Chinese farmer turns suitcases into ingenious electric scooter

From the “This is a real thing, we think” file comes the curious case of the Chinese farmer turned inventor of motorized suitcases.

He Liang, a farmer from China’s Hunan region, has invented and patented the ultimate rollaboard, or what he apparently calls the “multi-functional suitcase.” Photographed this week in Changsha, the motorized suitcase is said to weigh about 15-16 lbs. and is able to carry two people (or one well-fed American, maybe). With the help of a wheel hub electric motor in the single front wheel, the little three-wheeler can travel 50 to 60 kilometers—or 31 to 37 miles—on a full charge.

Maximum speed is 20 km per hour, which is somewhat faster than we would ever feel comfortable traveling on a three-wheeled box, and about as fast as a fleet-footed TSA agent could give chase in an airport concourse until he runs out of breath, or the rider runs into a stunned tourist who swears he just saw some loser coming toward him riding a suitcase.