Household Hacker - IPod Onion

IPod Onion

In November 2007, HouseholdHacker released a video entitled "How to Charge an iPod using electrolytes and an onion." The video, which claimed to demonstrate how one could recharge an iPod using little more than Gatorade and a white onion, was an overnight success. The video drew the attention of the Unofficial Apple Weblog, which reported it as fact, and hundreds of other blogs. Within its first week, the video had been viewed over 4 million times.

By the following November, the video had been viewed more than 7 million times and attracted the attention of ABCNews.com, who asked "Can an Onion Charge an iPod?" ABC put the video to the test, but failed to obtain the promised result. Reporter Emily Friedman remarked "this appears to be an iFraud."

The TV show MythBusters also put the onion video to the test in 2008. In a segment dubbed "iOnion", Grant Imahara was unable to get any charge from the onion setup found in the HouseholdHacker video. He explained that the setup lacked the crucial anode and cathode that would be required to get the electrolytes found in Gatorade moving and concluded the video was a complete hoax. In an interview with ABCNews, Adam Savage called the video "complete horseshit."