Here's What's Awesome: Soda-Powered Phones, Glow in the Dark Walls

Back for another awesome week of Here's What's Awesome, our weekly collection of awesome links that's so awesome it uses the word awesome about every five seconds, which is awesome in and of itself.

I'd like to teach the world to recharge its phone batteries in perfect harmony
Nutritionists like to encourage us to drink less sugary soda, so if you're looking to cut back in the new year, maybe it's time to buy a new cellphone. Huh? A Chinese inventor has developed a cellphone battery that recharges with soda, or at least sugar water. And, he says, the battery charge lasts longer than the heavy metals in most batteries today. The choice of a new generation of phones? [MNN]

If you kids don't start writing on the walls...
Washable crayons were a parent's (or babysitter's) best friend against a kid determined to turn the living room wall into an artistic masterwork... at least until they start selling kits for this dad's glow-in-the-dark drawing wall using some glow-in-the-dark paint and LED pens. [MAKE]

Eco-friendly plastic substitute, heal thyself
Many plastics are recyclable, yes, but there's often a large amount of oil used to produce it. So scientists in Tokyo are working on the first step in what could be plastic's less energy-intensive replacement: "smart mud." Actually it's clay and water held together by a molecular glue, which creates a dense, solid mixture that can also heal itself. It's still not quite as strong as plastic, but if that obstacle can be overcome, the day may come where you don't call your slower friends "thick as mud" anymore. [NewScientist]

Now it's your turn: share an awesome link by posting in the comments. Awesome links have molecular self-healing ability too, y'know!

Photo courtesy Poolie via Flickr/Creative Commons