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Tinfoil underwear?

Crowdfunding sites are a great place to go if you need to turn a brilliant, or even a mediocre idea into a reality.

If you pitch your idea correctly, set a reasonable price expectation and can convince potential investors that your product or service is worthy it is surprising how many folk will part with their cash in eager anticipation of something new.

Of course, following on from last weeks column in which I highlighted how easy it was for a huckster to scam nearly NZ$100m out of organisations such as the UN by using fake bomb detectors, I couldn't help but also share another dubious product with readers today.

Unlike the bomb detectors, the SafeSleeve isn't on the shelves yet -- it's still drumming up crowdfunding through the indiegogo website

However, do read all about this revolutionary breakthrough and don't forget to watch the video.

Believe it or not, these "engineers" have already raised over US$12K of the US$16,500 they're seeking to get this project off the ground.

But let's take a look at what's being touted here.

What's that smell... hmmm... snake-oil!

Apparently, if these guys are to be believed, your laptop is killing you.

The nasty baby-killing, emasculating, cancer-causing radiation that fair blasts out of the bottom of such devices is responsible for everything from neurological maladies to just "death" in general.

Oh the humanity!

So, to save us all from a slow and painful "death by laptop" they came up with the idea of selling a nice leather pouch with a bit of metal in it -- for $90!

Ouch!

But hey, there's a flap on the side that you can use for your mouse -- even though there appears to be no provision for storing that mouse. I guess you just slide the rodent into your top pocket and knot its cord around the pens attached to your pocket-protector huh?

Ah -- but tinfoil hat wearers -- there's more!

Apparently, any level of EMF over 3 mGauss can be hugely damaging to your health -- yet oddly enough, the earth's own magnetic field is about 300-500mGauss.

Now it's hard to tell if these "engineers" really believe this crap -- or whether they've simply come to the same conclusion as PT Barnum and figured out that this would be a very easy way to separate fools from their money -- while also giving those who buy these things a little "peace of mind".

Of course I could be totally wrong and this may be the most important piece of disease-prevention equipment developed thus far in the 21st century. Perhaps the millions of readers who have suffered from EMF-induced leg-rot through using their laptops without a SafeSleeve will chime in with their own tales of woe here.

In my humble opinion, this is just as bad as the HHO scams and the numerous over-unity generators that some folk sell the plans for.

Have readers spotted any other "tinfoil hat" type products that are seeking crowdfunding recently?

Will you be buying a SafeSleeve for the sake of your yet to be conceived offspring?

Or will you simply be lining your undies with aluminium foil?

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