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One popular category of scams and hoaxes surrounded by conspiracy theories is the 200 miles per gallon automobile, or the variation of the automobile that runs on a variety of crazy fuels other than gasoline.

I am not a professional auto mechanic, but like many guys growing up in the 1960s I torn up a car engine and attempted a few major operations on an old clunker with a carburetor before automobiles evolved into computer controlled systems powered by fuel injectors. I understand enough about the internal combustion engine to know that the carburetor is a device that blends air and fuel in the proper ratio for combustion, and that improving the performance of the carburetor will increase gas mileage .

I remember the magazine articles in geek magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics in the 1960s and 1970s that talked about miracle carburetors that seemed to defy the laws of physics.

Everyone drives a car and would love to pay less for fuel. The world is full of conspiracy theories about how either the government or big oil companies are controlling our world. Since the invention of the automobile there have been stories of the small inventors who created the miracle carburetor in their garage that could get 100 mpg or more, only to be shut down by some mysterious chain of events.

Stories of miracle carburetors and water powered cars often mix an element of real science with pseudoscience. It is an example of where the studying some of the pseudoscience can be interesting, and expand our mind into thinking about what is possible. It is also an area full of scams and hoaxes.

Conspiracy theories and the miracle carburetor

Some of these miracle carburetor inventors of the past, such as Charles Pogue and Tom Ogle, received mainstream media attention for their alleged inventions.

Charles Nelson Pogue allegedly drove a 1932 Ford 200 miles on a single gallon of gas. Reportedly he proved his invention in a test for The Ford Motor Company in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Canadian inventor applied for numerous patents for what he claimed was a new type of carburetor that supposedly completely vaporized gasoline before introducing it to the cylinders, thereby extracting a great deal more energy from the fuel.

The conspiracy theory folks say that the oil industry suppressed plans for the 200-mpg carburetor. Charles Pogue filed three different patents: Patent # US1750354 filing date August 20, 1927, Carburetor; Patent # US1997497 filing date November 3, 1934, Carburetor; Patent # US2026798 filing date September 27, 1935, Carburetor. All three patent filings have extensive descriptions of his inventions along with diagrams. So the conspiracy theory folks need to explain, exactly how were his plans suppressed?

Tom Ogle developed a new type of carburetor in the 1970s that pressurized gasoline into a vapor and injected it into the firing chambers. After installing it in his V8 Ford Galaxie, the car was reported to get over 100 miles per gallon.

Some people claim Ogle died mysteriously in 1981 and took the design of his carburetor to the grave with him. Ogle's patent, Publication number US 4177779 for “A Fuel economy system for an internal combustion engine,” can be found searching the United States Patent Office. As far as conspiracy theories and his design dying with him, that's up for debate. Anyone who understands the physics of his design can pull up his patent and analyze it.

An engine that runs on water?

In researching scams and hoaxes I found many websites that brag that the truth about water powered cars is right in front of our faces referencing various YouTube videos of water powered cars. Yes, technically you could power a car with hydrogen, and there are scientists working on hydrogen fuel cell cars. But a home made kit that installs on a traditional gasoline powered internal combustion engine is not going to efficiently turn water into hydrogen.

I was recently asked why there no mainstream media articles on inventor Paul Pantone. It is difficult to answer this question without sounding cynical or sarcastic, so with that warning given, let me try to take a stab at it. I have no first hand experience to share about Paul Pantone, but reading many of the claims of Pantone they just seem too good to be true. Some of his claims were an engine that runs on 80% water.

Where others have created miracle carburetors, Paul Pantone claimed to have created a device that could take any liquid or combination of liquids to create a plasma that could be used to fuel an engineer. Pantone's process known as Global Environmental Energy Technology, goes by the acronym GEET.

In a recent article we talked about weird science behind conspiracy theories and urban legends. In many cases the failures of these urban legends are often rationalized by their followers as the result of some conspiracy against them. Just like the stories of Charles Pogue and Tom Ogle, if you search on Paul Pantone you will find stories on many conspiracy theory websites claiming his discoveries were suppressed.

Like the other inventors the patents of Paul Pantone can be found searching the US Patent Office database. Inventor Paul Pantone is credited with US5794601 filed May 16, 1997 for a “Fuel pretreater apparatus and method.” Like most patents a detailed description along with various diagrams of the invention can be found searching the patent office database.

Paul Pantone died in 2015. His story is a bizarre tale of being tortured by the government. Pantone spent three years in a mental institution where he claimed his teeth were drilled out as punishment for not turning over his patents to the government.

