What'll they think of next?

And will anyone pay attention?

Let's put it another way.

I can just imagine that this conversation took place once upon a time:

• Inventor: "Hey listen, I've got a great idea!"
• Friend: (muttering) "Not again" (out loud) "Great, let's hear it."
• Inventor: "I'll take the exhaust coming from my car, use it to spin a fan, connect that fan to a pump, and use that pump to pump more air into the engine. It'll be great! More power without having to use a bigger engine!"
• Friend: "Are you insane? While you're at it, why don't you put a fan on the roof and mount a sail on the hood? Then you won't have to burn any gas."

What the inventor was describing, of course, is a turbocharger, and they work fine. With a little understanding of thermodynamics it actually makes sense, but to the layperson it seems like something for nothing.

I wonder how many other great ideas are lost because nobody takes them seriously?