# Cool gadgets that went (almost) nowhere

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 28, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928 "2005-05-28T22:16:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 6

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/101 "2012-05-07T22:11:45Z")

</div>

[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:100, topic:305928”]

Segway spent half a million dollars on R&D and made a quarter billion in sales? Even with a modest profit, that sounds like a win to me.

[/QUOTE]

Sorry, mean half a billion. :smack:

You have to look at net profits over the whole life of the thing, from concept to now.

I don’t know if that quarter billion is gross, net, or whatever…my point is, just giving a dollar amount in sales does nothing to tell us if it was profitable or not, and if so, by how much.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/102 "2012-05-07T22:13:58Z")

</div>

> [@Ethilrist](#):
>
> [The Gyrojet.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrojet)

Tee-hee! I love these–what’s better than a gun you can render completely harmless by sticking your finger over the barrel?

They were also a regular part of my kit back when I played Cyberpunk 2020 (pen & paper cyberpunk RPG). Back then I had no idea that they really existed; it just sounded like an awesome idea \*\*and \*\*damage increased with range. Perfect for a sniper who works at extreme ranges. 😃

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\
**Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/103 "2012-05-07T22:20:23Z")

</div>

> [@bouv](#):
>
> …my point is, just giving a dollar amount in sales does nothing to tell us if it was profitable or not, and if so, by how much.

I absolutely agree with you, and I’ve tried to include the caveat “if it generates a bunch of profits” in my posts.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928.md?page=5)