Machina Dynamica has got to be some kind of long-running in-joke, like when Spoons and I came up with Squiglitos[sup]TM[/sup], The Virtual Snack Food. “Just because it’s not there doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it!” 
I have a dear friend who never saw a wacky medical idea she didn’t like. Her dog was stricken by sudden blindness, and she took it to this place that uses some Rube Goldberg piece of equipment to shine colored lights on the patient, in order to “stimulate the harmonic vibrations of the DNA” or some such nonsense. After wasting plenty of money, the dog is still blind.
I’m not sure it’s these guys, but it’s similar: http://www.luminanti.com/light.html
Meet the tesla star. My husband’s cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago. Instead of conventional treatment, she elected to go with “alternative” treatment - including this nifty little scam. It recently appeared in the living room of my home with no notice - scaring the shit out of me when I woke up and walked in the living room. Apparently my husband picked it up from cousin’s house to transport to the assisted living facility she is now residing in. I asked what it does, so after making me stand about 6 feet from it he provided a demonstration (notice the “demon” in that word?).
Having first obtained a florescent tube from the cabinet, husband plugged in the device. The tubes began to glow and the smell of ozone was soon apparent. The round top of the device started glowing with a sort of “crown” effect. Husband pulled the florescent tube about halfway out of the box and walked over to the glowing, humming device. When he got about 3 feet from it, the florescent tube started glowing in his hand! If he got any closer you could see “sparks” reach out from the top of the thing to him.
We then turned it off and opened the house to rid it of ozone.
I cannot say much for it’s effectiveness. Cousin told my husband that it is supposed to “boost your immune system, kill cancer cells and make your hair grow”. She now has cancer in her liver, spleen and spine in addition to the breast tumor.
Oh, she tried faith healing, too.
Shhhh…don’t tell the hippies, you’ll bankrupt me. I’ll cut you in at a 1/4 of the profits right now if you just keep that on the DL, ok?
Ot Iii
From Peter Popoff (the Miracle Manna Guy)'s site:
“God is touching hurting people around the world, and NOW He wants to touch YOU”! :eek:
That just ain’t right.
(Put me down as another person who would appreciate a brief digression pointing us to where it says the “manna from heaven” phenomenon could be attributable to bug droppings. Fungus, I’ve heard of. Bug droppings, no. I’m not being smarmy, I’m just curious. Thanks!)
I wish. But:
Well, the Machina Dynamica guys nailed the perfect industry to ply their trade: one where fanatical aficionadoes are more than willing to dump huge sums of money for minimal improvements (even in the cases where stuff DOES work), and virtually nobody is willing to step up and say the Emperor has no clothes, because if he’s naked, they ALL are.
Welcome to the world of high-end audio.
Oh do not let my wife see this thread. Fedex would have to work overtime bringing crap to my house.
If it’s the same candles that I saw on the debunking show, you don’t get puddles of wax. What you get is like the foot pads. The candle burns driplessly for awhile, then you pull it out of your ear and the part that was in your ear has turned black or dark brown.
I think the show determined that the candle end turns dark whether it’s in an ear or not.
The ROM exercise machine that gives you “a complete non-impact cardio, resistance- and flexibility workout” in just 4 minutes a day! And it costs just $14,615!
Those guys have had an ad in every issue of The Atlantic I’ve gotten in the last 5 years, so apparently people will buy something that patently stupid.
(You can find out more at fastexercise dot com – I won’t link directly because there’s at least one pop-up at work.)
Remember those ab-thingies that you strapped on your gut and they sent out little electric shocks to stimulate the abdominal muscles? The ones that would give you a ripped six-pack with no sit-ups? The ones that Bruce Lee supposedly used? Yeah, they don’t do shit. Yes, I bought one many years ago. :smack:
Luckily, it was pretty cheap. I tried using it for a while to see if anything would come of it. Unsurprisingly, nothing did, except regret.
I can’t do a search for it right now, but there’s some commercial on now for a new stop smoking gimmick: a magnet that attaches to the pineal flap of your ear. And it’s gold – that’s what makes it work! They call it “The newest advancement in auricual therapy” or similar craptrap. They tell you up front that it won’t make you stop smoking immediately, but gradually your will to smoke will diminish. So we can see how this will work: you buy it (big dummy!), you wear it – and nothing happens. You call them to complain, and they say “But you haven’t worn it long enough!”
They are however funny to put on passed out drunk people.
I remember years ago when every in-flight magazine had ads for this metal thing meant to take the place of soap and detergent. Yes, just chuck this in the machine with your wash and you’ll never need detergent again. I think it was ionic or something.
Yeah, Cecil did a column on laundry balls once.
Not quite the same thing, but those so-called poetry contests. Every (poor, deluded) person I have known who has entered a poem in these is miraculously chosen for publication…and of course they need to buy the hardcover volume which contains their Published Poem.
From this page (which also mentions algae, lichens, and “droppings from certain shrubs or trees” as possible candidates for manna):
sigh… I did that. I never bought anything though (I was young, but not completely stupid)
Ah - that must be the magnet my coworker was talking about. She at least had the smarts to ask me if the foot pads were a hoax. She said the magnet worked, sort of. It hurt like hell, so all you could think of was “Crap! Get this stupid magnet off my ear!” instead of how much you wanted a cigarette.
I came in here to mention air cleaning ozone generators. My husband, a stay at home dad, is a member of our local Lions Club. One of the other members has, on more than one occasion, offered him part time employment in his ozone air purifier sales business. My husband graciously declined.
I’m still wondering if the guy is the same one I verbally smacked down at the home show a few years ago. . .