Is That A Microphone Stuck In Your Ear?

Most laptops have speakers built-in, but many of them do not have a built-in microphone. Lifehacker has a great idea for a workaround:

Here’s a great McGyver tip. It’s a basic fact of physics that headphones and microphones are basically the same thing. Sure, one of them turns electrical signals into sound waves and the other turns sound into signals, but they’re both basically identical.

It’s just like a motor. Add electricity to a motor and the shaft rotates. Turn the shaft manually, and you create electricity. So the next time you can’t find a working microphone, consider using a pair of headphones. We’re not talking high-quality sound response, but it should get you through the task at-hand.

The next time you're in a hotel overseas and suddenly get the urge to talk to your loved ones on Skype, no need to despair because you left the microphone at home...