(And if you ever end up on a trip, confined by some deathly dull mode of transport -- covered wagon, perhaps? -- you'd be lucky to have a copy of Stevenson's "Grounded" on-hand to pass the time.)
The name alone, Segway Human Transporter, implies this vehicle was burdened from the beginning by great expectations. "Human transporter" simply sounds too grandiose for its own good. A bit of background on its creator, notoriously quirky inventor Dean Kamen, confirms this suspicion. He's a physicist and researcher who holds more than 400 patents. (Kamen is also known for buying a small island off the New England coast, creating his own currency, and joking about seceding from the United States.)