Without fail, anytime we put our iPhone earbuds in our pocket or bag they come out incredibly tangled. No matter how you lay them out or how neatly you wrap them.

A couple weeks ago, Business Insider UK editor Jim Edwards enlightened us all with an explanation about why our earbuds always get tangled.

Apparently the length and "agitation" of the earbuds cause them to knot and tangle. A scientific paper titled " Spontaneous knotting of an agitated string" goes into the specifics about how it works, but barring changing the physical properties of the earbuds, we were still left with tangled earbuds.

That is, until Professor Robert Matthews of Aston University in England saved the day. The physicist has developed a surefire way to end all earbud tangling: clip them together.

Matthews suggests that you clip the two earbuds together and attach them near the audio jack to create a loop. He claims that this will reduce tangling tenfold.

"First, by forming the loop you've effectively reduced the length of string able to explore the 3-D space by 50%, which makes a big difference," Matthews told ABC News. "Second, you've also eliminated the two ends, which are the prime movers of knot formation."

And until Apple decides to change up its earbud design, this may have to do.

(Via CNET)