# Can someone explain why this can't be real?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-this-cant-be-real/682790>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 4, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-this-cant-be-real/682790 "2014-03-04T01:21:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Peaton\_of\_peat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecae2f/32.png) [@Peaton\_of\_peat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peaton_of_peat)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-why-this-cant-be-real/682790/21 "2014-03-04T20:42:38Z")

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You know, it seems to me that the machine is functionally identical to a wheel with an inclined plane wrapped around it and some kind of roller bearing down on it. If some enterprising doper wanted to make one (1-2-3-not-it!) we could see experimentally how long it would take the thing to wear down, and that would give a clue as to whether there’s something hidden in that video, or they just cut it out before it had a chance to slow down. Yeah, physical contact would add a lot of friction, but it would also be a lot cheaper to make than buying up a ton of magnets.

Of course, if there is funny business going on, it’s [probably impossible to tell what exactly they’re doing](http://www.radiolab.org/story/you-are-judge/) because it’s essentially a magic trick. One comment on the video says “off-camera air hose” which would explain why they completely replaced the audio with weird music, but hidden motors or springs are equally plausible.

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