That might sound like a joke but as The Guardian reports, it's perfectly plausible that in a few years we could all be controlling our technology via our faces. Really. Japanese scientists in Osaka have been working on a device called "the Mimi Switch", a small earbud which can meaure movements in the wearer's temple and transmit these to the controls of any electronic device, depending on how the system is programmed.

"An iPod can start or stop music when the wearer sticks his tongue, like in the famous Einstein picture," suggested lead researcher Kazuhiro Taniguchi. "If he opens his eyes wide, the machine skips to the next tune. A wink with the right eye makes it go back."

And this won't just work for iPods, according to the research team. So not only could you be blinking, winking and smirking to skip through your latest play list, an extra wide grin could start your dishwasher and a turn of the head turn off your TV. Or something.

Obviously this is a fantastic breakthrough for anyone disabled by paralysis but it's also great for the lazy among us, too. At least our faces will be getting a workout, if nothing else...