# What is this... thing I got as a gift? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2022, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303 "2022-11-03T19:48:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/1 "2022-11-03T19:48:50Z")
What IS this? I received a bunch of things in a corporate goody box as thanks for doing a podcast, and I got this… whatever it is. In case the photo link doesn’t work (I’ll fix it when I can if so) it’s a plastic thing about two inches long and perhaps half a inch thick. It is very light. From one end extends a keychain. From the other are three wires that end in a USB connection, a USB-C connection, and a Lightning connection. When plugged into my computer, the corporate logo lights up, but the computer does not recognize it as a thumb drive, or as anything else. When plugged into my phone, it does not charge it. (It seems impossibly light to be a power pack.) The hell? > **[thing hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/rcdnb0Y)** > > Image thing hosted in ImgBB ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/2 "2022-11-03T19:51:47Z")
I think it’s just supposed to be a converter. Plug the USB-A into a charger and the USB-C end into an appropriate device and said device should charge. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/3 "2022-11-03T19:55:59Z")
I agree with @Jophiel . A lightning charger wouldn’t work for a promotional item, neither would a USB-C charger. It would leave half of the recipients disappointed. But a “universal” charger that works for your iPhone or not-iPhone is a great gift. You’re just confused because the USB-A bit isn’t on the opposite end of the plugs, as it is when you buy a regular one-connector-type charging cord. If it were you’d have seen it right away. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/4 "2022-11-03T20:09:58Z")
Agreed, it’s a magnificently inconvenient charger cable that works for both lightning and USB-C. Can you imagine clipping your keys to that thing? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/5 "2022-11-03T20:14:55Z")
I can - but my keys also never come out of my bag. Car has a push-button start and house has a touch-to-open smart lock. This would actually be a great gift for me- even if I don’t attach my keys to it, it can still live in my bag or my car. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/6 "2022-11-03T20:37:22Z")
I got one that three options in my goody bag. Mine also has a usb-micro connector. I use it all of the time because I have all. I threw the rest of the stuff in the bag out, notebook, coffee mug, some sort of microfiber towel and a sock hat. Maybe I threw the sock hat in the car. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/7 "2022-11-03T20:44:13Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > I threw the rest of the stuff in the bag out, notebook, coffee much, some sort of microfiber towel and a sock hat. Well, damn! You shoulda kept all that stuff and your Christmas shopping would be _done_. You threw out a perfectly good **sock hat**?? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/8 "2022-11-03T20:45:44Z")
By the way, I wouldn’t recommend plugging the USB side into a charger and then plugging in _both_ an Iphone and a USB-C device at once. I’m sure that thing has all the finest internals and wiring AliExpress or Wish has to offer and zero protection if things go poorly. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/9 "2022-11-03T22:45:54Z")
Considering that USB charging in almost every smart device made in the last 10 years involves the devices communicating with each other over the data lines to establish facts like permissible charging current… and those data lines are not meant to be accessed by two client devices at once. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-thing-i-got-as-a-gift/974303/10 "2022-11-03T23:46:45Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > You threw out a perfectly good **sock hat**?? It’s spelled “toque.”