured that the Magneat isn't nearly powerful enough to erase your player and certainly won't leave any marks on your garments. The device is available now in a variety of colors and designs for $10 each.

[c|net Reader]

My kids frequently ruin their headphone cords because they catch them on something. We try to get the kids to keep the cords inside their shirt to avoid the problem, but they complain about it tickling. This device sounds interesting, but I don't see how it could do any more than reduce the problem. In order to have adequate freedom of movement, there must still be some dangling cord. Furthermore, when one bends, the slack increases. Therefore, while there is less cord to catch on things, and the cord is generally held close to the body, there is still opportunity to catch it on things. What's more, when the cord does catch, while using Magneat, it must immediately be a hard wrench. With more cord, many catches allow the wearer to feel the tug before the final wrenching, which often leads to avoiding damage.

The ideal device would splice the cord at a desirable length and use a magnetically held electrical connection. Then, if the cord catches, the magnet separates allowing the cord to split in two. The final wrenching of the wire, ear buds, and plug is eliminated (or greatly diminished) as a consequence.