101 Dumbest Moments in Business

Top tech flops

Exploding toilets and a startup that actually called itself VaporTech. When 400 surfers are dumb enough to click on an ad offering to infect their PCs, what's left for us to do?

By the Editors of Fortune
John Griffin
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John Griffin
Can't say he didn't warn you
John Griffin, CEO of a Livermore, Calif., startup, pockets about $750,000 of seed capital after lying to investors lured by the company's promise to develop a "dirt eater" to clean toxic soil. After reportedly spending the money on such necessities as a Ferrari, Super Bowl tickets, and steroids, Griffin is sentenced to 30 months in prison. The name of the startup: VaporTech.
Last updated December 20 2007: 10:06 AM ET

High-tech toilets
Electronic voting machines
Cartoon Network
Google
John Mackey
The European Union
Apple
Research in Motion
John Griffin
Sony
Sony Part 2
Verizon Wireless
Google
365 Main
One Laptop Per Child
WikiScanner
Blogger
Intel
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