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I'll take five! What is it?

LeeMichael McLean -- Design News, July 6, 2001

Tuesday, February 6, 2001

Newton, MA--Dean Kamen, inventor and Design News' 7th Engineer of the Year, has something everyone wants. People are lining up to buy "IT." Yet, no one even knows what "IT" is.

The buzz began early in January when the news/gossip site Inside.com leaked information regarding Kamen's $250,000 book deal with Harvard Business School Press. (Click here to see the original story) According to the book proposal, Kamen had a revolutionary new invention on his hands. Something called Ginger. Something so important and secret it couldn't even be described in its own book proposal. Talk about titillating! Some astounding quotes accompanied the article, which included allegations that Ginger would be bigger than the world-wide-web and make Kamen wealthier than Bill Gates.

Kamen has been relatively quiet, appearing only once since the leak to say he has a hot prospect, but nothing "Earth shattering." His release came in the wake of claims that he had something akin to a new power source on his hands. Some of the less shattering guesses since then propose that Ginger is a Sterling engine-powered personal scooter.

The web on the other hand has been anything but quiet. Inside.com has launched www.inside.com/it, a collection of pages devoted to breaking leads. Another site, www.gingerpoll.com/, is a source for current headlines and other speculation sites. And believe it or not, you can already put your name in queue to buy a Ginger from Amazon.com. Not that they know how much it will cost, what it is, or if they will even be able to sell them. Justin Osmer, spokesperson for Amazon, said their Ginger page was launched because so many people were interested in the item and "Amazon always strives to offer the best selection on the planet." According to Osmer, "customer response has been astounding…in the thousands." I've already signed up to buy five!

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