Which controversial invention of the 1970s is named after the 1911 adventure story that inspired the inventor?

serpa

1911. Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle; or, Daring Adventures in Elephant Land is a young adult novel written by Victor Appleton. It is Volume 10 in the original Tom Swift novel series published by Grosset & Dunlap. Sixty years later, in reality, the Taser was invented by Jack Cover and marketed by Taser International. The trademark is an acronym for Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle. The middle initial (the 'A') is gratuitous, as Tom's full name is unknown. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Swift_and_His_Electric_Rifle Jack Cover, a NASA researcher, began developing the Taser in 1969.[11] By 1974, Cover had completed the device, which he named after his childhood hero Tom Swift ("Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle"). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taser Apr 08 11, 10:23 PM

gtho4

The taser gun. aser International, Inc. manufactures and markets several styles of stun guns under the brand name Taser. The word "taser" apparently originated in a Tom Swift adventure book, part of a ghostwritten series of books about a boy inventor that ran from 1910 through the 1970s. Taser stands for "Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle." Jack Cover, a NASA scientist, invented and patented the electronic stun gun in 1974, naming it for the invention he recalled from his childhood reading. Cover's original Taser resembled a large flashlight. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Taser-International-Inc-Company-History.html [T]he brand name was coined by the inventor of the device, NASA scientist Jack Cover. Cover reportedly formed the name from the initial letters of Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle, after the 1911 juvenile adventure novel Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle. Since the protagonist Tom Swift never actually revealed his middle initial, we can guess that Taser is something of a backronym, i.e., a word that is “retrofitted” with an acronymic expansion after the fact. Taser appears to be modeled on an earlier acronym, laser (”light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation”), which in turn was modeled on maser (”microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”). Another possible inspiration for Taser is phaser, the name of a fictional weapon familiar to Star Trek fans. According to Jeff Prucher’s Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry originally wanted to call the weapon a laser but then opted for phaser instead. http://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2007/12/how-the-taser-g.html Apr 08 11, 10:26 PM

gmackematix

Your stunning answers are correct of course. If you find one, the West Yorkshire police might like to hear from you: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-13005823 Apr 09 11, 5:41 PM