Oh, the crazy romantics at MIT! What'll they think of next? The good folks at that fine institution's Media Lab have apparently turned their attention briefly from creating affordable laptops for third-world kids to take on a more pressing problem: letting enamored alcoholics in different cities drink together, just like old times. They've created pairs of wine glasses with wirelessly activated, embedded lights that glow when both are being drunk from at once, although the drinkers are separated by many miles.

The cups, part of a larger imagined project of glowing, connective dinnerware, actually glow red when both drinkers are holding them, and white when they touch the lovers' lips. Tests at MIT apparently show that people who use these devices do, in fact, feel more connected. Of course, Bostonist knows from experience that even without the benefit of technology, having a few drinks can frequently lead us to feel connected to people far away - it's the phenomenon that leads to drunk dialing. Still, the story of how MIT student Jackie Lee came up with this idea to assuage his loneliness at not being with his family and girlfriend in Taiwan is awfully moving.

Image: Romeo and Juliet, who might have benefited from the use of the Media Lab's new connective drinking glasses. Painting by Sir Frank Dicksee.