another excuse for misanthropy

When I was in high school, I went through a phase where I couldn't read enough books about hoaxers and hucksters. Best of the bunch: the mammoth Encyclopedia of Hoaxes and Scams. (If anyone knows where to find a copy, let me know.)

Which is why I can't resist linking to the recent antics of David Lee, inventor of the gasless mower that runs on barbecue sauce, as well as

...a detergent-free, magnetic laundry system; paint that will melt the snow on your driveway and insulate your walls; [and] a camera that can see through 6 feet of concrete and into people's bodies.

He's kooky and energetic, and banned by court order from selling his nonsense in Washington. But he'll be damned if he stops trying.

Lee, though, is small potatoes next to Terry Ayeni (a.k.a. "Lemmy Stevens"), a Nigerian who defrauded a Republic businesswoman of $670,000 which she'd stolen from clients in order to secure $21.5 million. He got caught, and so did she.

You'd think people would know by now that these schemes are never legit, that "too good to be true" isn't just a cliché, but the gospel writ fiscal.