Sources close to Kamen say that the round thingy-so shrouded in secrecy that it is referred to in its patent filing only as “the round thingy”-could be attached by means of an axle to other round thingies for use on cars, buses, trucks and other vehicles.
“When people see Dean’s round thingy in action, it is absolutely going to rock their world,” one associate of Mr. Kamen said.
Critics of Kamen, however, were more skeptical of the Kamen camp’s claims for its amazing new round thingy.
“Dean Kamen isn’t the only person in the world who’s been trying to develop a round thingy,” said Dr. Louis Peverall of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “The question is whether his round thingy will succeed where so many other round thingies have failed.”
Mr. Kamen, unfazed by the critics, is poised to unveil a series of other groundbreaking inventions in addition to his astonishing round thingy.
His new inventions include a writing implement fabricated from a sharpened piece of graphite encased in wood; an amazing lighting device that consists of an electrified filament contained in an airtight glass bulb, and a handheld, gear-driven kitchen tool for the “beating” of eggs.
