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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Where Are All These Hoverboards Coming From?

    Hoverboards are on millions of wish lists this holiday season, a development that's taken retailers and customers by surprise.

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    By Warren Olney • Dec 10, 2015 • 8m Listen

    Hoverboards are on millions of wish lists this holiday season, a development that's taken retailers and customers by surprise.

    Photo: Ben Larcey

    In just a few months, the two-wheeled, motorized scooters have gone from an Internet meme popularized by celebrities to a common sight on American streets and sidewalks. How did that happen so fast? It's all about Chinese "memeufacturing." That's according to Joseph Bernstein, senior tech reporter for BuzzFeed, who went all the way to the Chinese city of Schenzehn to research the story, "How to Make Millions of Hoverboards Almost Overnight."

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Paul von Zielbauer

      Co-founder of Geezer magazine, former producer for To the Point and Which Way LA?; former reporter for the New York Times

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Gideon Brower

      Independent Producer

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Evan George

      Director of Content, News

    • KCRW placeholder

      Joseph Bernstein

      BuzzFeed News

      NewsNationalPolitics
    Back to To the Point