I just searched the Dekalb newspaper (the Daily Chronicle) for the key words articulated, gyro, equipment, theft, and missing property (one at a time) for the last two week period. I found nothing relevant. Dekalb is a small town. If a $13,000 piece of equipment was stolen, it would have been in the local daily paper (it does a police blotter report daily). There was nothing. This is a hoax of some kind. See for yourself if you like. local newspaper
from m-w.com
Initially, the only thing I could come up with was a rotating laser level, but the 13k claim takes that right out. Top of the line laser levels complete with articulating tripods wouldn’t top 2k. Has a Cat in a red and white striped hat been seen lurking the campus?
It’s like a henway.
In other words, we can do research. Assuming there’s something to research. In this case, there apparently isn’t.
Oh, about a hundred pounds. ba dum bum
Alright after going to take a picture of the sign last night I found it to be missing on my crash door (for tripler: a crash door is basically a security door into the section of the dorm room kinda like the front door to an appartment building) so alright maybe it was a joke but im not pulling anyones chain because i was just as skeptical as you all were. thanks for the help (some of you) the rest im really surprized at some of the responses i got basically just mocking my question with ur comical remarks. i talked to a friend on the floor and he said that it was fake because they have different forms for stolen property like that. well that solves the answer to this question.
but that still doesn’t rule out if it is in fact real or not.
If there are any serious questions that can get a humorous answer, this is the message board that will have it. Look around, you’ll see it’s an inevitability.
And there was me thinking that humour was an important part of message boards, and indeed life. Ah well, thats me told.
Where did you get the idea we were mocking you exactly?
Sounds like
Somebody is pulling your leg!
Go to the campus police, and/or administration and ask them.
If it was in a NIU van the person responsible for the van is responsible for the contents, No?
Are you a sophmore?
The victim of a sophmoric prank?
Who accused you of stealing it?
Are you guilty, if not why worry?
Emulate Alfred E. Newman!
ill make a list:
1.)Yeah, it’s a priceless tool used for finding and retrieving items lost behind kitchen sinks.
2.)It’s just like a rigid gyrogophotor, except it has bendable joints in it.
3.)Not sure exactly what it is, but you needed it to beat the third boss in “Wizard’s Quest” on NES.
4.)Whaaa!!! I got only 12.50 at the pawn shop for… oops. 
5.)It’s an offog.
6.)WAG: does the name of the item’s manufacturer end in -gry?
7.)its a segway.
8.)Since currupt247 has a “whopping” 4 postings to his name (75% of those postings are to be found in this thread), perhaps this is his attempt to “whoosh” the clever folks of the SDMB.
After an extensive Google search, I could find no definition of an articulated gyrogorphotor. However, I was saddened when I found an article that stated that Mikey, the kid from the Life Cereal commercials, was killed just last week in a bizarre articulated gyrogorphotor accident.
heres one of the many google searchers good job dude p.s. extensive google searching doesn’t consist of typing in the word and hitting search any moron can do that.
9.)Wonder if he’ll go to MPSIMS and have a posting party?
10.)currupt some sequence of numbers that i think are 24 7 , I gave you a serious answer. Quit bitching. I said it was a drilly thing last page.
11.)I believe it’s something along the lines of a centrifuge for separating out the ingredients of gorp. Some people are just picky eaters.
YEAH some real intellects on this board… seems to me, many just do a google search and report back to us on here, wow im impressed. :rolleyes:
There’s a 90% probability that any question you post here will recieve at least one humorous answer. If this concept offends you don’t post here. These answerws are not meant to mock you. Perhaps you need to look for a sense of humor instead.
Btw:
“Gerdi, the universe is going to end in five minutes.”
“I’ll just take this articulated gyrogorphotor and phase induce a photic shift pulse.”
(4:59 minutes later)
“You did it, you saved the universe!”
“What? All I did was fix the toaster.”
Clearly an articulated gyrogorphotor is a major advancement in the art of worm coding. Not only does it creep into every machine on the net (hyperbole?), but it takes over the minds of the unwitting users. Brings new meaning to Denial of Service attacks. Now what the heck was I doing before I started this??
photor is an unlikely ending for the name of an instrument.
Perhaps photometer was the ending intended.
It seems possible that careless transcription of the word goniophotometer could result in gorphorter. The articulated gyro bit likely describes the unique characteristics of a custom built instrument. Goniophotometers can get pretty pricey.
No, there’s no hard evidence. But if your friend indicates it’s a joke, and 99.9% of the people here are either asking for a picture, or telling you that they can’t find it on any web search, I’ll put money on the fact that it’s along the same lines as a “flux capacitor”.
If you wanna keep hammering away on a goose chase, go ahead.
Tripler
You really ought to lighten up, though.
Theres a time and place for humor. This is neither the time nor the place when someone asks a serious question on a well known website known for answering questions like this one so dilligently does.
It would seem that if I had lost a $13,000 whatever, I’d sure as hell have pictures posted all over the freaking place! Or, at the very least, a clear description.
I see. So as a single user of this board you think you have the right to tell everyone when we are and aren’t allowed to make a joke?
No, I’m not telling anyone what they can and should do but I expected a level of professionalism at least. That’s the least I was looking for and I found it hard to even get that from some people’s answers.