Reinventing the Wheel
Introducing the Mini-Segway

A brief history of transportation:

4000 BC: Invention of the wheel.
1866: Invention of the unicycle.
2001: Invention of the Segway.

And now, in 2011: Invention of the Segway unicycle.

Introducing the Solowheel, a new electric Segway-style unicycle, available for preorder now.

Every once in a great while, something comes along and forever changes the face of transportation. This probably won’t do that. (Come to think of it, neither did the Segway.) This is, however, an intriguing little device—the size of a thick, boxy frisbee, it weighs in around 20 pounds. To ride it, pull out the footholds and hop on board. The gyroscope will keep you upright while you lean your body left and right to steer.

It’s not hard to see when you would use this. A polo league. An Evel Knievel–style leap over an unusually small canyon. Or say you’re at a dinner party. Once again, you’re opining on the tragic decline in the quality of Super Bowl halftime shows. And for some reason, those opinions are being met with something less than enthusiasm by your hosts, the .i.am family. So you’ll politely excuse yourself, pull this thing out of your bag and make a quick getaway.

Just one thing: you’ll have to wait until April, when the inventor has tentatively promised to start shipping units.

Until then, you’ve still got your zeppelin.