Ever wonder why your phones typically work in a power outage? Because there is anywhere between 50 and 70 volts of direct current running through it. It's more than enough to power your phones, but can be used for other things as well.

It's actually fairly straightforward to use this energy-if you can put together a simple circuit. This video shows how a LED desk lamp can be powered straight through the phone line.



I have no idea how legal this is, so be careful with this little trick!

Instructables via Engadget