This was very true before lithium ion batteries. Not so much now. We need to have equipment that matches our lifestyle, not change our lives to accommodate our equipment. The real issue is making phones that do not have replaceable batteries.
Given the time of year, squirrels should be hibernating in New York. The first question should be,"What woke them up?" Small mammals store just enough energy to wake up from hibernation. They are ravenously hungry afterwards. Since there would be little or no food, I surmise this behavior is caused by being hangry.
That is a lot of fancy words for something as simple as listening to music and taking notes. Since the weight in the photo is on upside down, I agree that Beethoven likely was using his "incorrectly" and his notes are to used for relative time, not absolute.
The only advantage I can see is that it might be able to dry clothes that could shrink or felt. It will take just as long to dry a full load of clothes as a conventional drier. If one really want to be energy efficient, use a clothesline.
OSHA reaching back through time.