american inventor claimed invented perpetual motion machine appearing philadelphia exhibited machine public charging high prices viewing applied government money group sent examine machine discovered machine actually powered device claimed powered machine moved new_york_city set similar rebuilding machine engineer detected fake visited exhibition listening motions discovered machine operated man room floor returned philadelphia later claimed created machine refused demonstrate managed patent machine fate unknown personal life little recorded life connection hoax according source philadelphia sources simply state appeared philadelphia machine disappeared public view discovery fraud fate unknown appearance philadelphia machine known philadelphia claimed invented perpetual motion machine exhibited house near outskirts city charged admission fee sources claim men view depending source women admitted free charge machine caused sensation lobbied funds build larger version january city commissioners visited inspect machine barred window concerned going near machine damage accompanied son noticed odd gears machine said separate device series gears weights noticed worn wrong suggested device fact machine elder sellers convinced machine hoax suspicions hired local engineer build similar machine hidden motor power source arranged demonstration machine immediately convinced offered buy machine appeared civil engineer offered bet sums money ranging machine genuine discovered perpetual motion new_york_city ruse revealed immediately departed new_york_city unknown changed machine somewhat detected easily exhibited philadelphia mechanical engineer went machine noticed machine powered manually irregularly detected sound uneven machine motions announced machine fraud challenged expose secret power source pay damage cause agreed removed boards wall alongside machine exposed cord led upper floor upstairs found old man turning hand hand eating bread spectators realized destroyed machine fled city later appearances appears constructed machine stated intention demonstrate group men including mayor chief justice philadelphia despite meetings refused demonstrate machine july granted patent device listed machinery purpose gaining power unfortunately patents lost fire recovered patent
Charles Redheffer