The Brown's Gas generator scam

**submariner409** · 04-05-09 08:10 PM

Just finished watching the NBC Dateline investigation into the so-called Brown's Gas/hydrogen/oxygen generator which is supposed to provide miraculous gas mileage increases. A half hour presentation. Very good work on uncovering the people and products behind part of this scam. Hard to believe someone would actually fall for this.

You could probably download the clip from some NBC site or do a Google search.

The program also included quite an exposure of the "work at home doing payroll" scams from Nigeria.

**The Tony Show** · 04-06-09 03:03 PM

I'm baffled how anyone can fall for any of these scams.

When these Brown's Gas machines first started showing up (some even being praised by local news stations) a 5 minute Google search revealed that they consumed more energy that they produced, as well as the safety hazards. Then there's the scams that don't even require scientific knowledge to detect, just common sense (like the "I'll send you a check, you keep part and send me back the difference" routine).

I suppose P.T. Barnum was right.

***Brett*** · 04-06-09 03:13 PM

I always find it amusing when people believe in some twenty dollar "fix" for miraculous fuel economy....as if the OEM's wouldnt have been installing these things all along.

**The Tony Show** · 04-06-09 03:26 PM

It's a conspiracy man, just like the guy who invented the 100mpg carburetor that the Government killed!

**dkozloski** · 04-06-09 03:44 PM

Every time some new gas saving gadget hits the market with much balleyhoo, some oldtimer will remind everybody that the same device was offered in the 1920s and it didn't work then either. This stuff gets recycled over and over. The gas line magnets, platinum catalyst injector, super carburetor, and all the rest of this stuff gets trotted out and offered for sale to every generation. As science education virtually disappears from the American school systems it becomes easier and easier for the scammers to dupe an ignorant public. Look at all the people that believe in man-made climate change.

**Playdrv4me** · 04-06-09 04:22 PM

Tornado FTW!

**submariner409** · 04-06-09 04:41 PM

This particular "95 Miles per gallon" scammer and his mechanic were getting $1900 - yep, $1900 - for one of these things. Dateline bought an Accord, dynoed it, EPA tested it, and took it to the scammer. $1900+ later, it still got 34 mpg.

**Playdrv4me** · 04-06-09 05:16 PM

On the rare occasions when NBC doesn't have their heads stuck up the great one's ass, that network actually can produce some solid investigative reporting.

**Rodya234** · 04-06-09 06:27 PM

protip: The most unbiased news network you can still watch in this country is the BBC. China Central Television is pretty good as well. I would say Al Jazeera as well, but I don't want to get sent to Guantanamo Bay for being an enemy combatant.

It's pretty amazing how biased and just generally ill-informed the domestic news networks are.

**dkozloski** · 04-06-09 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by Rodya234

protip: The most unbiased news network you can still watch in this country is the BBC. China Central Television is pretty good as well. I would say Al Jazeera as well, but I don't want to get sent to Guantanamo Bay for being an enemy combatant.

It's pretty amazing how biased and just generally ill-informed the domestic news networks are.

The BBC is owned and operated by the British government and is their principle propaganda arm. At one time the British had private broadcasting but it disappeared after a huge battle with pirate broadcasters that operated from ships off shore in international waters. Evidently you like news filtered through the limeys.

**iowasevillests** · 04-06-09 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by Rodya234

protip: The most unbiased news network you can still watch in this country is the BBC. China Central Television is pretty good as well. I would say Al Jazeera as well, but I don't want to get sent to Guantanamo Bay for being an enemy combatant.

It's pretty amazing how biased and just generally ill-informed the domestic news networks are.

Not to thread jack or anything, but I have to disagree with anyone who says that the news out of a communists state is fairly unbiased. You may just not be able to dig up the other side of the story as easily, but I won't believe for an instant that the story being portrayed is anything other than the official one. As for the BBC, they're not bad but they're somewhat tilted as well, its just a different bias then you're going to see on the US news....whether its CNN, CNBC or Fox, everyone is going to be biased. I generally just try and pull my news from a variety of sources so the bias somewhat evens out, cause everyone is going to have a bias, it just depends on what side of the fence you're standing on as to if you're concerned with the bias.

**Rodya234** · 04-06-09 08:27 PM

I'll rephrase that then, most out of country news is biased oppositely to our bias.

**iowasevillests** · 04-06-09 08:42 PM

Originally Posted by Rodya234

I'll rephrase that then, most out of country news is biased oppositely to our bias.

Ahhh, I'll agree to that, they do have different viewpoints compared to what our media tends to report. At that point its up to each of us to determine what the truth is and whats bias imprinted either intentionally or unintentionally by the reporting body.