August 19, 2002

10:18 AM

Oh no...not again...In the latest twist to the long-running Ginger saga, it's now being rumored that the two-wheeled device unveiled by inventor Dean Kamen last December isn't in fact the real deal.
posted by mathis23 (39 comments total)

um hum. "spliff". tail. dog. wag.
posted by quonsar at 10:42 AM on August 19, 2002

I think that the question is not "who owns a Segway Human Transporter", but rather, "who gives a SHT?".
posted by e.e. coli at 10:46 AM on August 19, 2002

Exactly - gimme a muthafuckin' break.
posted by ao4047 at 10:48 AM on August 19, 2002

ooooh ooooh oooh, please let it be real this time, life severely lacks "magic" these days, a truly "magic" item would be just the ticket, hell I'll even settle for a commercially viable, energy-efficient sterling-engine powered segway.... but if it's more....
posted by jkaczor at 10:48 AM on August 19, 2002

Stand aside, "It," We all know where the real Human Transporter revolution is.
posted by brownpau at 10:54 AM on August 19, 2002

If it ain't Segway, it better be this.
posted by owillis at 11:03 AM on August 19, 2002

Hmmm, it was reported a week or two ago that Kamen's company might have to reorganize because sales of the Segway have been way below "disappointing" (in fact, all but non-existant), and now the hype machine is spinning again about the "real Ginger"....coincidence???
posted by briank at 11:03 AM on August 19, 2002

When I was a kid, another kid convinced me that toy manufacturers had created a working hoverboard (this must have been around the time of Back to the Future II). "The child safety people are forcing them to keep it locked up," he said. It all seemed to hang together. I'm ashamed that I believed him, but I suppose it was many years ago.
posted by lbergstr at 11:11 AM on August 19, 2002

lbergstr: I heard the exact same thing right after Back to the Future 2 came out. And yeah, I believed it too.

I was thinking about this just the other day too... weird.
posted by ODiV at 11:15 AM on August 19, 2002

On the 'maybe' front, I was always suspicious of the name "Segway", implying that the ludicrous and disappointing device was a mere waystation to something much cooler....
posted by umberto at 11:17 AM on August 19, 2002

IT could be a personal hovercraft with cheese on top and the result would still be the same. Wheels aren't what makes the Segway stupid.
posted by coelecanth at 11:27 AM on August 19, 2002

On the 'maybe' front, I was always suspicious of the name "Segway", implying that the ludicrous and disappointing device was a mere waystation to something much cooler....

I thought this from the first--the technology is very impressive and potentially incredibly disruptive, which is why, I think many have reacted with disappointment ("who needs an expensive scooter?!"). I think Kamen could only have been more obvious at signaling Segway was a 'waystation' if he had named it "Segue"
posted by donovan at 11:34 AM on August 19, 2002

Has Kamen ever stated publically why it is called the Segway Human Transporter?
posted by pjgulliver at 11:40 AM on August 19, 2002

The real Ginger? Super Monkey Collider.
posted by ColdChef at 11:42 AM on August 19, 2002

I always thought that the Segway was an overly priced high-tech solution for a problem that is already well covered by other technologies. Last time I was at a large convention Center, the employees were buzzing around on small golf carts and electric scooters. The elderly and the disabled have their own vehicles with sit-down comfort. For mail delivery carriers, it doesn't offer much more benefits than a walking route. Commuters are better served by public transit and bicycles. The segway just seems to be yet another Sharper Image gee whiz toy for people who like spending tons of money for useless inventions. For the people who like electric transportation, The Segway seems ridiculously overpriced and overweight compared to a Zappy or a Citybug. Commuters can get more power in a Honda or Aprilla scooter. Cyclists are unlikely to appreciate the fact that the Segway depends on electric power and is too large are happy to fit comfortably in or on most vehicles. People with mobility problems are unlikely to want to stand to pilot the damn thing.

So even after a considerable amount of cheerleading by people who think that it is the greatest thing since sliced bread (most of whom would hail sliced bread has the next best thing if released with the same media blitz as the segway) I'm still wondering where is the beef here?

Oh the megway demo is just priceless!
posted by KirkJobSluder at 11:43 AM on August 19, 2002

lbergstr: I'm sorry. I was one of those rumour-starting kids.
I only told my friend Dave though, and he was really dumb. Am I off the hook?
posted by krunk at 11:43 AM on August 19, 2002

But....

Where are the flying cars? This is New Millennium! We were promised flying cars!
posted by bonehead at 12:21 PM on August 19, 2002

I'd kill for a hoverboard.
posted by insomnyuk at 12:29 PM on August 19, 2002

"The child safety people are forcing them to keep it locked up," he said. It all seemed to hang together. I'm ashamed that I believed him, but I suppose it was many years ago.

I heard the exact same thing right after Back to the Future 2 came out. And yeah, I believed it too.

