Ryan Seacrest called it “the launching pad” on Thursday night’s show.

A decent guess is that the size of “it” is about 4 X 4 X 8 give or take a foot or two in any direction.

And “it” has been around – like traveling to Austin, Texas; San Francisco; Detroit; and Atlanta. Next week the destination of “it” will be Salt Lake City. By the time it’s all over, the winner of American Idol 13 will have paid “it” a visit – and so will the rest of the top 10 finalists and the 212 contestants who will receive a gold ticket.

It’s…..The Chamber! And it just might be the most ridiculous stage prop ever. But just in time here is a vivid description, or five, of “it”:

– A witness questioning room down at the local police station.
– A smallish port-a-potty.
– A very smallish elevator.
– A carnival “Hall of Horrors” room where you can never seem to escape.
– A restroom on an airplane.

Seacrest ushers each contestant into “The Chamber” where they look around and prime themselves for the next step to fame and fortune. And then the green light comes on, the contestant does indeed escape and he/she comes face-to-face with Idol reality.