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The two coolest pieces of technology in the Back to the Future franchise were the DeLorean car and the hoverboard. Up until now, you could get a DeLorean…but no dice on the hoverboard.
A company called HUVr claimed that they have created real hoverboard technology. A series of HUVr videos have gone viral. Some people were convinced that HUVr was real, but other people called BS on the video right away.
Not long after the video debuted, it was revealed that HUVrTech was a video hoax. Funny or Die was responsible for this hoverboard hoax. Below, you can relive all the theories, reactions, and outbursts caused by the HUVr video when it first hit the scene.
1. HUVr Is a Real-Life Hoverboard
In the videos embedded throughout the article you’re reading right now, you can see the HUVr Tech hoverboard up close. The first vid is embedded above, while the second vid is below under Section #3.
One of the videos states, “The following demonstrations are completely real.” However, many people are skeptical of these claims.
2. HUVr Has Been Used by Tons of Celebs
(HUVr)
Many people assumed that HUVr was real because so many celebs seemed to be involved. Actor Billy Zane was seen in one of the HUVr videos, and Christopher Lloyd of “Back to the Future” fame appeared in another vid. Other video stars include Schoolboy Q and Terrell Owens. Moby and Tony Hawk were also involved in the HUVr stunt.
Mark Cuban is “quoted” on the HUVr website as saying “This [expletive] thing is going to change the world!”
3. HUVr Is Fake
As cool as these hoverboard videos are, there are many signs that the hoverboard tech is bogus. There are no long, wide shots of the hoverboard in use, which means that wires used to fake this kind of hoverboard tech could be just off screen.
Additionally, the main “HUVr” tech guy in the blue shirt is never identified by name, which he would likely be if his product were real. Plus, some fans say they can see a harness under Tony Hawk’s shirt in the video, while others say they can see Terrell Owens being held up on the board.
Yet another sign that this is a hoax: one of the videos talks about an iPhone and Android app for HUVr. There’s no app that could power or control something like this, at least not at this time.
Slashgear notes:
“The webpage for the company is protected from analyzation by Protected Domain Services, though we can see that it was created on the 25th of November, 2013 – or at least protected from that date forward.”
If the people who own the domain want to remain anonymous, chances are they just aren’t legit.
4. HUVr Could Be a Lucrative Hoax
Regarding the HUVr (http://t.co/1P3q82vKDE) — you can see the harness under Tony Hawk’s shirt here pic.twitter.com/0I90bYzLoh
— Christian Mazza (@ChristianMazza) March 4, 2014
Is HUVr just an elaborate prank by a comedian? An early April Fool’s prank? Or is it some kind of marketing stunt?
Slashgear theorizes a couple of different scenarios:
“One possibility here is that Back to the Future IV is headed our way by the end of the year. Another is that there’s another video game appearing soon. We’re of the opinion that the most likely scenario is another Late Night prank – we’ll see soon enough. Meanwhile we’ll be grumbling about the fact that there isn’t actually a real Hoverboard to speak of.”
Gawker adds that Billy Zane and Christopher Lloyd both had parts in the original “Back to the Future” trilogy, lending credence to the idea that this video is a promo for some “Back to the Future”-related project. But if that’s the case, then where’s Michael J. Fox?
5. Hoverboard Technology Is Not Possible…Yet
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Watching Tony Hawk use a HUVr instead of a skateboard was pretty cool…but HUVr tech just isn’t realistic.
Physics will probably prevent us from ever having a “real” hoverboard. Gizmodo reported on a “real” hoverboard back in 2010, but it only worked if nobody stood on it.
Last year, Discovery.com talked about the feasibility of a hoverboard, comparing it to maglev train technology. They wrote:
“But unlike a maglev train, which floats over a track with magnetized metal coils, a hoverboard would have to be able to float over ordinary ground, aspalt or water (that is, if it’s going to be able to perform the manuevers depicted in the movie). So a hoverboard probably isn’t going to utilize magnetic power…
Riding on an air cushion, in the fashion of marine and amphibious hovercraft, might be a viable alternative. There already is a single-rider air hovercraft called the Airboard on the market, which is available from various Web retailers for around $15,000 (only slightly more than the Back to the Future prop).”