Yes Bob, that cord is a "factory" thing. Like you, I thought it was odd. But it works.
I drilled holes in the power strip and screwed it to the shelf I made. If you look close at the picture, you can see the nylon locking nuts at the bottom.
I got that power strip from my employer a long time ago, tossed out because the cord was damaged. I rotated the receptacles into various orientations to accommodate various chargers. Power strip receptacles are typically oriented in such a way that a charger often covers up an adjacent receptacle, and the wire coming off also interferes. We like the charger and cord to hang down, out of the way of other chargers. It works quite well.
I recall some time later, I stumbled on a power strip with receptacles that rotate. I suggest some internet shopping.
