# What could "IT" be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 9, 2001, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241 "2001-01-09T23:07:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/21 "2001-01-10T11:24:27Z")
The Veeblefetzer. At last, it’s here. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/22 "2001-01-10T11:25:09Z")
A stirling engine you shit into? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/23 "2001-01-10T11:27:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Manduck \* > \*\*Apparently someone has perfected the rebigulator! \*\* HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ---
**Author:** ![douglips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@douglips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglips)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/24 "2001-01-10T15:27:23Z")
IT is chicken, IT is eggs, IT is in between your legs. IT is walking on the moon, leaving your cocoon. IT is the jigsaw. IT is purple haze. IT never stays in one place, but IT’s not a passing phase. IT is in the singles bar, in the distance of the face. IT is in between the cages, IT is always in a space… IT is here - IT is now. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/25 "2001-01-10T15:44:45Z")
It looks like the answer may have been given in the Wired article… > [@](#): > > Lately, Kamen has broadened his work beyond health care. He believes technology and ingenuity can solve all kinds of social ills - like pollution, limited access to electricity, and contaminated water in many third-world countries, where bacteria from human feces in drinking water is a leading cause of cholera. To help ameliorate the water problem, Deka’s team of 170 engineers is working on a nonpolluting engine - funded by several million dollars of Kamen’s own money - based on a concept first floated in the early 1800s but never realized. > > The device is called the Stirling engine; Kamen hopes it can be developed into an affordable, portable machine that will run a water purifier/power generator that could zap contaminated H20 with a UV laser to make it safe for drinking. “It can burn any fuel, and you can do all kinds of things with it,” he says. “It might be very valuable in emerging economies, giving them access to electricity, even the Net.” Seems to fit most of the information that has been given. A non-polluting engine that can produce electricity. Replaces current car engines, electrical distribution systems, water purification systems, etc. Two versions; one for home use and one for industrial use. Just a guess. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/26 "2001-01-10T15:47:42Z")
Based on his work to date I would venture to guess “IT” is a compact, portable transportation device most likely powered by some sort of a small fuel cell or similar fanciness. I would imagine he intends it to be a replacement for cars and motorcycles in cities. He is a proven inventive genuis so there is not question “it” _is_ something interesting. Practical, useful and marketable is another question. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/27 "2001-01-10T15:59:22Z")
My money is on a protected fan with counterrotating blades, powered by a fuel cell worn as a back pack. It’s the proverbial Personal Vertical Transportation Device we’ve all been expecting to have now that we’re in the glorious 00s. It’s brilliant, it’s dazzling, it meets most of the above described hints… and it is completely beyond the responsibility of the average American citizen. After a spate of drunken Flash Gordons crashing through buildings, immolating themselves on power lines, and running out of juice on mountains and on top of buildings, they’ll be outlawed in cities faster than you can say “liability.” We’ll see 'em placidly buzzing along the coral reefs of the Carribean long before anyone is commuting to work with one. I might get one anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/28 "2001-01-10T16:10:40Z")
_IT_ is the oogleplex. Everyone needs a good, affordable oogleplex and its existance would revolutionize humanity. Seriously, if this guy were anyone else but Dean Kamen I would immediately label it a scam. As it is… has Dean been audited by the IRS lately? Perhaps he lost all his money trying to invent electric doughnuts or somesuch, and he’s planning on disappearing into some Carribean paridise once people invest enough money into “Project Ginger.” Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/29 "2001-01-10T16:27:15Z")
They finally figured a way to keep flies out of the teleportation pods? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/30 "2001-01-10T16:29:54Z")
[Here’s something](http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DyeHard/dyehard000829.html) along the lines of what I’m thinking it is. [http://www.solotrek.com](http://www.solotrek.com) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/31 "2001-01-10T16:35:19Z")
If these guys had any sense of humor, they would have called the product a “widget.” ---
**Author:** ![Avumede](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/avumede/32/7235_2.png) [@Avumede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avumede)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/32 "2001-01-10T17:34:34Z")
If it is a transportation device, and it seems from the comments it might be… I have a hard time seeing how it can be both useful and safe. After all, to be useful for everyday transportation, the transportation device has to go at 60 mph at least. There’s no way to go that fast in a totally safe way. Something can always go wrong, and if you are traveling at 60mph or more, you are in trouble. At any rate, is there a release date on this thing? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/33 "2001-01-10T17:38:29Z")
So what the heck is a “Stirling Engine”? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/34 "2001-01-10T17:42:20Z")
Oh, and P.S., my guess for what “Ginger” is, is an instant sanitary-waste composting machine that eliminates the need for municipal sewage systems or septic tanks. ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/35 "2001-01-10T17:46:15Z")
