If it can be explained in laymans terms, I haven't heard it yet. It is a virtual currency. That sounds pretty 'out there'....at least until you start to question real currency. Have some Tylenol close by.
I consider investing in Bitcoin to be too risky for me. There are a lot of negatives: no government backing or security; and governments are trying hard to learn to follow the bitcoins...largely because they are reportedly most widely used for drugs, money laundering, people in Greece, guys with tin foil hats, etc.
Investing doesn't interest me. But, I think buying exactly what you need for a single transaction MIGHT make sense to some at 10%. A big problem with that is that even though Bitcoins are somewhat secure, the brokers may not be. I know a 16 year old who was recently arrested as part of a complex scheme that ripped off bitcoin transfer houses to make overseas drug transactions. Not sure who lost the money, but I'm going to bet it was buyers who used credit cards or bank accounts to purchase bitcoins. If possible, I'd use a single use credit card for any bitcoin transactions.