Wouldn't you like to have a few eels swimming in the living room next to your tree You could put them in another room and run a cable. Anything is possible!

Inventor powers Christmas tree with eel - Gadgets - MSNBC.com

Inventor powers Christmas tree with eel
Tree in Japan is drawing tourists from all over the country
Reuters
updated 10:47 a.m. ET, Thurs., Dec. 13, 2007
TOKYO - Not even a blackout could put a damper on festivities at one Japanese aquarium where an electric eel is being used to light up its Christmas tree.

Two aluminum panels inside the eel's tank work as electrodes to catch its power. Cables attached to the panels supply the lights on the nearby tree with electricity.

Inventor Kazuhiko Minawa said it took him more than a month to devise a system that would effectively harness eel power.

"If we could gather all electric eels from all around the world, we would be able to light up an unimaginably giant Christmas tree," Minawa told Reuters Television.

Eels are widely eaten in Japan, especially in the summer, when their vitamin-rich flesh is seen as a way to regain stamina sapped by the heat.

The tree, which will stay illuminated until Christmas, is proving a popular attraction, drawing tourists from all over the country.

"I would love to have an eel like this at home. This is very nature-friendly," said visitor Harumi Yayoi.

You know, once you get past the eeck factor , it is pretty amazing that they can produce enough electricty to do that! Now if they just could come in red and green and maybe a touch of silver!