A lot of us heard it because it was an urban legend: Zemeckis: Chairman of the Hoverboard
posted by owillis at 12:37 PM on August 19, 2002

I just saw Elvis riding one.
posted by HTuttle at 12:46 PM on August 19, 2002

We were promised flying cars!

The heck with that, I want a Sean Young replicant.
posted by machaus at 1:20 PM on August 19, 2002

Snopes calls Back to the Future II the weakest entry in the trilogy. What are they, on crack?

For the record, I heard the hoverboard-really-exists rumor too. Too bad that never panned out.
posted by mogwai at 1:47 PM on August 19, 2002

I say we replace all the roads and freeways with a network of interconnected log flumes.
posted by spilon at 2:08 PM on August 19, 2002

You guys haven't gotten your hoverboards yet? You must not be on the list.
posted by toothless joe at 2:12 PM on August 19, 2002

To heck with that, I say we replace all the roads and freeways with a network of interconnected Sean Young replicants.
posted by mathis23 at 2:18 PM on August 19, 2002

"I say we replace all the roads and freeways with a network of interconnected log flumes."

Yeah, like I want to stand in line for an hour to catch my ride to work, and then get there soaking wet and smelling of chlorine. Sheesh. Think these things through a little more carefully next time, will you?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:36 PM on August 19, 2002

Didn't they have personal hovercraft at the openning ceremony of the last olympics?
posted by devon at 2:58 PM on August 19, 2002

"I say we replace all the roads and freeways with a network of interconnected log flumes."

Yeah, like I want to stand in line for an hour to catch my ride to work, and then get there soaking wet and smelling of chlorine. Sheesh. Think these things through a little more carefully next time, will you?

Not to mention the fact that pregnant women, those with a history of heart trouble and anyone under a height of 48 inches would not be able to travel on the Interstate Highway System.

Please keep arms and legs inside at all times and remain seated until the ride comes to a complete and total stop. Thank you for riding the Interstate Highway System and enjoy the rest of your day here at Cedar Point.
posted by mathis23 at 3:00 PM on August 19, 2002

Actually, I think ginger is the next step past the SHT, because people will get so freakishly fat from riding the SHT and never walking anywhere, they will need something more technologically advanced that will be capable of supporting their increased girth.
posted by prodigalsun at 3:15 PM on August 19, 2002

Useless or not the segway's are still damn cool. I've only seen one once (fourth of july on the esplanade in boston), but watching the empty segway shift back and fourth in the breeze you would think the things are magical. As for IT, i still think the sterling engine is probably the bigger deal...but it's not as pollution free as people would think, it's just external combustion instead of internal combustion. However, Dean Kamen is like the superhero for nerds, so if anyone can do it, why can't he?

i still think his hour long speech is one of the best lectures i've seen on the net.
posted by NGnerd at 3:23 PM on August 19, 2002

Isn't the technology behind the Segway something that can potentially be adapted in other ways? Ways that aren't corny and superlative? Sorta like how many technological achievements during the Apollo missions led to Tang, and freeze dried tomatoes and ...waitaminit!
posted by ZachsMind at 3:55 PM on August 19, 2002

Does it balance itself? No, but for $7801 I can balance it myself.
posted by delmoi at 4:07 PM on August 19, 2002

interconnected log flumes.
are the wave of the future! cause we got gridlock, right here in river city, and that starts with a g, and that comes after f and that stands for flumes!
posted by quonsar at 5:51 PM on August 19, 2002

I've invented an anti-gravity belt that will put your Segways, flying cars, monorails, and yes, even log flumes to shame.
posted by Grod at 7:36 PM on August 19, 2002

mmm... replicant
posted by billder at 8:00 PM on August 19, 2002

Stupidity incarnate. The media "news" article, reporting rumors as news itself. Because they say so. Because who says so? Some anonymous guy who won't even give his real name to back up his claims, which hinge on a paranthetical statement made by an author in what he thought was a private correspondence discussing a possible book proposal.

Oh yeah, that's news. Next, we'll have an in-depth analysis of what Einstein really meant when he was sitting in that lounge that one night with Kelly by his side, mumbling, "Well, when I said it's all relative, I was talking about my family, not time."
posted by yarf at 8:21 PM on August 19, 2002

Really, what else needs to be said if the Veep is behind it?
posted by yarf at 8:29 PM on August 19, 2002

I think we need those antigravitation devices used by the grossly huge evil Harkonens in Lynch's Dune. But let's skip the external heart valves. That's just messy.
posted by mecran01 at 9:11 PM on August 19, 2002

Bah! I'd be perfectly happy with a road-worthy 2 seater personal hovercraft with a steel foam-padded roll-cage...
Just Imagine driving that thing into pedestrians... heh.
posted by Dillonlikescookies at 10:25 PM on August 19, 2002