Is there anything more amusing than new technological advances emerging from archaic practices? Every few months, it seems, someone runs a story involving scientists reevaluating the medicinal value of long outdated practices, such as applying leaches and equating intelligence with head size. Even the emergence of the electric car in the mid-90s marked the return of a largely forgotten concept, which had become completely eclipsed by the internal combustion engine in the 1930s.

Sony's new line of earthy-friendly kid toys is a throwback, if ever there were one. In the dark days before batteries, toys were kid-powered. Some required children to wind them up, or pull their strings, or push them with a stick. Sony's new Odo line works on a similar principle--with a twist, and a pull, and a crank. The toys feature solar panels and "kinetic engines," relying, at least partially, on kids to power them up. Included in the assortment are headphones and digital and still cameras.

[Via EcoGeek]