@JohnathanR:
Boo hoo. It's a joke. Gay doesn't always mean 'homosexual'.

hughjass

I am dissaponinted to see 'gay' in the headline. Im not sour, but expected better from you guys.

JohnathanR

Bi-Plug AC/DC USB wall charger on SlashGear

the ones with folding prongs are actually handier for travel, and they're on ebay for under $10.

Pixlmonkey

how suprisingly cheep? like $1.50 or less and i'm there.

tetracycloide

If it charges your device who cares...

sfokevin

@frigg: lol, or should i say olo

EMoShunz

@EMoShunz: does that make you bi-curious?

frigg

you sure that their gay and not bi

EMoShunz

@hughjass: It's meant homosexual pretty well exclusively for my lifespan, so seeing it in a headline makes me fidgety. You can not deny that a better word could have been used.

rfaulder

"Not that there's anything wrong with that..."

apeguero

@hughjass: It puts that Flintstones intro song into perspective...

"We'll have a gay old tiiiiiiiiime!"

Kaiser-Machead

I too do not find the use of the word "gay" offensive as it is used here. And I realize that many people may say "That's gay", meaning that's stupid. However, here's some food for thought:

How might people react if the title said "Straightforward Bi-plug USB Charger Available in Four Bright and Jewish Colors" or "Straightforward Bi-plug USB Charger Available in Four Bright and Hispanic Colors" or "Straightforward Bi-plug USB Charger Available in Four Bright and WASP colors"?

I think the real fault might be found with the manufacturer itself. How often does one find primary colors matching anything, especially electronics? Wouldn't more subdued colors like black, white, silver, and perhaps olive green have been a better choice?

skeksil

@Charlie White: Like many of the readers of this blog, I am Amish (Mennonite, actually). While it is nice of you to coddle the tiny subset of readers who are actually befuddled by your innocuous little joke (which is, in a way, funnier than the joke itself), I know I speak for many of us who would appreciate the same level of sensitivity shown toward the gadget-loving Amish (and Mennonite) who flock here. How many times do we have to read dig after dig against the Amish (and Mennonite) communities and yet not a peep from a mod? Sure, we are used to it, and in all honesty, many of the Amish (and Mennonite) jokes on Gizmodo are excellent. Yet I cannot help but wonder, given your core demographics and constituencies, why you permit this form of subtle mockery to continue?

Anyways, please don't interpret this as criticism. Shaka from your Amish (and Mennonite) fans!!!

frigg

@rfaulder:

You can not deny that a better word could have been used.

Like queer? Queen?

I spent all of my teenage years being called 'gay', and while I could understand a human having a problem with it (depending on their sense of humor and how it was used), I seriously doubt an inanimate object will have an issue.

Monty

Almost (duh)....

Mandatory_Field

Can you please explain it again, Charlie? Amost, but not quite getting it... Ok, so the plugs use alternating current, not direct current; and are available in happy, festive colours; and are not crooked... why is that funny? Should I be pleased that they come (heh) in happy colours? Or offended? I'm so confused....

Lolz

Mandatory_Field

@Charlie White: As a queer man, I got the joke and did not find it offensive in the least, but you could put up more "gay" pictures with gadgets. I mean I get kind of bored of all those girlie cleavage shots. Can't you put up a cute guy, say, 10% of the time ;)

iridius

@rfaulder:
@JohnathanR:
Okay, for the slower readers in our audience, let me explain the wordplay here (all you other non-idiots, this is not addressed to you): Notice the name of the gadget is the "Bi-Plug." Taking off on that, the headline has the terms "straight," "bi" and "gay" in it. Too subtle for you? There are also many other bits of innuendo sprinkled throughout the story, such as "AC/DC," "size doesn't matter," "sucking geegaw of yours" and "what sluts!"

Get it? Haha. It's a joke. No offense was intended toward any sexual orientation.

I can't believe I had to explain this.

Charlie White

@SKEKSIL

"Wouldn't more subdued colors like black..." That's a bit racist, don't you think?

Call me Kenneth

Dyke here...... not offended. More boobies please?

robinandtami

The excessive sensible morality mixed with jokes and ironic quotes makes my head spin...

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

@Bokusatsu_Tenshi: Go to their website if you really wanted to make your head spin. They could at least have bothered to get a real translator for their Japanese-English translation, I mean, come on, how much would you have to pay for about 300 words of translation. A normal rate would be 0.07 EUR/word, and could have saved them the embarrassment of having a machine-translated web-site showing to the rest of the world like the gay old emperor of yore. Ingrish at its best.

yogibimbi

@robinandtami: not a dyke here, but loving women nonetheless. Where do I have to subscribe? ;-)

yogibimbi

And I, for one, welcome our new Mennonite Overlords....

Mandatory_Field

@CALL ME KENNETH: I don't think so, and here's why:

Dictionary.com lists 'subdue', definition 6 as:
"to reduce the intensity, force, or vividness of (sound, light, color, etc.); tone down; soften."

Dictionary.com lists 'black', definition 1 as:
"lacking hue and brightness; absorbing light without reflecting any of the rays composing it."

I think we can agree that if a color is lacking hue and brightness, or if it absorbs light without reflecting it, then it seems quite subdued.

Interestingly, the page for the definition of 'black' is huge, and I didn't notice any derogative use in any of the definitions. I think most people who read my post realized that I was talking about colors not races, especially since I am unaware of any silver or olive green-skinned people walking around.

It was my hope that my post would make people think about how the word gay is used in contemporary society. It could be argued that same is true for 'black', were it not for the fact that it has been around for a longer time than 'gay'.

skeksil

@Skensil. LOL. You guys...

Call me Kenneth

definitely the best commentary since the guy who cools his computer by drinking freon...
[gizmodo.com]

nicksears