What if all of your mobile devices used the same size charger? What if every time you dug through a pile of cords the one you pulled out was the right one? What if your 13 year-old daughter had no more incentive to steal your laptop cord because every one of the 20 cords in a tangled pile in her bedroom doorway fit into all of the devices you never should have bought her in the first place? At least in Europe, this could soon be a reality. “The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, proposed legislation that would mandate USB-C cables for charging, technology that many device makers have already adopted. The main holdout is Apple, which said it was concerned the new rules would limit innovation … the EU also wants to cut down on the 11,000 metric tons of electronic waste thrown out every year by Europeans.” (At least my daughter only has about 10,500 metric tons of electronic waste in her room.)

+ You can celebrate this potential reality with Aretha’s Respect, the Mitch Ryder 45, the Missy Elliot hit, or this scene from Airplane.