National Geographic Self-powered Emergency Radio
Every summer, Mr. X does what he calls “The Gathering of the Flashlights.” A leftover habit from our Philadelphia Folk Festival and camping days, The Gathering is Mr. X’s ritual of collecting all the flashlights in the house and replacing batteries and bulbs.
Well, National Geographic emailed me an ad for the gem pictured above – the National Geographic Self-powered Emergency Radio. What self-respecting engineer wouldn’t want a flashlight with a hand-crank? Let’s face it, folks, Green is more than a bumper sticker. 90-seconds of cranking gives an hour worth of battery for the radio. No fumbling in drawers in the dark trying to find the right size battery.
Ok, so National Geographic is more impressed with the radio aspect. And it’s a cell phone battery charger. It even gets international shortwave radio bands.
Oh, get this – it also has a red flashing beacon and a siren.
I think I’ll get the National Geographic Self-powered Emergency Radio for Mr. X’s birthday.
Fortunately he has no interest in anything other than flashlights so he’s not likely to read this.