We thought we’d seen just about everything powered by solar panels or solar film until we came across this bikini. Made by Solarcoterie, this bathing suit is made of photovoltaic film strips sewn together in series with conductive thread! With a USB connection, you could be laying on the beach and powering your iPod at the same time. The suit is constructed of 1″ x 4″ solar strips which terminate in a 5V regulator and a female USB connector – perfect for powering your iPod.

The downside is that the bathing suit is a currently custom made offering only so this is not something readily available at your local store. And, we don’t have the power specs but wonder if this also wouldn’t be a great solution for charging other small appliances needed at the beach – like most smartphones and iPads. Of course, this got us thinking about our dream ideas of powering a small cooler (imagine never needing ice at the beach!) or a small fan for cooling off while you’re baking in the sun. The biggest item on our wishlist is always a blender but we’ve got that covered with our battery operated one!

No matter what, we think this use of solar technology is genius.