Top 25+ inventions that were predicted in science fiction
Science fiction, in all its forms, expands on existing technology to propose more grandiose (like the rocket) or sometimes more practical (like the cell phone) versions of things. For example, while the original Star Trek series lasted only three short years, it introduced the world to many concepts that soon became reality. Science fiction novels have been no less imaginative. Authors such as Jules Verne, Arthur C. Clarke, and others, have clearly left their mark on our daily lives. Here are 25 concepts inspired by science fiction that have now become fact.
TASER (Victor Appleton)
From the novel Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle, published in 1911
Jack Cover, a NASA physicist and creator of the first TASER in the 1970s, was inspired by the writings of Victor Appleton. TASER is, in fact, an acronym for Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle, a reference to the main character who uses the device in a series of over one hundred Victor Appleton novels published between 1910 and 1941.
QuickTime software
From the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Steve Perlman was watching an episode of Star Trek in which a character was listening to music on his computer when, as Archimedes put it, eureka! Perlman went on to create QuickTime.
Video call (Hugo Gernsback)
From the novel Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of the Year 2660, published in 1925
They’ve been appearing in science fiction movies for a long time, but you have to go back to this 1925 novel to find the first appearance of the telephot, a video-telephone capable of making calls over thousands of kilometres. How many video apps do you have on your cell phone right now?
Bluetooth device
From the television series Star Trek (1966-1969)
Once again, we turn to Star Trek (and not for the last time) for what may be the most obvious invention. No one who has watched the original crew in action could forget its fantastic communications officer, Nyota Uhura. And, what's that we see in her ear? Today, we’d call it a Bluetooth device.
Rocket (H.G. Wells)
From the novel The War of the Worlds, first published in 1897 in Pearson’s Magazine and Cosmopolitan
American scientist Robert H. Goddard, creator of the first liquid-fuelled rocket in March 1926, became fascinated by space flight after reading The War of the Worlds. The photo shows one of his rockets ready for a launch test on July 17, 1929. NASA administrator Charles Bolden honoured Goddard and Verne's contribution to space exploration in 2016 as preparations for a mission to Mars were underway.