I will continue to search for Paul Pantone, but finding any information at all from creditable primary sources has been difficult. What I know about him is through many secondary sources on the internet. The accomplishments of Paul Pantone are only found on a few websites promoting alternative science ideas, and ones that are full of conspiracy theories. The stories of Pantone's inventions sound too good to be true, and the conspiracy theories sound too weird to be believed.

Learn more:

As a student of science and technology for more than forty years, I am always looking for stories about the forgotten geeks, and likewise look to find the truth behind the myths and legends. The mythical garage mechanic turned inventor makes a good story, but there is never a happy ending. The story always seem to end with the mysterious death of the the inventor along with some conspiracy to kill his idea as well.

What makes me scratch my head about the many claims of the mysterious death of the the inventor taking his secrets to his grave, is that in almost all cases a patent was filed with detailed descriptions and diagrams of the inventions. If these ideas had great value, wouldn't someone have followed up? I guess I am too cynical to believe every failed invention is the result of some conspiracy theory.

If you would like to learn more, here are a few articles on the myths and legends of miracle carburetor from folks who specialize in the automotive world.

Discusses a miracle carburetor from 1902: The 200 Mile-per-Gallon Carburetor: The Story of the California Carburetor http://www.allpar.com/old/200-mpg-carburetor.html

From Jalopnik, an automobile news website for those obsessed with the cult of cars: The MPG Conspiracy Theory Is Crap, And Here's Why http://jalopnik.com/the-mpg-conspiracy-theory-is-crap-and-heres-why-1562574926

From Gearheads, an online automobile community: The Incredible 200 MPG Carburetor http://gearheads.org/the-incredible-200-mpg-carburetor/

The science of the hydrogen cars of tomorrow can get deep into the geek speak of physics. Here are a few articles to get you started on learning more about engines that run on water.

The Truth About Water-Powered Cars: Mechanic's Diary http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a3428/4271579/

Can Cars Use Water for Fuel? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-cars-use-water-for-fuel/

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There are two kinds of free energy inventors:

1. Delusional folks who sincerely believe in what they do, and rationalize failure as a conspiracy. 2. Outright frauds.

Miracle Carburetor – http://www.snopes.com/autos/business/carburetor.asp

Conspiracy theories and the 100 mpg miracle carburetor

Its origins are as strange as the story itself. Between 1928 and 1935, Charles Nelson Pogue, an inventor from Canada, applied for numerous patents for what he claimed was a new type of carburetor that supposedly completely vaporized gasoline before introducing it to the cylinders, thereby extracting a great deal more energy from the fuel. According to the Pogue patent description, fuel was introduced into the engine in this vaporous “dry” state rather than in the normal droplet-laden “wet” state, thus combining more readily with air, making it burn with far greater efficiency. Better combustion combined with the raising of the engine’s operating temperature from 160°F to 180°F were said to be responsible for vastly improved fuel economy.

So much for the techno-talk. The Pogue carburetor was touted as getting 200+ miles to the gallon. Glowing reports about this miracle of ingenuity’s making a 1,879 mile trip on 14.5 gallons appeared in the May 1936 issue of Canadian Automotive Trade magazine, reports which Pogue later denied. A manager of a Winnipeg auto dealership claimed he had driven a Pogue-equipped car 217 miles on a gallon of gasoline. A different dealer principal claimed to have driven 26 miles on a pint of fuel.

In 1977, Tom Ogle who created a device replacing the carburetor and allowed his 4,000 pound gas guzzler to get 100 miles per gallon. He should have gone on to change history and become one of the world’s richest men. He was young, confident and feared nothing. But he was wrong – dead wrong. Five years later Tom, at age 26, was in his grave and his invention, buried.

https://www.quora.com/Did-Tom-Ogle-invent-a-vapour-engine-and-why-is-no-one-working-on-this

Miracle “fuel vaporization” that's somehow supposed to extract much more energy out of the fuel

In the 1970s, a man named Tom Ogle developed a new type of carburetor that pressurized gasoline into a vapor and injected it into the firing chambers. After installing it in his Ford Galaxie, the car was measured to get 113 miles per gallon. But after some licensing setbacks, Ogle died in 1981 and took the design of his carburetor to the grave with him.

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Seventy years ago Canadian, Charles Nelson Pogue made headlines long before Tom Ogle, when he drove a 1932 Ford, 200 miles on a single gallon of gas. Reportedly he proved his invention in a test for The Ford Motor Company in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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The Guru 42 Universe is not run by a university professor with a team of editors and advisers working to developing a website. Tom Peracchio is simply someone who loves technology and history and is amazed by how little people know about the great minds in the world of technology.

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