That's exactly what the whiz-kids from the City College of New York, RiceUniversity and the US Army Research Laboratory have done with a new lithium-ion battery powered by red dye extracted from madder roots.
The new work, from RiceUniversity in Texas, US, opens up completely new avenues for putting batteries on nearly any surface in a simple and robust way.
Us neither, but that's exactly what happened to scientists at RiceUniversity when they were researching "tetrapods" to make solar panels more efficient.
Dr Tsanangurayi Tongesayi of Monmouth University in New Jersey, US, and his team have tested a number of imported brands of rice bought from local shops.