Ha! What they remind my of are the old fashioned interconnects on the stereogram my uncle made in the '50's. Thin twisted pair individually screened with cream/brown/khaki-ish coloured cotton braid. I'll have to look for some old twin twist lighting flex and ebay them as retro.

On a more serious note I thoroughly object to the implied slight further down that New Scientist page to my home town of Corby...okay, I'll admit it's not somewhere you'd choose to live, but up to my mid-twenties I was convinced it was a wonderful place...a bit religious about the matter really, despite the evidence, not unlike some folks with audio cable.