I don’t really know what a Stirling engine is either… But another message board pointed to [this](http://164.195.100.11/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/search-adv.htm&r=12&f=G&l=50&d=ft00&S1=Kamen.INZZ.&OS=in/Kamen) patent. What do you make of what’s there? ---
**Author:** ![G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@G.B.H.Hornswoggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G.B.H.Hornswoggler)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/36 "2001-01-10T18:12:32Z")
I think he’s got some new variation on the old “unbalanced wheel” trick – **zuma** ’s mentioning of “gyroscopic load balancing devices” makes me think he’s gone a little too far in that same direction. It’s a perpetual motion/free energy machine (or, at least, Kamen thinks it is). It’s getting major backing because Kamen is a genius, but I expect it’ll fizzle and never actually appear. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/37 "2001-01-10T18:17:56Z")
> [@](#): > > The question is, are people going to be allowed to use it? This is an interesting statement. It suggests the following: - “Ginger” will be used by consumers, as opposed to being strictly for industry or military use. - It requires a fair amount of skill and/or concentration to use safely. - Perhaps more than many people can muster. - Therefore, it might be banned by the government because they’d consider it too dangerous. I’d say that if Ginger is a real product and not a scam or publicity stunt, it’s probably something like what Sofa King is thinking of: a personal flying machine. It fits all of the hints that have been dropped, but after a few people run out of fuel at 1000 feet or get sucked into airplane engines, it might well be outlawed. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/38 "2001-01-10T18:45:20Z")
…At least not with the clues we’ve been given. 1. As Avumede pointed out going 60 mph in anything is inherently dangerous. Given that IT comes in two duffel bags it is unlikely to be very substantial. You’re big, heavy car protects you a good deal in an accident. An aluminum ultralight frame won’t do much at all. 2. If it doesn’t go 60 mph it is unlikely to be found useful by US consumers. 3. Anything that fits in a duffel bag is unlikely to have much cargo carrying capacity again making it of dubious usefulness to US consumers. What about cargo trucks? 4. Americans are fond of their comfy, cushy cars. Air conditioning, heating, CD-Players are all things we tend to want in our transportation. 5. Unless the vehicle is sizeable getting through inclement weather will be problematical. It’s hard enough for a 3,000 lb. car to get through Chicago winters sometimes. This doesn’t even take into account things like windshield wipers to be able to see in even a minor rain storm. Again, something that can be assembled in 10 minutes is unlikely to have such ammenities (it takes nearly 5 minutes just to replace my stupid windshield wipers much less assemble a car around it). Lack of these things would also make them unsafe and not very useful to people living anywhere but Arizona. 6. Personal flying machines, while cool as hell, seem to be a nightmare practically. People flying into buildings, powerlines, falling out of the sky. Nope, no go there unless the whole thing is strictly computer controlled which I doubt you’d get for under $2,000 (machine and computer included). Small, highly fuel efficient cars have been available for some while now (you can see them in Europe a lot). Even if Kamen has invented a new motor that runs on (say) water I doubt you’d find an earth shattering product unless it can be applied to American BIG cars bringing their price right back up. (Although such an engine would still be remarkable and quite valuable.) Perhaps “IT” is some kind of power generating equipment. Say a new, super efficient solar cell. Houses could now power themselves and not be hooked to a power grid. This would be especially useful to city dwellers since one substation going out can affect several 100,000 users. I dunno…I can’t help but feel we’ll be let down but then again some bigwigs seem pretty excited and Kamen is a serious inventor so who knows? ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/39 "2001-01-10T19:29:09Z")
My money is still on a personal flying machine. ## It could fit so well with the clues: ## Bezos is quoted as saying that IT “…is a product so revolutionary, you’ll have no problem selling it. The question is, are people going to be allowed to use it?” duh. If it is a personal flying device, it will have to be regulated somehow. * * * ## Jobs: “…If enough people see the machine you won’t have to convince them to architect cities around it. It’ll just happen.” They already construct cities around highways and roads, so why not “small heliport type thingies” * * * ## Kemper: will “sweep over the world and change lives, cities, and ways of thinking.” the invention will “profoundly affect our environment and the way people live worldwide. It will be an alternative to products that are dirty, expensive, sometimes dangerous and often frustrating, especially for people in the cities.” Imagine being able to fly…on a whim say up to 50-100-200 miles for “cheap”. Cars, gone. Commuter flights, gone. Think of all the polution and fuel that would be saved, taking for granted that this is a relatively “enviromentally freindly” device. I just wonder if it is indeed for flying, how fighting the “elements” like rain and cold is done. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2001, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241/40 "2001-01-10T19:41:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by douglips \* > \*\*IT is chicken, IT is eggs, IT is in between your legs. IT is walking on the moon, leaving your cocoon. > > IT is the jigsaw. IT is purple haze. IT never stays in one place, but IT’s not a passing phase. IT is in the singles bar, in the distance of the face. IT is in between the cages, IT is always in a space… IT is here - IT is now. \*\* That’s what I thought the thread was about before I opened it… Seriously though–what _is_ “knock and knowall”? Did Pete just not want to get sued by the Rolling Stones? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-it-be/49241.md?page=3)