Liposuction biodiesel might be a hoax, redux
Perhaps it was too rich to be true. The bunch at WIRED, the same magazine that questioned a similar story in 2006, has got three reasons to believe that yesterday's news about biodiesel made from Beverly Hills liposuction patients is a hoax. The first reason is that that the doctor in question, Craig Alan Bittner, "acts like a publicity whore." OK, but why anyone would want to be in the spotlight for this particular item is beyond me. The second reason, as reader Mike Z pointed out, is the little detail that the biodiesel was supposedly used to power a Lincoln Navigator. Trouble is, there is no diesel version of this vehicle, so unless there was a mechanic involved in putting in a new engine, this just doesn't hold up. Third, and least convincing, is that WIRED says, "We don't trust any story that's based on a movie." Sure, you've got easy-to-make Soylent Green and Tyler Durden references, but that doesn't mean much. Taken as a whole, though, the story does look a lot less likely than it originally appeared.
Photo by » Zitona « ¬ QTR<3 [09]. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
[Source: WIRED]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tom 3:59PM (12/23/2008)
There is a case of liposuctioned fat being used to create bio-diesel though. Pete Bethune, owner/builder/captain of the bio-diesel round-the-world record holding boat Earthrace (www.earthrace.net) had some of his body fat liposuctioned out and turned into bio-diesel to fuel his boat. He didn't create a lot o it but it was done as a publicity stunt.
So it has been done. I think that scene is part of the DVD they put out documenting the creation of the boat.
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Diane 7:41PM (12/27/2008)
Brad...Why are you promoting child pornography? Miley Cyrus is a minor.
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Vehicle9000 9:37PM (12/29/2008)
I immediately thought this was a hoax, and maybe it is, but Ford DOES make diesel SUVs and Lincoln Navigator is or will be available in diesel
http://www.motortrend.com/future/spied_vehicles/112_0804_lincoln_navigator_diesel_spied/index.html
I also found this disturbing website about this doctor:
http://www.mydralanbittnerstory.com/
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Susan 9:01AM (12/31/2008)
Sadly, it is not a hoax. That is what I thought...but why? It would only serve to hurt his credibility. He is the owner of the domain...his girlfriend is on the whois too...and the same company that makes some of his other sites is the webdesigner.
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