You may be more than a little curious to learn what one would need a solar powered neck tie for, but hey, it’s the technological revolution and sometimes gadgets are just too cool to overlook. This may be one of them, and while clothing that offers a solar power integration isn’t exactly new to the gadget world, it’s still pretty cool. This time it’s the Solar Powered Necktie and it may be one of the cooler solar powered integrations yet. The tie has been designed by folks at Iowa State University and it uses photovoltaic textiles and tiles to retrieve solar power. The research team was initially attempting to figure out what to do with their new solar fabrics, and the tie sort of emerged as an afterthought. Fortunately, the solar powered tiles acting as the fabric for the tie actually blends with a standard tie design, so the gadget doesn’t even look all that odd, from first glance. The very best part about this tie however…

is that it will charge your electronic devices, while you work. It offers a unique hidden pouch for stashing your phone while your tie does all of the charging fro you, taking advantage of energy from the sun. Thus, the solar tie will enable you to be environmentally friendly as well, without looking like *too much* of a geek.

• Flip Solar Power Ipod / Iphone Dock