Tom Swift Jr

A 1950s sci-fi book series by Victor Appleton II similar to the HardyBoys?. Covers of the hard cover books were inspirational to young minds interested in technology and the future.

Here's a survey of each invention and its real-life feasibility:

http://www.tomswift.info/

I have seen the same thing done before, in print, for the tropical inventions on "Gilligan's Island".

Had not seen these covers for many, many years till coming across this site (has most of them).


Unlike StarTrek, the TS technology did not suffer evaporation. This meant they adopted new technologies much faster than real-life technocrats can generally assimilate them. This meant, towards the end of the series, factories powered by tiny atomic-powered batteries, floating via anti-grav, extruded skyways of floating plastic bubbles, and colonization of both the moon and sea floor. (Recall that in the 1950s escapists theorized we could relieve "population pressure" by inhabiting these low- and high-pressure environments...)

Socially, enlightened nordic males run the world; their girlfriends wait in ignorance for them to stop playing with all that hardware and come have some R&R.

Politically, the standard enemies were always poorly specified "terrorists" operating on behalf of "Brungaria", vassal state of an unnamed eastern superpower. The enemies were never poverty, pollution, corruption, etc.

Or even flying frogsects:

          -- PhlIp


Seeing those Rockets one thinks:

  

Logos nostalgic are cool


SeeAlso: ElegantSimplicity,LicencingVisibleSpectrum?


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