Old iPod cables magically works with iPhones and iPad now. Was it just me?

One of the things that pissed me off when I got my 3GS was that I couldn't reuse my old iPod cables so I had to rebuy new sets of cables for the car, office, etc.

Yesterday, I was about throw these old cables away but, out of sheer boredom, decided to plug them in to see if they would work. Voila! 3GS and iPad works with the old cables now.

Is this happening for others as well?